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Composting, Worm Farming and Healthy Soil in South Africa

Hybrid Learning Solutions · e-book

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About this book

A practical, South African guide to turning kitchen scraps, garden waste and manure into compost and worm castings, and to building healthy soil, for home gardeners, schools and smallholders. Twelve chapters follow a family in KwaThema with a hard, compacted yard, a primary-school teacher in Gqeberha with a sandy school garden, and a smallholder near Bela-Bela with pale sand and a neighbour's horse manure, with advice from a retired soil scientist in Pietermaritzburg: what soil is made of and the living things in it; simple soil tests (a test hole, the squeeze and ribbon tests, a jar test, a drainage test, pH in general terms and an earthworm count); greens and browns, water and air, and what never to compost; choosing a site and building a heap, bin or three-bay pallet system; hot composting and a temperature log; cold, trench, bokashi and sheet composting; setting up a worm farm, feeding the worms and harvesting the castings; problems, pests and safety (tetanus, Legionella in potting mix, snakes, and never an old fridge as a worm farm); mulch, leaf mould, manure and green manures; using compost in beds, seedling and potting mixes, around trees and on lawns; and composting together, selling castings honestly and a yearly soil plan. Every sum is worked, from the litres of compost a bed needs and the share of sand in a jar test to when to turn a heap from its temperature log, how many bokashi buckets a school kitchen needs, and the cost and profit of a bag of castings. Rules on burning garden refuse, organic waste and fertiliser sales are taught in general terms, dated, so you always check with the municipality or an adviser. 26 diagrams and photographs, worked examples, practice exercises with answers, and a soil file: a soil map, soil test record, scraps and browns log, heap or bin plan, temperature log, bokashi or trench record, worm farm set-up checklist, worm feeding log, problem checker, mulch and manure plan, compost use plan and soil plan, a glossary, where to get help, and 144 Exam prep questions. A Skills Series title. No fertiliser, product, bin or bran brands are named or recommended. Lecturers: a free Facilitator Guide (session plans built around a class compost heap and worm farm on the college grounds, safety with gloves, masks, forks and snakes, teaching notes and every answer) is available to colleges registered with HybridE. To register your college, contact Thandeka on 073 431 6763.

What is inside

1. Chapter 1: Why Soil Matters
2. Chapter 2: Testing Your Soil
3. Chapter 3: Compost Basics
4. Chapter 4: Building a Heap, Bin or Bay
5. Chapter 5: Hot Composting
6. Chapter 6: Cold, Trench and Bokashi Composting
7. Chapter 7: Setting Up a Worm Farm
8. Chapter 8: Feeding Worms and Harvesting Castings
9. Chapter 9: Problems and Safety
10. Chapter 10: Mulch, Leaf Mould, Manure and Green Manures
11. Chapter 11: Using Compost
12. Chapter 12: Composting Together, Selling and Your Soil Plan
13. Appendix