Home: Table of Contents

Unit 1: Soil

Unit 2: Organic Soil Management

Unit 3: Plants

Unit 4: Plant Applications

Unit 5: Crop Management

Unit 6: Composting

Unit 7: Marketing and Certification

Unit 8: Practical Applications

Appendix

Fundamentals of Organic Farming and Gardening
An Instructor’s Guide - Revised for 2009

Unit 6 – Composting

Unit overview
Composting is a result of managing soil organisms to more rapidly break down residual materials to produce humus.  Addition of compost to the planting bed enhances soil life and makes more nutrients available to the plant.

Lesson Text (word doc)
Lesson Plans (word doc)

Teacher Demonstrations
Show a handful of compost – pass it around

Student Experiments and Activities
1. Vermicomposting (word doc)
2. Building a compost pile – hot (word doc)
3. Building a  compost pile – cold (word doc)
4. Brewing compost tea (word doc)
5. Composting alternatives (word doc)

Power Point Presentations
Unit power point presentation (ppt)
           
Other Resources
A short video clip on making a compost pile can be downloaded