Review: The Complete Compost Gardening Guide
https://www.bookpleasures.com/websitepublisher/articles/226/1/Review-The-Complete-Compost-Gardening-Guide-/Page1.html
Allan Becker
Reviewer Allan Becker: Allan has been designing and planting flower gardens, since he was a teenager in the 1960's. Now retired from the soft goods industry, where he held several positions in design, product development, and marketing, he has turned his passion for gardening into a second career, as a garden designer for private clients in Montreal, Canada.
In spring and summer, he provides his assistants, most college students, who transform his designs into flower gardens. In winter, he reviews books on garden-related topics for Bookpleasures.com and writes a Gardening Blog.
Allan earned a B.A. from McGill University, followed by two years of studies in design at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia). He lives in the Montreal suburb of Cote St. Luc, Quebec with his wife and travels regularly to Toronto and Boston to visit his children and grandchildren.
By Allan Becker
Published on January 1, 2009
Author: Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin
Publisher: Storey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-58017-702-3: ISBN: 978-1-58017-703-0
The hedgehog that lives in my back yard has let me know, in his own way, that purchasing a compost bin with a ground level opening is not a good idea. He already eats everything tasty in my garden, so access to compostable kitchen scraps will only create a feast for him and a mess for me.
Author: Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin
Publisher: Storey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-58017-702-3: ISBN: 978-1-58017-703-0
The hedgehog that lives in my back yard has let me know, in his own way, that purchasing a compost bin with a ground level opening is not a good idea. He already eats everything tasty in my garden, so access to compostable kitchen scraps will only create a feast for him and a mess for me. The solution would be to invest in a rotary compost bin that prevents animals from climbing inside. Not a good idea! While I would like to do my part to save the planet, spending a lot of money on equipment contradicts the idea of going green.
That is why the arrival of this book on my doorstep was so welcome. It only took the reading of a few pages to realize that there are many ways to compost without spending a lot of money. At first glance, I thought that this publication was targeting the commercial farmer, but on closer inspection, I discovered that this book has so much to offer the recreational gardener as well.
What I like best about this book is the scholarly method with which the subject of composting is introduced and expanded upon, in incremental sub topics, until the totality of the subject has been examined. The essential message in this publication is that anyone’s back yard or farm can easily become a “compost- generating system” by simply following a few steps to create the right environment for organic matter to break down.
The first three chapters discuss the fundamentals by reviewing the science of composting, the tools needed and the materials that are helpful. Then the book gets really interesting when the various techniques of composting are discussed. In this section, we are introduced to four methods of composting. Here is where we personalize the book, by selecting the procedure or procedures that best suit our landscape, our skills and our needs. Farmers with large quantities of waste vegetation may opt for one process while the weekend gardener might choose another.
The first method is called “banner batches”. This is composting that takes place in heaps or enclosures. The second method is referred to as “comforter compost and grow heaps” This is a labor saving procedure that requires one to simply pile garden waste in layers, moisten and allow nature to do the rest. The next method discussed is called underground composting. In this procedure, holes in the ground are filled with organic material and then covered with earth, and allowed to decompose. The last method is called ‘vermicompost” which uses worms to convert waste into compost.
The final section of the book discussed how plants can interact with compost by growing in or near a compost heap. Some plants are enriched by growing close by and some plants enrich the heap itself by growing in it. In all, fifteen plants are recommended, each one being suitable for one of the four composting methods discussed in the book
While composting is a science, at no point in the book does the writing become technical. The publication is written for the layperson in a friendly and easy-to –read style. It almost makes the reader feel that we are visiting the authors on a farm and learning from them as they go about their work.
Author: Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin
Publisher: Storey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-58017-702-3: ISBN: 978-1-58017-703-0
The hedgehog that lives in my back yard has let me know, in his own way, that purchasing a compost bin with a ground level opening is not a good idea. He already eats everything tasty in my garden, so access to compostable kitchen scraps will only create a feast for him and a mess for me.
Author: Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin
Publisher: Storey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-58017-702-3: ISBN: 978-1-58017-703-0
The hedgehog that lives in my back yard has let me know, in his own way, that purchasing a compost bin with a ground level opening is not a good idea. He already eats everything tasty in my garden, so access to compostable kitchen scraps will only create a feast for him and a mess for me. The solution would be to invest in a rotary compost bin that prevents animals from climbing inside. Not a good idea! While I would like to do my part to save the planet, spending a lot of money on equipment contradicts the idea of going green.
That is why the arrival of this book on my doorstep was so welcome. It only took the reading of a few pages to realize that there are many ways to compost without spending a lot of money. At first glance, I thought that this publication was targeting the commercial farmer, but on closer inspection, I discovered that this book has so much to offer the recreational gardener as well.
What I like best about this book is the scholarly method with which the subject of composting is introduced and expanded upon, in incremental sub topics, until the totality of the subject has been examined. The essential message in this publication is that anyone’s back yard or farm can easily become a “compost- generating system” by simply following a few steps to create the right environment for organic matter to break down.
The first three chapters discuss the fundamentals by reviewing the science of composting, the tools needed and the materials that are helpful. Then the book gets really interesting when the various techniques of composting are discussed. In this section, we are introduced to four methods of composting. Here is where we personalize the book, by selecting the procedure or procedures that best suit our landscape, our skills and our needs. Farmers with large quantities of waste vegetation may opt for one process while the weekend gardener might choose another.
The first method is called “banner batches”. This is composting that takes place in heaps or enclosures. The second method is referred to as “comforter compost and grow heaps” This is a labor saving procedure that requires one to simply pile garden waste in layers, moisten and allow nature to do the rest. The next method discussed is called underground composting. In this procedure, holes in the ground are filled with organic material and then covered with earth, and allowed to decompose. The last method is called ‘vermicompost” which uses worms to convert waste into compost.
The final section of the book discussed how plants can interact with compost by growing in or near a compost heap. Some plants are enriched by growing close by and some plants enrich the heap itself by growing in it. In all, fifteen plants are recommended, each one being suitable for one of the four composting methods discussed in the book
While composting is a science, at no point in the book does the writing become technical. The publication is written for the layperson in a friendly and easy-to –read style. It almost makes the reader feel that we are visiting the authors on a farm and learning from them as they go about their work.