cosmo08 asked:


Experimental design consists of a Problem Statement, Hypothesis, Procedures and Dara Table.

Please include your sources too. Thanks.
The compost was in a clay pot for four weeks and was the soil was turned over once every week. There were no given temperature…so temperature depends on the environment. I live in a tropical country.
Oh, I’m only asking for ideas…not a detailed experimental design as one indicated below.

Alison G asked:


I am interested in composting. I want to put a bin in my kitchen and some sort of composting contraption in my backyard. I can see this getting a little smelly and gross if I do it incorrectly. Do I have to put composted material into the ground? Or can I spread it where we have particularly weak/problem soil? Or will that stink out my neighbors? I would appreciate any sites or helpful tips… and receptical suggestions (I am on a budget so nothing too crazy.) Thanks!

By: Paul Duxbury

Compost can act as a great fertilizer, enriching the soil with organic materials rather than making use of chemicals that can do more harm than good if used badly. Composting is a great way to save money as well. Using compost requires that you completely mix it into the soil, reducing compaction and providing oxygenation to the soil. Compost can help plants stay healthier, and that contributes to their ability to repel diseases and survive insect attacks. A healthy landscape can be achieved with a little help from composting.

It is critical to note that composting does require a little extra work. The mound needs to be turned, and you need to make certain that you have adequate break down of the items in your compost pile. You need to be selective in what you put in your compost: it ought only be items that will break down naturally. Plant matter (including pulled weeds) and various foods are excellent in compost and will add to the health of your soil, and so to your landscape over all. There is no reason, though, that your compost pile needs to be a true pile. A bin can help you better hold your compost and preserve it from being spread across your compound in a smelly mess by animals or a really ferocious downpour.

The first thing you need to do before you set up a compost bin is decide what your needs are. Numerous people in reality use a three-bin combination. The bins may be connected, or they may be individually lined up. Some people use the bins for distinct types of compost (regular compost, slow compost like woody plants, and leaves collected in the fall). Others like to have a three-bin system for the turning purposes. Move the compost from one bin into the next, allowing it to turn. Then you can start a pile in the newly vacated bin. By the time the compost makes it into the third bin, it is ready for use. Others find that a single bin is adequate for their needs, and just go out to stir it throughout now and then.

Next you need to decide what materials you will use to construct your bin. It is vital to note that some exposure to the elements is essential for more productive and quicker composting. Chicken wire is not especially good for compost bins as it can extend out of shape extremely readily and does not wear well. Materials like 16-guage plastic-coated wire mesh and hardware cloth are better choices, as is hog wire. Wood makes an interesting choice, but it is critical to note that it will eventually compost itself and will need to be replaced. Do not used pressure-treated wood, as it has poisonous levels of copper and chromium, and there is evidence that arsenic can leach into your compost. Different materials that are acceptable for building compost bins are spoiled hay bales, old cinder blocks or bricks, wooden pallets, snow fencing, and a discarded rabbit hutch. The hutch is desirable because there is very little that needs to be done to make it ready.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to build a compost bin is to build it from wooden pallets. Most warehouses, grocery, and hardware stores are more than happy to give these away for free, or for very inexpensive, as it saves them the trouble of having to discard them. You can use plastic ties to hold four of them together in a box shape. Joining another bin to make a system is easy: just attach three more pallets using one side of the already made bin to complete another box. Be warned: after about two years you will need a new bin, as this bin will be composting itself.

By: Chris Dailey

If you springtime is a fantastic time of the year. It is the time of rebirth of nature and the many plants that you will begin to grow in your garden inside your home or outside. One of the favorite plants to grow at this time of the year all are plants with bulbs. Unfortunately, having a successful encounter with bulbs can sometimes be far and in between because of not knowing how to properly prepare bulbs prior to the planting season. Although the preparation process can be difficult, even more difficult is actually getting the bulbs to begin to grow. Here is a process that I use called the jumpstart process that I use every year with my bulbs and how worm compost can be used as an organic mulch in order to make sure this process is quick and easy.

If you have planted bulbs in the past, you know the process. You wait for your plan to begin to die off. This is shown by the use and flowers falling. You can also determine this by the time of the year depending upon the type of plant you are growing. Nonetheless, once the plant begins to die you begin to help it in its death by cutting back on water and fertilizer to make sure it goes dormant until the next season.

What needs to be done now is a particular planting process that ensures that the is ready to go. Some people will actually take their bulbs and after cutting away the stall, store them in their garage and wait until the following year before they begin planting. Some will also put them in a bag or container and place them in a dark area that is cold. I have a more natural process that I use to ensure that the bulbs are ready to go from day one. Here it is:

The first thing that you do is go out to your garden area and dig a hole in the ground at about 1 foot in diameter and about a foot deep. You will do this for every bulb that you have so make sure that the soil that you are using is either freshly tilled or just simply easy to dig into or you will have a backache by the end of the day. So if you have 10 bulbs, you will need 10 holes. Although you can double up the amount of bulbs that you place in each hole, it is recommended that one is used per hole only. If you live in a warmer climate, you are going to have to dig down another foot or so in order to ensure that the bulb is kept cool over the next several months.

Next your going to need some pots that are going to last a few months underneath the ground. I would recommend clay pots but if you only have plastic and plastic is economical, just make sure that you have enough for each hole. You also need to make sure that each pot has holes at the bottom so that any excess water can drain out if it happens to go in. Place the bulbs in the pots with a very porous mix of potting soil which can simply be soil that you already had in the garden next with worm compost if you have this or potting soil mix that you purchase from the store. Light and fluffy is the goal.

Once you have placed all of your bulbs into the pots, and you have placed in the pots into the holes, you need to cover the outside and top of the pot with soil. Then, and this is where an abundance of worm compost or organic mulch of any kind would come in handy, you pile this on top of each of the holes about a foot or so in height and diameter in order to prevent the soil from freezing where your bulbs are. If you live in a colder climate, you need to add more cover material. Lastly, you need to have a way of finding each of your bulbs as the year progresses. If you live in a very warm climate, this is probably not an issue. However, if you live in an area that has lots of snowfall during the winter season, it is a good idea to use sturdy sticks to mark where your bulbs are so that you can find them in the spring if the snow has not yet melted.

Once several months have passed and it is springtime again, it is time to go out and get your bulbs from the ground. The reason that you place them into pots other than for protection will become self-evident now. Simply dig out the pots, clean the outside off, and bring them into your home. This is the key to jumpstarting your bulbs. Remember that the bulbs have been in the ground and were probably at a temperature of about 40 degrees. Now that it is springtime, and the interior of your home is around 68 to 70 degrees, this instantaneous change in temperature will cause the bulbs began to wake up and start the growing process at an exponential rate because they have been placed into a warmer climate almost immediately which causes a jumpstart to their growth process.

Using these simple steps, you will be able to have reoccurring bulb growth, with very little worries at all. Plus, with the jumpstart procedure, you can fully expect to see blooms in the next few weeks, or at least much faster than you typically see because of this system. If it is already springtime, it is a good time to begin planning where you’ll get your mulch, where you will plant your bulbs, so when time comes again, you will be ready to use this bulb compost jumpstart system.

7th Avenue Vagrant Chaser asked:


I just got done tearing up a lot of Bermuda. Using a till, I turned the soil prior to removing the grass (making room for a garden), so the root systems are still perfectly intact.

Can I throw the lot into my compost pile; or will the grass take root, thus beginning a relentless surge of Bermuda consuming my compost?

Thank You.