Compost: Enhancing Your Compost II

Compost: Week Five

REMINDER: Each week when we offer you tips about Composting, we hope you are bringing your kids into it. I have my little one stir the compost, add leaves and help me collect items each week and pour them into the compost bin.

Make sure to keep your Nitrogen rich products balanced with your Carbon rich products and you should have a healthy compost that is rich in Nitrogen and Carbon for your garden. If you want to get more involved and have more of a mathematical guide for Carbon:Nitrogen ratios, check out this site.

Here is a short list of some good Carbon Sources.

Cardboard is a good source of Carbon but make sure to shred or wet and tear it into small pieces. Recycling is a better option if you have too much cardboard.

Newspaper is much like cardboard and should be shred or torn into small pieces so it is easier to breakdown. Again, recycle it if you have too much. Make sure not to use the color, slick pages.

Untreated Wood (Shavings or Sawdust) are extremely high in Carbon so make sure to have high levels of Nitrogen materials that you are countering this material with. Make sure not to use too much.

Dryer Lint is a great source of Carbon. It may help to get it damp.

Cornstalks and Corn Cobs work best if broken down into small pieces and combine really well with materials rich in Nitrogen.

Leaves from an Oak Tree can be shredding to help them break down faster, as they decompose rather slow. They are acidic, so be aware.

Pine Cones and Needles are good sources of Carbon, but be cautious to not overfill the pile because they decompose really slowly and have high acid content.

In the Series
Week One - Compost: Getting Started
Week Two - Compost: Winter Time
Week Three - Compost: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Week Four - Compost: Enhance Your Compost

Cool Mom in the Community: Family Eats Local! Installment 2

Want to feed your kids delicious food that is good for their health and so much more? Eat local!

Last week, Maggie began her story to incorporating Local Food into her families everyday life.

A CSA is a direct partnership between a farmer and the people his farm is feeding. We agreed to buy one-fourth bushel of produce weekly from each harvest, April through October. Each week, my son and I would walk down the street to a local church and chat with our neighbors while we waited for our box of fresh picked fruits and vegetables to emerge from the farm truck.

My son would help me unpack the box and together we would discover what had been harvested that week. We enjoyed local, seasonal produce such as heirloom tomatoes, cantaloupe, okra, corn-on-the-cob, peanuts, cucumbers, and pumpkins. Each week was a little bit different and almost always introduced us to something we hadn't bought before. It forced us to experience new tastes, get creative with recipes, and invite friends over for dinner when we had more summer squash than we could possibly eat on our own.

While the consistency and convenience of a CSA was a great way to ensure we were eating plenty of fresh produce each week, middle Tennessee has a lot of options if you want to eat local. You can shop our fabulous Farmer's Market seven days a week, take the kids directly to a farm, or even purchase local produce, fruit, meat and eggs from local grocery stores.

Not only is local food fresh, healthy and delicious, it is also a great way to support your community. The money you spend on food goes directly back into your local economy and provides an economic reason for those with open farmland and pastures to keep the space open. Eating local also has less of an environmental impact because less transportation means better air quality (this is why some choose local food over organic food from far away).

As a mom trying desperately to teach her son to enjoy healthy food (or, any food for that matter), I have to say my favorite reason for buying local is that you get a story behind your food. I love that you can actually shake hands with the farmer who planted and harvested your produce or take your child to a farm and watch them run up and down the rows of apple trees and meet the chickens who laid eggs for breakfast.

My hope is that someday this enthusiasm will give my child an appreciation that food comes from the earth, not the microwave. In the meantime, I'll continue to introduce fresh, healthy choices and be happy that while my son's hasn't started eating snap peas or strawberries straight from the bushel yet, at least his milk and graham crackers are organic.

What we've already written about Local Food
CSA: What is CSA?
CSA: How to Decide?
CSA: Why Participate?

Courtesy: Table Manners

Find out ways you can help your children be more courteous and have fun with it.

We try to eat dinner together most nights. It's a regular part of our family life that gives us time to connect. Some evenings the kids are rather raucous. There's hand grabbing, loud talking and occasional burping (followed by uproarious laughter, of course). My husband and I try to maintain our decorum because we know that what we permit at these family meals is sure to happen when we have guests or when we're at a restaurant. Much to our children's chagrin, we take every opportunity to teach them good table manners.

Quick Tip:
Why Are Family Mealtimes Important?

• Children who do not eat dinner with their families are 61 percent more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs. By contrast, children who eat dinner with their families every night of the week are 20 percent less likely to drink, smoke, or use illegal drugs. (Columbia News, CASA 2000 Teen Survey. Teens With "Hands-Off" Parents at Four Times Greater Risk of Smoking, Drinking, and Using Illegal Drugs as Teens With "Hands-On" Parents, last referenced 10/1/2002.)
  

