We’ve got steam!

Today marks nearly one month since compost collection on Frye Island began. It’s been a long process of building bins, coordinating routes, and educating community members about composting: how’s, what’s, and why's. The Berkeley method of composting, which we are attempting on Frye Island, requires a lot of turning. The ratio of green:brown (carbon:nitrogen) is difficult to maintain, as well as the timing of when to turn the piles.

Does it really make a difference whether you turn on day 4 versus day 5?

After trial and trial and trial (no errors in the business of composting) today’s pick up and bin turning illuminated a large amount of steam in the center of the active pile. I was confused at first, and then I realized, it wasn’t a strange powder floating into the air, it was water vapor! As we continue to compost on Frye Island there is a new level of excitement as this steam means that the chemical process of returning natural resources to the land is working, and soil is in the works.