BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE
OCEAN LAKES — Home gardeners can put away chemical fertilizers and enrich their soils naturally through composting, even if they have very limited space or don’t know how to begin.
That was the message given to residents of Ocean Lakes at a Saturday, March 25, presentation by members of Drishti Compost, a Virginia Beach-based nonprofit that’s on a mission to encourage backyard composting.
Composting is a good idea for two basic reasons, according to Drishti board member John Wilson and president Lily Clayman, who spoke during the presentation. First, it reduces food waste, and it enhances the soil, which makes urban and suburban gardening more productive.
“We want to take food scraps out of the landfill,” said Wilson, a farmer and consultant who has been composting for several years. Wilson, known as Farmer John, is a columnist with The Independent News.
A large amount of food that’s processed is thrown away, Wilson said, and as this discarded food breaks down in landfills anaerobically, it produces methane gases that contribute to pollution.
Composting also enriches the soil in a sustainable manner and makes small-scale farming and gardening more productive.
These problems can be overcome with a little know-how, Clayman added.
If a large compost pile doesn’t work for you, there are smaller compost tumblers with lids to keep out rodents or enclosed wooden composters that can be used in very limited space.
It’s also important to keep fats, meat scraps, and dairy products out of the compost because they do produce odors and attract rodents.
Composting requires a balance of nitrogen and carbon, sometimes referred to as “greens,” such as food waste and lawn clippings, and “browns,” including leaves, paper and cardboard.
It’s a good thing to do with junk mail, Clayman advised, but it’s also a good idea to wet or shred the paper and cardboard so that it will break down faster.
If you have too many green materials, your compost pile will become wet and slimy and likely have a bad odor, so make sure that you include more brown than green materials, Clayman and Wilson said. The compost should be moist to the touch, but if can actually wring water out of it, you need to add more brown materials.
If you prefer, you can also bury food scraps in a trench and cover them with topsoil, or you can buy red wiggler worms for vermicomposting.
The compost pile also needs to be turned frequently to keep the air circulating through it and to spread the heat throughout the pile. Once it’s broken down, it can be spread on gardens or flower beds or used along with potting mixture in container gardening.
Drishti organized in 2022, and its board members hope to host more community events such as the recent event at Ocean Lakes, Wilson said.
They also work with local schools that want to begin school gardens — and they aim to build a 20-acre composting facility.
In addition to Clayman and Wilson, Jake Wareing, owner of Wareings Gym and GoJuice Bar, and Tommi Long, owner of the Collective & Contravan, also serve on the board of directors.
Clayman, who is chief owner of The Coop Food Trucks, said that the idea for Drishti came because she, Wareing and Long wanted to recycle food scraps and Wilson had the expertise to help them do it.
Now, they want to help others learn to compost, and Ocean Lakes residents responded with interest.
“I am interested in trying to make it work on a small scale because I live in a condo,” said Natasha Clanton. “It was definitely very interesting, and it was good to see people from the community.”
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