• Teens who eat frequent family dinners are less likely than other teens to have sex at young ages, get into fights, or be suspended from school, and they are at lower risk for thoughts of suicide. (CASA. Why Family Day?, last referenced 9/1/2003.)
  

• By eating with your children, it is more likely that they will eat healthier foods and more balanced meals. (American Dietetic Association. Making the Most of Mealtime, last referenced 11/1/2002.)
  

• Dining together is a chance for parents and children to talk with one another.
  

• Parental influence and involvement is an important tool in preventing substance abuse. Regularly sitting down for a meal with your children is one way to connect with them and be involved with what is happening in their lives.
  

Information provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Check out the Family Guide for more information.

Definition:
Courtesy is thinking of others first; minding your manners.

Read:
Excuse Me!
by Lisa Kopelke

Talk:
In addition to saying excuse me, talk about some other rules of courtesy, such as chewing food with your mouth closed, waiting for a quiet moment to speak instead of interrupting someone, or wiping your mouth on your napkin instead of on your shirt. Be sure to give your children the reason for these rules of courtesy.

Act:
Practice table manners by staging a formal dinner. Use china, silver, and candles. Be sure to keep your napkins on your lap. Have fun!

About the Author:

Tamara Batarseh, Executive Director of Love In A Big World (LBW), is a singer/songerwriter/performer with over fifteen years of performance experience. She is co-founder of LBW and has been the creator of the organization’s programs and materials. Batarseh has recorded two albums, written LBW’s character education curriculum, trained LBW’s performers, and performed live for thousands of kids.

36 Hours as a Single Parent

Making use of advancements in Internet technology (Twitter, Jott and Hahlo), one parent chronicles a weekend without his better half.

Compost: Enhance Your Compost

Compost: Week Four

Compost is what comes as a result of some pretty amazing feeding patterns of hundreds of organisms. Insects, worms, bacteria and fungi come into this process and break down the products we put into our bins much like what happens in nature. In forests, jungles, and grasslands, plants die and through the circle of life go back into the Earth and continue the cycle.

In composting circles, the word humus may be heard. This is just a fancy name for mature compost. What this means, essentially, is that the organic materials in the soil mixture are broken down as far as they can. If maintained, it is said that this component of soil can stay unchanged for centuries. Pretty interesting.

This humus is the end goal we all want to reach when we start composting. This is the stuff we want to eventually be able to put into our gardens and flower beds to help nourish all our plants. Humus is our magnum opus - our great work.

As we previously mentioned, you can just gently manage your composting bin and still reap compost, but to accelerate and manage the process that takes place, there are some more things you can do. Speeding up the process helps to break everything down much faster, creating soil quicker and killing off any seed sprouts and diseased plants that may have made it in there.

Managing acidity levels is very important in managing an accelerated compost. Certain products bring more Nitrogen in the decomposition process, whereas others bring more Carbon (two essential components of healthy soil).

Here is a brief list of Nitrogen-adding components and some other details about the product. Many of these may already be on your list of items you compost. Keeping a good balance of each element is key to a healthy compost.

Algae, lake moss and seaweed are great for compost. They are all good nutrient sources.

Bird droppings should be used with caution, as they may contain seeds from weeds or diseased organisms. They are however good sources of Nitrogen.

Coffee ground and filters are great sources of Nitrogen. Worms especially like them and worms help to speed up the decomposition process.

Diseased plants provide nitrogen, however, if your pile is not hot enough the diseased organism may not be killed off. It is best to not use them.

Hair releases Nitrogen. Make sure to spread it out so it does not clump together.

Most animal manures are great for providing Nitrogen to your compost. Use manure from cows, horses, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens or rabbits. Mix really well with materials rich in Carbon to help break it down.

Sod can be used, but make sure that your compost is getting hot enough or the grass will continue to grow.

Weeds can be used, but make sure to dry them out in the sun first before putting them into your compost.

In the Series
Week One - Compost: Getting Started
Week Two - Compost: Winter Time
Week Three - Compost: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Cool Mom in the Community: Family Eats Local!

Come hear one mom's drive to eat local foods.

Want to feed your kids delicious food that is good for their health and so much more? Eat local!

There is something about starting a family that makes a girl want to stock the kitchen with nutritious food. It could be that I want to lead by example so my child will grow up fit and healthy. Or maybe I’ve just seen one too many Dr. Oz appearances on Oprah.

