School Gardens in Manchester to Establish Compost Heaps

School gardens in Manchester are to begin establishing compost heaps as part of the requirement to maintain a school garden under the Jamaica 4-H Clubs School Garden Programme.

At a meeting of the Manchester 4-H Clubs Advisory Council held on Thursday (Jan. 29) at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Office in Mandeville, Jamaica 4-H Clubs Parish Development Officer, Malonia Harper informed that, “we are in the process of discussing the establishment of compost heaps as a project in the schools in Manchester. We will be sourcing the books and other materials. We have gotten commitments for the vermin-compost aspects as we will be getting training through Caribbean Agricultural and Research institute (CARDI)”.

Composting recycles organic household and yard and waste such as fruits, vegetables, yard clippings, and manure into a useful humus-like soil end product called compost. This in turn permits the return of needed organic matter and nutrients into the food chain, and reduces the amount of “green” waste going into landfills.

Worm composting or vermin-composting is a method of recycling organic household and yard waste by using the Red Wriggler worms in a container. Food waste and moistened bedding are added, and the worms and micro-organisms eventually convert them to rich compost. The worms then excrete a soil rich-nutrient material called worm casting, which is added to soil to create a healthy growing environment for plants.