International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry. It is celebrated during the first full week of May

Throughout the week of ICAW, community and business events are held in a countries across the world to encourage and celebrate composting. All types of composting – from backyard to large-scale are promoted. Events include tours of compost facilities, school gardening programs, compost workshops, lectures by a well-known gardening expert, compost give-away days. To learn more about how you can get involved with ICAW or plan an event in your community, click here to read the Celebrate ICAW Manual.

UK

Master Composters, Allotment Societies  and others will be organising events over the country during the week. Details of the theme do not appear to have been published yet but the for most of us the aim is topromote composting  provide support for local composters. Details of the events at Stokes Wood allotment Leicester will be published in future blogs. Sessions for Leicestershire  schools can be arranged by contacting carryoncomposting1@gmail.com

INTERNATIONAL COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK AUSTRALIA

Better Soil, Better Life, Better Future

 International Compost Awareness Week Australia (ICAW), is a week of activities, events and publicity to improve awareness of the importance of  compost, a valuable organic resource and to promote compost use, knowledge and products. We can compost to help scrap carbon pollution by avoiding landfilling organic materials and helping to build healthier soils.

ICAW Australia is an initiative of the Centre for Organic Research & Education (CORE), a not-for-profit organisation conducting year round organic research, education and awareness activities.

USA

 The USA theme for this year is Cool the Climate - Compost!. The meaning behind this year’s theme is that there are many ways to help reduce our carbon footprint and reduce climate change  and adding compost to the soil is one means of doing this.

The ICAW Committee is looking for an individual (or team of individuals) in each state, who is willing to lead International Compost Awareness Week in their home state. It's easy to be involved, especially if you are already celebrating ICAW! If you are interested or need more details, contact Beth Simone, bethsimone@compostfoundation.org

Work is continuing in preparing the Stokes Wood,  Allotment Demonstration site in Leicester. Most of the old raised beds have been removed at the  layout of the bins has more or less been decided. 

We will have two Reception bins at the entrance for green waste from the allotment plots. With  4 or 5 working pallet bins for hot composting the waste.  The Hotbins, Jora  and Green Johanna will be opposite near the entrance from the pavilion. A line of conventional domestic bins along the path to the shed will show cold composting techniques  and what can go wrong! Tumbler bins, including a Mantis, will  be situated near the shed and the wormeries. Towards the back of the plot the will be an area showing soaking methods of making compost and  plant teas with a raised bed demonstration initially showing compost and comfrey teas in use.

 Fermented, or plant, teas are typically produced by soaking un-decomposed plant materials inun-chlorinated  water for two or three week and provide a natural  source of plant nutrients and an alternative to chemical fertilisers and pesticides  which may  harm insects, wildlife, plants and the soil. The www.carryoncomposting.com web page on plant feeds has been updated and now includes information on

Comfrey Tea

Comfrey is the most popular of these teas and we would recommend all composters to make it to supplement their composting and compost teas. Comfrey is a good source of potassium and nitrogen. Comfrey tea promotes the development of flowers and fruit and is best applied once the first flowers have set. It is recommended for use on tomatoes and peppers.

The most common method of making comfrey tea  involves soaking the leaves in water but this is the method that produces the famous stinking liquid feed. A barrel or tub is quarter filled with comfrey leaves  topped up with water and allowed to stand for 3 to 5 weeks. To make a good concentrated fertilizer the leaves should be pressed down into the container by a weight of top such as a brick of broken paving slab. Use a container with a lid to contain the smell.

Concentrated comfrey tea

Concentrated Comfrey tea has the advantage of not smelling anywhere near as much as the dilutes version. I recommend that it is made using a drainage pipe fitted with an end cap through which a single drainage hole has been drilled. Comfrey leaves are compressed in the pipe using a plastic bottle filled with sand or water or a sparkling wine bottle which is heavier and more fun to empty before use in the tube.

