Composting at PS 48

Outdoor Composting

PS 48 student gardeners compost indoors and outdoors.

Outdoors we use both a tumbler composter and Geobin. We add plant debris, shredded brown paper, leaves and water to the compost bins. We rotate, or turn, the compost bins to mix up the materials. Microorganisms (tiny organisms we can't see) break down the garden waste material into nutrient-rich compost that we will mix into the soil. This helps our garden plants grow! We use a compost sifter to separate the material particles.

This is the Geobin Composter. We put dead, decaying, and unwanted garden plant material in here to break down. It is uncovered.

This is the compost sifter. We sort out, or sift, larger decaying materials that have not decomposed, or broken down yet, into small enough pieces to provide nutrients to growing plants.

This is the tumbler composter. We place plant debris in this covered composter to decay. We use the handle on the side to rotate, or tumble, and mix the organic material and help it break down quicker.

PS 48 Composts!16 new items added to shared album

Indoor Worm Composting

We have red wiggler worms composting (break down) food scraps and turning it into compost. Compost is like humus in soil. The compost is nutritious (yummy!) for the plants that we will grow in the soil. Plus composting helps keep material out of landfills. Plants make food that we eat. The parts of the plants we don't eat are called food scraps. We give the food scraps to worms in a "worm bin." They digest (eat) the food scraps. This turns into compost! We put the compost with the soil around plants we grow. This helps grow healthy plants and food that we eat. And the cycle goes on and on. Thank you, again, Grow NYC!

Create a Composting Worm Bin

These are the "Instructions" for making the composting worm bin for our school garden. These photos show how we put it together. Thank you, YELLOW GROUP for building the compost bin for all of us!

Compost Bin Instructions.pdf

PS 48 Composts!16 new items added to shared album

A Worm Farmer's Blog by Raz Plus

This article is a blog post written by a worm farmer. It is a fascinating read and you will learn a lot about worms, composting, ecosystems and food chains. What are you interested in learning more about composting? Thank you, Raz Plus, for the blog post!

A Worm Farmer's Blog.pdf

Helping the Environment by Readworks.org

Vermicomposting.pdf

Videos to Learn about Composting

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin Read Aloud

Listen. Read. Observe the pictures. Learn about worms in this story. What does this story remind you of? What new information do you learn? What are you wondering about now after listening and reading?