COMPOSTING IS A GOOD THING! . . .Great Link for List of Composting Materials

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I have been interested in composting for a long time and found this article done by "Kashi" today regarding this subject along with some more links and some You Tubes. . .

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COMPOSTING: Good for Plants and the Planet

Composting is a relatively simple and inexpensive way to turn your kitchen scraps and yard cuttings into beneficial mulch. For very little time, effort, and money, you can produce nutrient-packed compost that benefits your garden, reduces the volume of garbage sent to landfills, and is said to be a much better alternative to chemical fertilizers. Compost is an all-natural way to aerate and improve your soil, increase the soil, water retention, and stimulate the root development of your plants.

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What Makes Compost?

Compost consists of any organic plant material that decomposes. Composting mirrors the process that takes place in natural settings such as forests, where plants die, settle to the forest floor, decompose, and are dismantled by micro-organisms. When the various organisms and micro-organisms finish their process of breaking down the organic plant materials, what's left is the dark, rich, and loamy compost that plants love. Household food scraps such as corncobs, citrus rinds, coffee grinds, coffee filters, eggshells, dryer lint, vegetable peels, grass cuttings, hay, and manure all make great compost ingredients. If you use manure in your compost, choose the droppings from vegetarian animals such as goats, horses, cows, ducks, sheep, and pigs. Avoid using milk and fish products, fats, grease, and dog and cat droppings; these items often contain pathogens, slow or destroy the decomposition process, and attract vermin to your compost pile.

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Balance Your Compost Ingredients:

In composting, the goal is to create an environment in which the natural decomposition of organic materials speeds up through the use of green materials, brown materials, moisture, and air. Successful composting strikes a balance between materials that produce nitrogen and others that produce carbon.

• Fresh green materials like leaves, grass clippings, and pine needles produce nitrogen. (make sure that you keep stuff with seeding weeds out as they may seed in garden)
• Brown materials like coffee grounds, dead leaves, twigs, corncobs, and cardboard produce carbon.

Composting Methods:

The composing process can be as simple and cost free as establishing a pile in your yard, away from your house, or more costly and elaborate as buying a specially made composting bin or constructing a wood-and-wire structure. Whichever method you choose, be sure the site is level and has good drainage and airflow. A mixture of brown and green materials yields the best results.

• Composting on the ground. If you build your compost pile on the ground, be certain to place it over the soil, not on cement. This way, the organisms in the soil can travel back and forth between the soil and the compost heap. Make your compost pile at least 3×3×3 feet.
• Composting in a bin. Great low-cost composting bins are available at many gardening stores or you can also make your own bin. A little research will help you figure out which option is your best bet.

Composting Tips:

• Keep it warm. For the fastest rate of decomposition, try to keep the temperature within the compost heap between 104° and 160°F. You can purchase an inexpensive compost thermometer to test the heat in the pile or you can monitor the heat by feeling it with your hand. If it's warm to the touch, the pile is probably doing well. If the pile feels cool or the same temperature as the air outside, it likely needs more heat. To increase the heat in the pile, add more green materials, such as grass clippings, that will produce more nitrogen.
• Choose a good location. Heat helps the micro-organisms work faster, makes the materials decompose quicker, and kills weeds within the pile as well as plant diseases living on the materials. If you live in a cooler climate, locate your compost bin in a sunny spot so it can trap solar heat. But if you live in a warm climate, pick a semi-shady spot for your compost pile so the material doesn't dry out too quickly.
• Make sure it stays moist. Moisture aids the composting process by helping to break down the materials. Try to keep the materials in your compost pile as damp as a wet cloth that has been wrung out. Too much moisture, however, can cause an inordinate amount of odour as the materials break down and can ultimately slow the decomposition process because the water will replace the air in the mixture.
• Turn to help with aeration. Hand-turning your compost pile daily with a pitchfork or garden fork ensures that enough air is circulating within the pile and lets you check the moisture level of the pile. For example, moving the materials from the edges into the centre gives you an even decomposition rate. Also keep in mind that as materials decompose they shrink. Make sure to add new materials to the pile throughout the process and mix them into the pile.

Results:

Depending on how you maintain your compost pile, several weeks or months later you will have a dark, earthy, and crumbly compost mixture. Your compost will provide your plants with lots of nitrogen and vitamins, and it will also be an excellent soil conditioner. Spread the compost around the base of your plants in a 1-inch-thick swath and watch your plants thrive.

*© 2010, Trademark of Kashi Company used under licence

Here is another site that has an excellent variety of videos to further explain composting and its benefits: http://www.ecoz.co.uk/CompostConverterHomeCompostingBin.htm

Here is a set of three informative You Tubes to show how its done:

I hope you found the above beneficial. Below is a couple of links on how to build compost bins:

http://www.specialareas.ab.ca/compost_bins_build%20_Jan10.pdf/how_to_build_compost_bins.html

http://www.instructables.com/id/Pallet-Compost-Bin/

To know where to purchase one, check the internet for one in your city.

