Community

Baldwinites learn composting in the garden

Posted

Gardening enthusiasts joined Nassau County Legislator Debra Mulé at the Baldwin Community Garden on Saturday, June 11 to learn how to reduce household waste and naturally enrich their soil during “Composting with Cornell” - a free workshop presented in partnership with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County. The mission of extension is to enable people to improve their lives and communities through partnerships that put experience and research knowledge to work.

During the event, attendees learned the basics about backyard composting, a process which converts certain approved leftover food scraps, unwaxed paper goods, coffee grinds, and much more into compost that can be used to enrich garden soil with valuable nutrients.

Online Cornell writes on their website that, “Unlike commercially made fertilizers, often formulated with just the macronutrients of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (NPK), compost made from a wide variety of garden trimmings and food scraps also contains many micronutrients like iron and manganese, which are essential to strong plant development. Compost holds and releases nutrients slowly, for more even uptake over the life of the plant.”

“Not only is composting an all-natural way to beautify our gardens without using chemicals, but it is also an easy way to reduce the amount of household waste that we generate in our homes,” legislator Mulé said. “Thank you to everyone who joined us for this hands-on educational experience at the Baldwin Community Garden - a wonderful place to learn and enjoy a beautiful sunny morning.”

For more detailed information on composting such as how to start, benefits, the science behind it and more please visit ccenassau.org/resources.