Either way, my ears automatically perk up when I hear anything about nutrition. The problem is we're completely bombarded with conflicting information. There are about 150,000 best ways to fight aging, lower cholesterol, lose weight, or feed your kids. Jumping from bandwagon to bandwagon eventually wore me out so I decided if I was going to be the one doing most of the grocery shopping and cooking, I should just come up with my own rules that make sense for my family and me.

Our plan is simple enough: we choose "real" foods that are processed as little as possible and try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. I read all the food labels at the grocery store and only buy things that don’t have high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oil. Because of this, we've started eating a lot more organic food (just try to find non-organic ketchup without high fructose corn syrup - I dare you!).

My husband and I adjusted easily enough but as of last spring our toddler's diet still consisted almost entirely of whole milk and graham crackers. Determined to introduce him to a variety of new, healthy foods, and intrigued by the claim that "local is the new organic," I signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share with Avalon Acres Farm in Hohenwald, Tennessee.


Come back next week for the second installment of Maggie's thoughts on Local Food.

What we've already written about Local Food
CSA: What is CSA?
CSA: How to Decide?
CSA: Why Participate?

Dependability: Tradition

Teach your children about dependability through family traditions.

The longer I live the shorter each year seems to be. What I treasure more than ever are the traditions that come during the passing seasons: visiting the pumpkin farm, trimming a tree, dying eggs, and hunting lightening bugs. The traditions are timeless; they ground me. They cause me to pause... to remember and to dream. Tradition isn't limited to holidays. It's a regular part of our lives, like pancake breakfast on Saturday mornings. It's a way for us to teach children what is important. Ask yourself, "What are some of our family traditions? What are these traditions teaching our children?"

Quick Tip:
According to Webster's Dictionary, tradition is "the handing down of beliefs and customs by word of mouth or by example without written instruction; an inherited pattern of thought or action."

Definition:
Dependability is being able to be counted on

Read:
The Paperboy
by Dav Pilkey

Talk:
Ask your children what traditions are important to them, and be sure to plan your family calendar to include these special events.

Act:
Start a new tradition, such as Donut Day, Monthly Service Project, or Family Movie Night.

About the Author:

Tamara Batarseh, Executive Director of Love In A Big World (LBW), is a singer/songerwriter/performer with over fifteen years of performance experience. She is co-founder of LBW and has been the creator of the organization’s programs and materials. Batarseh has recorded two albums, written LBW’s character education curriculum, trained LBW’s performers, and performed live for thousands of kids.

CSA: Why Participate?

Here are some reasons WHY to participate in CSAs.

Why CSA?

We have already talked about many of the benefits of working with local farms to purchase local foods. CSAs support our local community. When we purchase goods from locally run business, we are directly impacting growth in our own community.

Many farmers that have CSA programs also commit to working primarily with local distributors for their own supplies, so you are not only supporting the farm from which you are receiving your foods, but you are supporting more local businesses beyond them.

When we buy local, we are reducing the amount of carbon emissions needed to transport the food.

To know where my food came from, who grew it, the practices used and to be able to see the faces of the people who have plowed and tilled the land gives me a peace of mind. When I am not sure where something comes from and only have a sticker to say its origin I am not so sure. There's a sort of accountability that goes into it that I cannot really explain.

I am glad to know that my child is getting healthy, wholesome fruits and vegetables that are grown ethically. She is learning the value of community support and healthy habits from the same source.

Please share your CSA experiences with us. Over the next few months we will be talking more about local farming and local food.

Compost: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Compost: Week Three

The decision to make compost can come from many factors. Maybe you want nutrient-rich mulch to use instead of commercial fertilizers. Maybe you want to send as few items as possible into the landfills. Maybe all your friends are doing it and you want to be “cool” too. Whatever the reasoning, compost has many benefits. Here are just a few:

Compost is Cheap

Outside of the option to purchase a compost bin or other tools, you can spend no additional money to do it.

Save Energy

Most fertilizer producers require natural gas to run their machines and even the most energy-efficient manufacturers require energy to run their facility. By making this at home, you are helping to reduce that need.

Soil Aid

Compost is known to increase the soil’s water-holding abilities, structure and texture. It is also said to aid any type of soil - whether breaking up clay soil or retaining water in sandy soil. Compost dramatically improves soil’s fertility for healthy roots to grow.

Ease

Microorganisms that come from the natural decomposition process in composting release nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, which leaves little need for supplementation in your gardening.

Conserve Landfills

By placing items into your compost, you are reducing the amount of trash you send to the landfills. It is estimated that one-third of our landfill space is taken up by organic waste from our yards and kitchens. Instead of throwing items out, we have the opportunity to put them back into the Earth in an eco-friendly, safe way.