Also, you might be interested in getting some composting worms for the bin. Here is some sites regarding what type of worms are required and how they work:

http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html

Here is a couple of videos re using worms:

This one gives a step by step method:

This one shows it live:

Sorry that this is such a long post, but there was soooo much wonderful info about compost bins that I had to include it all.

Cherylg

ARE WE GETTING ENOUGH MAGNESIUM??? - Link: Magnesium Deficiency Prevention

Along with the below INFORMATIVE article on MSN Lifestyle from Enlightened Eater re our magnesium intake, did I add 2 excellent links at the bottom of this post and a link on the title.

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I am sure that many people BESIDES Canadians are having this issue. . .

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IF YOU'RE CANADIAN AND YOU'RE READING THIS, YOU MAY NOT BE GETTING ENOUGH MAGNESIUM

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A new study shows a shortfall in Canadians' levels of this important nutrient

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It seems like we're always hearing so much about our overindulgences and all too often, very little about our nutrient shortfalls. But a new survey of what Canadians eat should be sounding the alarm bells on a key ingredient missing from our plates - magnesium. The Canadian Community Health Survey provides the latest information on food and nutrient intake data for Canadians of all ages. And it points to some critical nutrient shortfalls, especially magnesium. It's a mineral that simply doesn't get the same kind of recognition as others like calcium. But that's a different story in scientific circles as researchers find it's a major player in the risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. The survey results showed that shortages of magnesium were among the highest when compared to other nutrients. More than 34 per cent of Canadians over the age of 19 consumed magnesium in quantities below the Estimated Average Requirement - the average amount you should consume in a day. . Also see: . The 5 foods you should eat every day (and how to cook 'em!)

. Easiest ways to get the nutrients you need

. Last week's Enlightened Eater: Will the HST make Canadians fatter? Not concerned about coming up short in this tiny mineral you may not have even heard of? Well, recently-published research from Palermo, Italy, found that low magnesium levels go hand-in-hand with speedier aging, and even includes even the loss of muscle mass and decreased immune system function that can accompany increasing age. If you're spending money seeking magical elixirs and expensive anti-aging supplements, you might first work on meeting your magnesium quotas. Magnesium's anti-aging power works in a number of ways. It not only acts as an antioxidant but also as a strong anti-inflammatory agent - both of which offer defences against a wide range of diseases. And if you're a migraine sufferer, there's even emerging research which shows that getting an adequate amount of magnesium may help protect against migraines. Now back to the Canadian Community Health Survey - it showed that more than one third of adults weren't consuming the basic requirement, never mind the extra that might be needed for these special conditions. And if you think that because you take a vitamin and mineral supplement, you've got your bases covered, you're likely mistaken. Most multivitamins contain only 50 or 100 milligrams of magnesium - nowhere near the recommended intake. For men, the daily recommended amount of magnesium is 420 milligrams a day for men above 31 years of age and 320 for women. So where does that leave you? If you want to decrease the odds of a host of illnesses by meeting your magnesium needs, it all comes back to some healthy-eating basics: dark leafy greens, legumes like chick peas and lentils, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and nuts. Sound familiar?

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As an added boost, magnesium is frequently found alongside some pretty impressive nutrients. So eating magnesium-rich selections can improve your intake of other important vitamins and minerals at the same time. Take spinach, as an example. It offers an arsenal of disease-fighting weapons like B vitamins, potassium, fibre, beta-carotene and lutein - and to top it off, it's packed with magnesium. Legumes, with their protein punch and cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre, are also super sources of magnesium. Switching from refined to whole grains is another way to consume more magnesium as when grains are refined, the nutrient-rich germ, which contains magnesium, is lost. While some nutrients are added back to refined grain products, magnesium is not one of them. And if you're a whole wheat eater, keep in mind that unless it states whole grain whole wheat on the ingredient list - even if the product says it's 100 % whole wheat - it's likely not a whole grain and won't provide much of a magnesium kick. Low-fat dairy products are also a terrific option to up your intake of magnesium. In addition, going nuts can improve your magnesium status. Just an ounce of nuts offer between 50 and 80 milligrams of magnesium, depending on the variety. But simply looking at how much you consume still leaves out a big part of the magnesium puzzle. If you take a diuretic (water pill) for blood pressure control, if your blood sugar readings are elevated, if you carry extra weight around your mid-section or you are elderly, magnesium can be lost from your body through urine. As a result, if you fall into any of these groups, you may need to take in even more magnesium. Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian in private practice and is author of The Enlightened Eater's Whole Foods Guide: Harvest the Power of Phyto Foods (Viking Canada). You can find her on Twitter @rosieschwartz.

I have copied this article and added the links (as is was on MSN).

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A couple of valuable links I googled on Magnesium:

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http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium.asp

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http://www.naturalnews.com/magnesium.html

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Cherylg .