Green Kitchen: Mother Earth Invites Us to Be Farmers
Translated from an article in the 3rd Quarter 2022 issue of No Tan Lejos del Horizonte. It is a synthesis of the zoom conferences presented by Santos Vásquez, student of Agronomic Sciences at Da Vinci University: Organic Agriculture and Compost Bins. To read the original article, go to NTLH 3rd Quarter 2022, Page 10.
What do I do with my vegetable and fruit peels? Santos, a technician at the Santa María Farm in Pajapita, San Marcos, Guatemala, tells us, “Don’t throw them away!!! Don't create more trash! Recycle them! Make compost!”
You will contribute to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases by reducing the organic waste in your home by 50 percent. Collecting and burying it will improve soil water retention and the delivery of nutrients to the plants. The soil and roots will regain their fertility. It will save you from buying fertilizers and chemical amendments.
Return to the ground what is from the ground
By recycling your vegetable waste, you contribute to the soil and to healthy plants. Organic agriculture sustains the health of our Common Home because it establishes relationships of equity between the soil, animals, plants, people, and the planet as one and indivisible.
Composting is a technique used for centuries by people, especially women, to fertilize crops naturally because it provides beneficial nutrients to plants, promoting healthy growth.
Composter bins, also called composters, are containers with the necessary characteristics to carry out the process of decomposing plant materials to form compost. Compost is formed by the microbial degradation of materials arranged in layers and subjected to a decomposition process.
Materials needed for the compost bin:
1. Black earth or brush for the first 10cm of the surface layer.
2. Organic remains separated from the rest of your waste and placed in a container.
3. Mature material that is thick, green, and semi-woody: dry garden leaves (important in establishing a carbon/nitrogen ratio for proper decomposition); banana leaves, mango, sugar cane; fruit, citrus or nut tree trimmings; tea, coffee; Christmas trees, shrubs, withered grass, wood ash, sawdust; eggshells.
4. Immature material: leftover fruit and vegetables that are almost ripe, walnut shells, eggs, coffee, bread, garden plants. Do not use: bones, meat, dairy, spicy food, pet excrement, or excess citrus. The wet to dry ratio should be 2:1.
5. Manure of chickens, rabbits, pigs, cattle, goats, or sheep. The value of these manures is that they add gases, bacteria, and sufficient nitrogen to the compost. It is preferable to use manure from herbivorous animals, because the others can create bacteria and other dangerous pathogens.
6. Instead of manure, you can add fungi that are not co-mixed, molasses, or brown sugar; sweetness helps the compost ferment better, attracts beneficial microorganisms, and better hydrates the degradation activity.
Creating the Pile:
1. Carefully loosen the soil in the place where you will build the pile up to 20 to 30 cm. depth (depends on the instrument you prefer to use).
2. Layer like this: immature materials 3-1 cm to allow the pile to breathe and drain without compacting.
3. Then ripe materials: 5 cm of corn cane, banana leaves, or mango leaves. Wet the pile until the material becomes moist.
4. Then 2.5-5 cm or earth. Water it well. The soil is very important as it helps to stabilize the humidity and temperature levels of the pile and inoculates it with microorganisms. The material becomes wet.
5. Intersperse the organic remains, the dry material, and a little earth. The compost should be located in a place that does not have much sun. It can also be done in the garden, interspersing dry and wet material; when the pile is 1 to 1.5 meters, cover it with 3 cm. of soil and water it. After two weeks, remove the pile every ten days.
6. Every two or three days, stir the compost bin or pile with a shovel, to promote oxygenation. If it is dry or has many ants, moisten it with water and add wet material. If it is too wet, add dry material. The ideal humidity is when small droplets of water fall when squeezed. The temperature of the compost bin will rise at first because the microorganisms are working and thus killing the pathogens. If the temperature rises a lot, beware! The beneficial microorganisms will begin to die, so it is important to renew the compost.
7. After three months, the fertilizer is ready. It will be dark in color, with no visible debris, and a rich, leafy soil odor. If there are still organic remains in some parts, what is ready can be used and the rest returns to the compost bin, to start again.
So, happily, I have prepared my compost!
The Moon will help me find the right time to sow!
Phases of the Moon
New Moon:
· Lunar phase in which the moon does not reflect light and is not visible from Earth. It is hidden between the earth and the sun, its rays diminish.
· In this phase the flow of the sap descends and is concentrated in the root. A stage of rest, this time is usually used to maintain the crop and tend to composting, pruning, and removing weeds.
· Because the effects of the moon are concentrated in the roots of the plants, it is a perfect time to plant vegetables that grow underground.
· This is an unfavorable period for growing; the most beneficial task is weeding.
First Quarter:
· In this phase the sap flow begins to ascend and is concentrated in stems and branches.
· This period is ideal for planting plants that grow tall and bear fruit: tomato, pepper, corn, broad beans. This phase generates a fertility dynamic.
· The growth of green manures is stimulated, and all plants must be sown (except those with premature flowers—flowering that occurs before their time, before they can be harvested, which must be sown on the waning moon), preferably two days before the full moon.
Full Moon:
· Lunar phase that happens when our planet is located exactly between the Sun and the Moon. It may be the most spectacular phase of all—you can see the entire face of the illuminated moon forming a complete circle.
· In this phase, the sap moves upwards and accumulates in stems and leaves, so the leaves of the plant develop faster, but the sap is no longer concentrated in the roots, so they grow at a slower rate.
· It is the ideal time to harvest fruits and leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, nightshade, amaranth, etc...
· It is the most appropriate time to harvest, turn the compost and sow fruit plants.
Last Quarter:
· Lunar phase in which the visible surface of the moon from our planet is decreasing. You can see a semicircle shape that is descending.
· In this phase the sap begins to go down and accumulate in the root, so this phase is ideal for planting root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, potatoes, peanuts, cassava, taro, cucumber, radish...
· Continue the activities started during the full moon.
On behalf of the Guatemala Chapter and Latin America Chapters, we thank Santos for presenting the two Zoom conferences on organic agriculture, composting, and lunar phases. Thank you for taking the time to share this experience and encourage us to be farmers in our environment. Definitely, you have helped make it possible to get closer to Mother Earth and the care of Our Common Home.
Santa Vásquez: “It was a pleasure to share the knowledge I’ve acquired. Mother Earth is yours, mine, and everyone's. Blessings.”