Family Time

You can bring in the entire family on the process. This is a safe activity that the entire family can be a part of. Each person can help hold each other accountable to the family decision to compost.

In the Series
Week One - Compost: Getting Started
Week Two - Compost: Winter Time

Finishing Up

Read about the true story of one single mother who wants to impact the lives of other single mothers. Her resolve is clear: In taking her free time to create a non-profit, she hopes to be able to provide a bit more free time for a group of women who certainly do not have it. Mary Cady Ford is definitely a Cool Mom!

Celebrated attorney and commentator Gloria Allred said:

On my college graduation day, I had a diploma in my hand, a baby on my hip. I was flat broke, recently divorced, and undecided about how to make my way in life. But feeling sorry for myself was a luxury I couldn't afford.

Something about the hectic pace of life seems to dictate that having too much free time is a likely candidate for an eighth deadly sin. We live in a world where we are continuously double-booked, over-worked, and starved for peace and quiet. I think it's interesting the section this article appears in is titles "All In A Day." Isn't it true that most of us really are struck with all this time management in a single day? A free afternoon in the park, an extra hour to be with those we love, or a scant five more minutes a day to read and relax seem like pipe-dreams in today's rushed society.

A few weeks ago when I told a friend over dinner that I was planning on starting a non-profit based upon a program I had just started at Vanderbilt, he shook his head and told me it was too much to take on. His concern over my time was certainly valid: I am a single mother attending graduate school and balancing a myriad of other responsibilities: sitting on committees, teaching aerobics classes, participating in Bible study, and cherishing time with friends. However, my resolve is clear. In taking my free time to create this non-profit, I hope to be able to provide a bit more free time for a group of women who certainly do not have it.

What started off as a way for me to give back to Vanderbilt University has become a program that has so warmly enriched my own life that I cannot help but be anxious to put it into place at other schools and dedicate my time to doing so. The inaugural chapter of Finished Up at Vanderbilt University exists to provide women who decide to become single mothers during their careers at Vanderbilt with the resources and support that they need to stay in school and finish their degrees. To that end, Finished Up provides avenues for financial assistance, psychological counseling, and medical care to these women as well as help with housing, childcare, and job placement.

When I became pregnant as a junior at Vanderbilt, I quickly discovered that I was an anomaly. In a day, I went from a typical sorority girl to an expectant mother, and this sudden change in my situation made for a difficult road ahead. I was unprepared for the sleepless nights, the self-doubt, the struggle to discover who I was and wanted to be, and the reality of full-time, 24/7 parenting.

What made my choice to become a single mother more unique was my desire to finish school at Vanderbilt. After all, I worked just as hard as the other students in my class to get in, and I was certainly willing to work just as hard to finish up.

I went on to graduate from Vanderbilt with my one year-old in tow, and I have since gone on to Vanderbilt Divinity School and I will graduate with a master's this May. It certainly would have been easier for me to quit school and find a job, but it would have been nowhere near as gratifying. Indeed, it will be easier for me to leave the program at Vanderbilt and move on. I know that women find themselves in the same situation that I did at schools across the country, and these women need to know that they are not alone. There is an incredible need for support to be in place for these talented women, and I hope Finished Up can help provide it.

As I reflect on my journey at Vanderbilt, I realize immediately that I want the next girl who finds herself pregnant and tempted to drop out of school or to move home to know that it is possible to finish up. She needs to know that it's been done. She needs to know that people care. She needs to know that she is not alone.

I am thrilled that Vanderbilt has so warmly welcomed the presence of Finished Up on their campus and can only hope that other colleges and universities will do the same.

About the Author:

Respect: Homeless Joe

Respect starts at home.

A few years ago, our family had a visitor - a homeless man named Joe. We had seen him around before, but this day was different. My husband didn't want to point him in the direction of the food line, he wanted to bring Joe home to our house for dinner. After he left, I realized that I had learned something from this wanderer: even though I don't have money to buy fancy presents, I can give something priceless through offering respect. Respect is taking time to say hello and shaking hands, calling a person by name, having a homeless man to my house for dinner.

Quick Tip:
Respect begins at home.
* Look kids in the eye when they are speaking to you.
* Recognize them for what they do right.
* Be there for their activities whenever you can - ball games, concerts, and recitals.
* Say thank you, even when they just did what they were supposed to do.
* Make family time a priority.

Definition:
Respect is valuing yourself and others.

Read:
Corduroy
by Don Freeman

Talk:
How do you show Respect for yourself? For your family members?

