Lecture

• Joe Van Rossum, formerly UW-Extension Natural Resources Educator
• Doug Soldat, Associate Professor, Soil Science, UW-Madison, presenting Soil Microorganisms
• Advanced Composting Playlist
• Note: Playlist consists of 10 videos ranging from ~8-15 minutes in length and should be watched in order.

Activity: Finding Supplemental Materials Locally

Occasionally composters may look for free or inexpensive sources of compostables to increase the variety of materials in their pile or to ensure sufficient amounts of materials to meet either carbon or nitrogen requirements.  Locate one source of materials readily available in your area.  (Note: We are not asking for you to find a source of compost. We want you to find where you can get the raw materials to put into a compost pile.)  You will need to find out the following information: type of material, the quantities available and when, contact information and cost if applicable. Consider stores, riding stables, farms, orchards, beauty salons, and sawmills, among numerous others  possibilities.  You can ask around, make phone calls or email- whatever makes you comfortable.

Once you’ve found a source, complete this form with as much information as you can.  When the course is completed in October, we’ll compile the information and send back to you a document that contains all the resources you and your fellow MGVs found, sorted by your region.  This way, you’ll have a starting place if you are in need of composting materials!

Please note: You can still earn the credit for doing this activity if you make an inquiry and it turns out that they do not have available materials.  (After all, you still made the call and found out!)  You will still need to fill out the form, but under “Type of Material”, please type “Unavailable”.  Of course, we hope you will persist and try to find another source that does have available materials, but we want to recognize the effort you are making!

Extra Stuff

• Master Composter Home Study Guide
• US Composting Council
• The Wisconsin DNR’s Composting site– this contains tons of great links at the bottom, including the composting rules and regulations in Wisconsin
• Composting and Mulching, University of Minnesota Extension
• The Soil Food Web
• Making and Using Compost Teas webinar