Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
you could work with the compost program to have the garden buy the compost made from the
scraps (or have it donated to the garden).
Landscapers are often willing to pick up big quantities of spent plant matter to add to their own
compost program or to drop off with a partner. In Chicago, we work with a local landscaper at
the beginning and end of the season to provide giant sacks. We instruct our gardeners to put
spent plant material in the sacks, and, when they are full, our landscape partner comes and gets
them. I have to tell you, though, as much as we tell people “no trash,” it always finds its way
into the sacks. Glass, rocks, and other noncompostable items are frustrating for the landscapers
and composters and, at some point, they may stop accepting the garden's plant material because
of this.
GOOD USES FOR WOOD CHIPS
Creating and defining paths
Filling in uneven areas
General ground cover for aesthetics or water absorption
Mulching
Suppressing weeds
This is the type of monitoring and education I'm talking about. If you have the ability to talk with
gardeners frequently, one-on-one, about protocol around these types of programs, success is greater than
if you have a lot of people reading signage or e-mail messages (or not reading at all).
The consequences of a poorly managed compost system include odors and insects. And the neigh-
bors are not going to like that at all. If you don't have neighbors, this might not be a problem, but if you
are in a dense urban area, you must keep the neighbors happy at all costs.
Don't feel guilty if you decide not to have a compost program. Successful composting requires time,
energy, and a level of commitment that some groups just may not be able to provide. Better to assess
your organization's level of dedication to the necessary education and maintenance before you start a
compost program than to find out too late that it's not workable.
Wood Chips
Wood chips are to gardens what paint is to redecorating—they both cover a lot of sins. Wood chips are
often as important to a garden as soil, but for different reasons.
Many city forestry departments have an excess of wood chips from maintaining forests and urban
trees. Your garden could be a good partner for a forestry department with a lot of excess chips. Often-
times they are free and sometimes you can request a certain grade; the terms are generally “rough
chips,” which are sent one time through the shredder, and “fine chips,” which have been through two or
more times.
The likelihood of being able to enlist volunteers to shovel and move wood chips really depends on
the size of your garden, the involvement of the members, and the number of people available. Another
option is to work with someone who has a front-end loader, or to rent one (you will have no trouble
finding a volunteer who wants to drive it, I promise), or to hire someone with the right machinery to
