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Edible Garden Maestro John Lyons Talks Composting and Vermiculture at Arboretum

Don't panic if you're behind on winter ornamental garden chores. Seize the sunny day to prepare a compost or worm bin.

Spring may have skipped right past us this year.  In the blur of rainy months that preceded mid-January’s 80-degree balm, many gardeners have been derailed from usual dead of winter tasks.  Roses and rosemary yet unpruned, tomato seeds not yet started indoors, citrus unfertilized, fava beans unplanted?   Edible garden designer John Lyons, of The Woven Garden, has some other ideas on how you might want to spend garden time.

Saturday at the Arboretum, Lyons tended a capacity-seating class on composting and vermiculture.  They’re easier than you might think.  According to Lyon’s description of “cold” compost, those of us who don’t even rake up all the leaves from the Chinese elm are already doing it. 

A self-described farmer with “big farmer hands,” Lyons promotes the life that goes on in the soil naturally. Lyons is a knowledgeable, longhaired fellow who installed a fanciful, lush garden for the 2009 LA Garden Show.  

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As if that’s not enough of a pedigree for SoCal organic gardening circles, he’s also a native of western Ireland (good), has a background in theatre (better), and runs information-packed classes on pesticide and herbicide-free gardening (best). Sierra MadrePatch.com attended his composting and vermiculture, worm bins to you, class at the Arboretum’s Bamboo Room. “Bamboo Room” always makes me think fondly of Trader Vic’s, but, sadly, no blended drinks with little umbrellas were provided.

Lyons did serve up two hours of intoxicating hows and whys to DIY compost. The how was a new and improved version of soils science class.  Carbon and nitrogen proportions were covered, making bins or making trenches, making leaf mold in heavy garbage bags, detecting aerobic (good) and anaerobic (not the end of the world) conditions, site selection (shady corner). 

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The whys include tilth, that lovely crumbly, spongy soil that occurs only when organic matter is present.  Add organic matter, improve the soil structure.  Soil with good tilth retains water better, so you don’t have to use as much.  The simple version is this: green and brown material (nitrogen and carbon) are eaten by microorganisms, which change the material into nutrient rich compost.   

“Hot” compost is alternating layers of green and brown material and native soil, sprinkled with water in between each layer. No meat nor dairy can go in, but add kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, and bury excess fruit from your citrus grove in the center of the pile so rodents don’t sniff it out. 

“Cold” compost is a process in which leaves are spread in a moistened pile, and left alone.  Cold takes about six months, and requires zero human input. 

Another why is compost is a natural fertilizer.  Leaves and grass clippings can provide much, if not all, of the nutrition a garden needs. Which saves money and trips to the big box store to buy fertilizer. 

Lyons explained composting in terms of a circular process. Leaves from a branch drop to the ground, are eaten by tiny soil dwellers, whose compost and waste then feeds the plant roots which then produces more leaves.

The last section of class was devoted to vermiculture and various types of worm bins.  Red Wigglers, Eisenia foetida, are our BFFs for worm bins.  These are specialty worms, not common earthworms, and can be purchased from breeders online.

Vermiculture converts garden materials and kitchen scraps into nutrient rich “castings,” or worm poo.  Dairy and meat are too difficult for these tiny herbivores to digest. The occasional bit of pasta with oil and Parmesan won’t kill them, but pineapple and citrus will.  Too acidic.  Red wigglers love high sugar content foods, such as melons, bananas, apples and pumpkin. 

Line your bin with plenty of newspaper, moisten it with a spray bottle, and make sure the worms have air holes and sheltered corner inside their bin to retreat to.  That is, don’t spread the food out all over the place.  If they are too hot or cold or stressed, they need a place to squirm to.  Lyons partitions his bin into quadrants and rotates the food section each week.  Keep your bin in a protected area at a stable, comfortable temperature out of direct sun.

Everyone who eats food needs to sign up for a John Lyons’ class. His next local session is at Descanso Gardens, February 12.  “Backyard Chickens and Bees” is appropriate for children but geared to adults.  Even if you plan on raising neither chickens, bees nor children, you will come away with some useful information about food, animal husbandry, and soil and water management, for tossing around at your next cocktail party.

For more information on John Lyons’ designs visit www.thewovengarden.com.

 Backyard Chickens and Bees, Descanso Gardens, February 12, 2011 10AM to 12noon.  $25 for non-members, $15 for members.  Advance registration required.  (818) 949.7980.

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