Compost or contribute to life with our daily waste

Kalimera!

As promise, I will today explore a very important topic when it come the gardening, agriculture and ecologic behaviors, compost. We will define what it is, what it is useful for and put a first foot into the invisible world of micro organisms and life cycle.

Forest humus

What do we call compost ?

A smooth and educative start

Gardening compost

The compost is the result of composting. It's a natural process that transform organics wastes into fertile amendment. Plants will use it as a base to feed. What we call compost in agriculture is a mimic of humus. Humus is compost in its natural

state.

Organic waste are divided in three parts :

• Humid ( green ): peelings, green herbs, fruits, vegetables..

  Humid because is still a lot of water inside those waste. They are a huge contribution of azote, potassium and phosphor.

  
  

• Dry waste ( brown ) : wood, dead leaf and branch..

  Dry because almost all the water as been dry out the wastes. Those wastes are the major contribution of carbon.

• Manure or animals dropping ( black ): Those waste are very important even if a compost can be without them. Manure will contribute in azote and as they are already decompose by animal's digestive systems will accelerate and enrich the composting process.

The composting process need the action of the sun, water, air ( oxygen ) and micro-organisms ( decomposers ).

• The Sun : UV's will break the molecule's bonds and raise the temperature to promote the biologic activity. It's a bit like when we cook our food so it become

  easier to eat. And this is why I don't like opaques composting bins.

Opaque composting bin

• Water : Water will hydrate the organic matter so it can became an actual shelter for life and favorite the raise of mushrooms and bacteria. A compost to humid is not good because it will be colonized with "bad" mushrooms, mold. Mold is not a bad thing in itself in a compost, its normal and is a sign of decomposition. The problem is that those mushrooms emit toxic spores. This is why in northern areas enclosed compost bin's are privileged.

  
  

• Air : The compost use alive organism to be created. They need oxygen to survive and space to move inside the compost.

• Micro-organism : They are the working forces of composting. Bacteria, mushrooms and micro-fauna( worms, insect..) will eat the humid and dry waste to grow and like almost every organisms, have dejection. Those defections are the very fertile soil plants can feed into. This is the compost.

Epigeic earthworm

Gross? You look the wrong way

It's when I get angry

This process cannot be replaces with some technical solution. This is an non-optional if we plan to continue to eat. We cannot see it or them transforming organic waste into fertile soil who itself feed the very plant we eat to survive (and give us breathable air), carnivore are concerned too since what they eat must eat plant at some point, but we owe them everything.

It doesn't matter who we are in this society or this planet, we need worms, bacteria and mushrooms to survive. Composting is giving them a place to live among us so we don't have to fertilized our food with chemicals that destroy lands to be produces and poisons us. Our most privileged citizens won't eat the product of the industrial agriculture they finance, they will buy local and without chemical fruits and vegetable (meat's not better but not my subject) . The natural process of compost give the soil all nutriments plants can and need to adsorb and us after. With the petrol-chemical mass production agriculture who feed the plant without amending (feeding the soil) first, we give plant the minimum so they can grow ( they are F1 hybrid, they won't reproduce anyway :) ). The minimum ! + poisonous insecticides as a gift. This way we can only obtain plants without nutriments. Don't be fooled, we are famished with a fulfilled stomach and it won't get better any soon.

We don't suffer from hunger, so far and because we are born with privileges, but we grow weak bodies that cannot support us very far. Along with plastics, chemical and other, I don't give us long to live.

So let's compost, let's grow garden and feed ourself along with our children and everyone we love. And if you can't do it tomorrow help those who try. We can repay with actual food.

So I've done the job. You now know better what compost is ( for the personal class you may come at Karatazou park's school garden every morning in working days) and I feel no guilt to do the usual laïus/spiel about our sweet economic system.

Let's compost the rich

While writing these article I kinda lose a bit a sense doing it. I mostly write these to improve my personal writing and popularization skills but I feel a paradox and uselessness to talk about composting in a concrete area. We can grow gardens in our cities. It can't arm anyone and will surely benefits many; but don't we blind ourself to much, we are not in the early 2000, we wont see any smooth transition.

Family gardening, Île-de-France, 1930-1940.

Gardening and agriculture in our european cities are a niche topic mostly rich, high cultivated and privileged people care about. Working class is the first social group to ever built garden in cities. Initiated at the end of the 19th century to improve the living conditions of workers to promote social diversity, inter-generational connections, and food self-sufficiency in a natural and convivial setting.

But as the working class jobs move from factories to offices, workers habits changed to. To work whit nice clothes and in warm places lead us to think and categorize ourself closer to the upon working class, managers and corporate executive. We indeed have seen an education and work condition improvement after WW2. Unfortunately those "glorious thirty" didn't last and we now see those same work an education conditions dropping.

In fact, in opposition with the class-rising we observed in those not so glorious years we now can notice a downgrade. The education is still a bit rising (not in quality) but salaries and work condition are getting lower and lower over the years. You have to trust me on this one I'm no journalist to provide sources.

And what upon working class don't do ? They do not bother with promoting social diversity, inter-generational connections, and food self-sufficiency in a natural and convivial setting :). Or if they do, it will be with the condition it doesn't threaten their privileges.

We have been lead to abandon what gave us actual power and weapons to emancipate and organize the class conflict, food self-sufficiency. The conquest of bread - Pierre Kropotkin 1892

Now that I've introduce you to an actual writer, activist and ecologist, I'll enjoy the garden I've the privilege ( poor vocabulary compensated with bad jokes) to work in and wish you the most beautiful and composted life.

Balance_Rng writing for Artivia's ̶m̶a̶g̶a̶z̶i̶n̶e̶ blog.