Dandelion Tea

Dandelions  can be eaten  in the early spring, the green buds can be eaten, and the opened blossoms used for jelly and the larger leaves dried to make a drink but to most of us they are a weed. But they are a weed that can be turned into a liquid plant feed with the remaining sludge being compostable.

Horsetail Tea

 Horsetail can be a nuisance on allotments as it is difficult to eradicate and while some might  want to grow it as medical or cosmetic herb it should be remembered that the next occupant of the plot will have inherited a problem or a very persistent weed. I advocate banning the deliberate cultivation, horsetail tea can form part of an eradication programme when the plant is present
Horsetail is high in silica and a when soaked to make a tea which, is said, to coat the leaves of treated plants producing a fungicide and protect against blackspot, mildew and mint rust. 

The plants need to be fully submerged under the water so  are best put in a sack or an old vegetable net  pinned down with a large stone or to suspend it in a submerged weighted bag .  Regular stirring is recommended. The fermentation process can range from  10 days to 3 weeks, depending on the ambient temperature. During fermentation the mixture will produce gas which will  bubble on the surface. Once the bubbling has stopped the  it has finished bubbling the liquid can be strained and used.

Nettle Tea

Cut young nettles to about 5cm above soil level. Crush the leaves by scrunching the stems in gloved hands or by placing them on a freshly mown lawn and using a mower to chop them.

Put the crushed nettles into a bucket,  weigh down with a brick and  cover with water. Use about a half a standard bucket full (about one kilogram) of leaves to 10 litres of water. Allow to soak for 2 - 4 weeks. Stir occasionally.  

 Seaweed Plant Feed

Seaweed is a good  source of  potassium,  up to 12%, and trace elements but it is  low in nitrogen and phosphate. spraying is said to increase resistance to insect infestation. 

 To make a liquid seaweed brew soak the seaweed for about two months. It turns  brown as it decomposes and will produce a fishy smell when being used.

Work has stopped  on thenew  Compost Demonstration plot at Stokes Wood allotment for Christmas (and because of rain) but the food compost bins are now grouped together ready to be giving slab bases.

We have two Hotbins, a Jora 125 and Green Johanna. The photo also shows a Green Cone  which will be dug in during January. It is hoped that the four of the bins will deal with food waste form the café and that second of the Hotbins can be dedicated to producing compost  for making Compost Tea.

We would appreciate receiving recommendations as to the best small Aerated  Tea Brewing equipment to supplement our Tea bucket soaking demonstration

All compost bins and heaps produce leachate. This is the liquid that seeps from the decomposing organic material and can be a significant pollutant when composting is undertaken on a commercial scale. The chemical and physical nature of the compost leachate is of importance as the leachate can migrate into underlying soils and groundwater, and can flow as runoff polluting ditches, ponds and streams.

 Normally this is not a problem with domestic compost bins as relatively little leachate is produced and the liquid will be absorbed by the soil under and around the bin. It has been estimated that the total for a year using a modern basic plastic bin is in the region of twenty-four litres. The majority of commercially available wormeries have a reservoir with a drainage tap allowing the liquid, often described as worm wee to be collected. This is often referred to as worm wee and is used as a liquid fertilizer. 

Food scraps and garden waste all carry bacteria, fungi and parasites and may also become contaminated during decomposition in the heap or bin by the faeces of rats, birds etc. The types and potential pathogenicity of the microorganisms present in the compost and leachate will vary with the contents being composted at any time. Manure and waste meat being high risk source ingredients. Normally such pathogens will be destroyed by competition from other materials in the bin and by the heat during hot composting. Faecal bacteria such as E. coli in compost are a potential health risk if they contaminate vegetables that will be eaten without adequate washing and cooking.

A new www.carryoncomposting.com page on leachate looks at potential problems associated with leachate,  the contents of leachate and its use as a liquid feed. A revised page on Liquid Feeds is to be published soon.