Act:
Talk about fingerprints. No two people have the same fingerprints. That's how special we are. Using paint, make handprint pictures. Put your name on it. Then have each family member write or draw something good about the person on his or her handprint.

About the Author:

Tamara Batarseh, Executive Director of Love In A Big World (LBW), is a singer/songerwriter/performer with over fifteen years of performance experience. She is co-founder of LBW and has been the creator of the organization’s programs and materials. Batarseh has recorded two albums, written LBW’s character education curriculum, trained LBW’s performers, and performed live for thousands of kids.

CSA: How To Decide?

Here are some tips of how to decide which CSA is best for your family.

Last week we talked about what Community Supported Agriculture is. This week we offer ways to decide which program is right for you.

How To Choose?

There are multiple factors that come into choosing a CSA program that works for your family. Here are the factors we took into account. Research what works best for you.

• Pick-Up Days, Times and Location
  Finding a pick-up that is most convenient to you and your family's life-style is really important. Many have various stops and a large schedule, while others have one stop per week.
  

• CSA Offerings
  Many CSAs offer only produce, but some also offer eggs, dairy, meat and flowers. Most likely you will end up eating something you have never had before participating in a CSA, but make sure that the offerings are conducive to what life-style and table your family is seeking.
  

• Price
  I have found that many CSAs are very reasonable when you take into consideration the entire cost that goes into transporting foods globally to get to our supper tables. When looking the prices for a CSA each week, I found that I would be spending about the same on produce at the store with a little more expense. The emissions that are put out to transport food from all over the world will be reduced when you buy local foods.
  

• Length Of Season
  There are many different season lengths, so find one that works best for your family and schedule.
  

• Reputation
  It is easy to find out a great deal about local farms when you ask. Talk with people in your community and see how involved each farm is in the community. I can walk right up to the farmers we work with and I am greeted with hugs and smiles. Make up your own mind about which farm works best for you.
  
  There may be other factors you take into consideration in choosing. Please let us know other ways you have chosen which farm to work with.
  
  Next week we will talk about the great benefits of CSAs.

Some Cool Moms We Met

Check out the Ultimate Blog Party 2008

We met some pretty amazing Moms at 5 Minutes for Mom. They offer some instructions for their Ultimate Blog Party 2008 which is from March 10-14. If you have a Mom Blog that you would like to share with this great organization, check them out. 5 Minutes For Mom allows moms who own their own business, run their own blog or have their own sites to list it for free on their site. 5 Minutes For Mom seeks to bring Moms the best in Blogging, Shopping, Parenting, and Entertainment.

We really like these ladies for many reasons. One of which is their ability and drive to feature Moms in the community and link them all to each other. You can check out some more Cool Moms In The Community and please share any Cool Moms you know!

Come back in a few weeks as we will highlight this site again with an exclusive interview of one of these great Cool Moms In The Community!

Compost: Winter Time

Compost: Week Two

Last week, I installed and started my compost. The entire process was easy and fun (since I have been wanting to do this for months). I continued to collect my items, cover them with leaves and agitate the mixture (making sure to keep the food wastes covered by leaves). I was impressed to see that there has been no odor or issues thus far.

Winter may not be the best time to start your compost, however, it is not an inopportune time. For example, beginning a winter compost lets you ease into it. There is not much work that has to be done beyond collecting your kitchen scraps and transporting them to the compost bin. Stirring is not required at this point, as there is not much moisture in the air and the decomposition process will be slowed dramatically. Since there's not much going on in the colder seasons, it is important to manage some other items to help prepare you for the spring and summer.

It's helpful to have a system for storing certain materials that you may need later. In the fall (and even now if you live in places that have not seen snow), collect leaves. You can store them in bags or even shred them down to place them in a 4'x4'x4' container. Since it is cold, not much will happen to the leaves and you will have them when the weather is more suitable for compost.

If you do decide you want to have compost throughout the winter, you must insulate and line the container you are using and place it in a sunny spot. The decomposition process will still be slow, but not so much that it stops almost entirely. At this level, make sure to keep the pile large so it sustains itself with the heat it traps in. It is also recommended to stack hay barrels around your bin to trap in as much heat as possible. The heat is what excellerates the process, so the more heat you can generate and maintain, the better.

If your winters are brutal (and in March you are still seeing blizzards) you may want to wait until spring to get started. Spring is a great time to start, with all the yard waste and grass clippings in abundance. Summer is prime for the decomposition process. As spring and summer come, we will offer more tips on how to maintain your compost in these warmer climates.

In the Series
Week One - Compost: Getting Started