Compost Pile

Gardeners come in all stripes, and so do their favorite garden tools. Whether gardeners tend acres or inches, are gardening professionals or simply putter in their own personal patches, their choice of tools is as individual as the gardener. An assortment of local celebrities share their favorites:Denise Koch,WJZ-TV anchorwoman:"The lawn mower is my favorite garden tool. I love mowing. It instantly looks better and makes me feel like I've accomplished something. I work up a huge sweat, so I know I'm getting good exercise, and I find it very satisfying.

Q. We're newlyweds with a composting conflict. I like to throw everything on the compost heap as is, and he insists on buying an expensive shredder to chop it all up beforehand. And then he wants to spend a whole day carefully layering soil, grass clippings, leaves, etc. Please help me straighten him out.A. You're going to have to compromise to make this compost pile work. He's right about shredding materials before they go in (although you don't need an expensive shredder). Chopping things into small pieces will hasten decomposition.

When the leaves fall this autumn, put them to work. Their job is composting; the result is a rich-looking dark-brown organic material called humus.Humus, which most people simply call compost, "adds life to your soil, makes it lighter and more friable," says gardening instructor Don Boekelheide. "It makes your soil and garden rich."Further, he says, compost helps the soil conserve water and makes fertilizer work more efficiently. Besides improving the soil, composting is a way to deal with kitchen and yard debris.

My girlfriend in North Carolina was telling me about becoming a master gardener. Is there a program in Maryland? How can I find out more?The University of Maryland conducts a master gardener program at five sites in central Maryland. Participants receive 40 hours of training in environmental horticulture and agree to return at least 40 hours as volunteer public educators. Examples of service include giving talks in schools or to garden clubs, maintaining composting sites and conducting plant clinics.

Do I run the risk of damaging my trees and shrubs by stringing Christmas lights all over them?You can spruce up your trees and shrubs without causing them any harm. However, try to avoid breaking branches when hanging and taking down your lights; resist the temptation to drive nails or screws into healthy wood, and be sure that the plastic insulation covering the wires of your Christmas lights is not cut or frayed. Damaged wires are a fire hazard, of course.I'm thinking ahead to a mild day when I can spray a wood preservative on my deck.

I'd like to start using a lawn service but am concerned about the use of pesticides. I want to be environmentally correct. What advice can you offer?Before contracting with any lawn service, ask for references. Interview representatives from several companies. The company you choose should demonstrate beforehand that it understands and follows the principles of integrated pest management (IPM), which means it will only spray when a particular pest threatens the health and long-term survival of your lawn and cannot be controlled by any other means.

I have two flowering dogwoods that looked droopy and peaked this summer. The leaves had a white powder on them. Should I be worried? Is the problem wet weather?The problem is a fungal disease called powdery mildew, which is more widespread during wet growing seasons. This is not a devastating disease, like dogwood anthracnose, but should be controlled when symptoms are severe. If symptoms reappear next year, spray foliage thoroughly with a horticultural oil that is registered for use against powdery mildew.

Mount Airy residents must find another place to dispose of their yard waste.State natural resources officials say that the compost pile in Prospect Park has to go, if the town wants state money to build more recreation facilities at the park.Deidra Ritchie, an assistant regional administrator with the state's open space program, notified Mount Airy last week that the compost pile must be removed for the town to receive $56,000. Plans call for the construction of street hockey, volleyball and basketball courts; paving of walkways and an access road; and additions to playground equipment.

Each fall, I grab my bamboo rake and start cleaning up after the hardwoods in our yard. I don't mind. Raking leaves is an arduous task, but consider the benefits. A mature oak or maple tree can produce $30 worth of leaf mulch a year.Look at all the money I'm saving by growing my own compost.I pass the time by singing fall classics such as "Autumn Leaves," or this, my favorite seasonal hit, by the Mamas and Papas:"All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray,Think I'll rake the yard on this autumn day,I'll have lots of compost when my leaves decay,Cauliflower dreamin', on such an autumn day."

The Triadelphia Reservoir may be more beautiful in early autumn than at any other time of the year.My husband and I paddled our canoe on the "lake" for a very quiet hour on Sunday. Trees that had just begun to redden in August are now brilliant and starting to drop their leaves. Maples gave hints of color yet to come. Neon yellows and lusty golds kept us looking up at the color show that has begun. Bright leaves floated like miniature flags to the surface of the lake, begging us to look one last time.

They call it "gardener's gold," and soon enough this gold will be raining down on gardeners from the skies above: autumn leaves. You can curse these leaves, or you can compost them. If you are not composting yard waste and kitchen scraps, now is the time to get started - just in time to take advantage of Mother Nature's seasonal gift. Mike Ather lectures on composting and other soil issues for Gardener's Supply Co. in Vermont. I asked him to answer some basic questions for the beginning composter.

Garlic scapes, the scrapple of vegetables, have gone gourmet. Scapes are the flowering, curly, central stalk of the garlic plant, and growers snip them off around this time of year so the plant puts energy into the bulb instead of the bud. After that, scapes used to land in the compost pile - or perhaps on the plate of an especially frugal farmer, the sort who came up with scrapple because he didn't want to let perfectly good hog offal go to waste....

I remember the first wave of guerrilla Dumpster divers. They wanted to feed the hungry of Baltimore, and they detested the practice of supermarkets throwing away so much food. So they raided Dumpsters on behalf of needy men, women and children who turned up at the city's soup kitchens, shelters and charitable pantries looking for food. Now comes a new kind of Dumpster diver: They scavenge through the American food chain on behalf of the planet - and their backyard gardens. Lizz King is one such Dumpster diver.

My compost pile smells. It never did before. I've been adding table scraps (no meat or dairy products), plus grass and weeds. Unpleasant odor can be caused by too much nitrogen (green/fresh plant material) or too much water and not enough air. Since all your materials are "green," balance them with "brown" materials, which are high in carbon. Such items include dead dried leaves, sawdust and straw. You can use shredded newspaper, too, but go lightly. If you've been watering the pile, cut back on that.

In the recent election, the environment was strongly on the minds of Maryland voters. I was surprised at how often people brought up environmental issues at public forums. As we begin the new legislative session, successful candidates seem to have heard the message. And one proposal many elected officials have been championing is the Clean Cars Act, which would raise emission standards for new cars and trucks in Maryland. State Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller pledged his support last week ("`Clean car' idea gains momentum," Jan. 6)

My compost pile has now turned to rich black dirt and I was ready to put it into my garden, but I noticed reddish-brown bugs throughout that look like cockroaches. Is it safe to use? Should I spray it with something? You probably see a type of beetle. There are some outdoor species of cockroaches that do not breed or survive indoors. Many types of soil invertebrates like earthworms, grubs, maggots, ants and beetles help break down the materials in compost piles. When the compost is spread, these insects usually disperse and are not a problem.

Is it a bad idea to cut back perennials while the leaves are green? Are the plants still benefiting this late in the year? I want to use the green leaves on my compost pile as "greens." If I wait until the leaves turn brown and compost them, do they still provide nitrogen to the compost pile? This late in the season, you can cut back your perennials for use in your compost pile. If you wait until the foliage browns, they will not provide the nitrogen or "green" source that you desire for your compost pile.

Help! My bedroom is infested with a tiny black or dark brown insect that looks like a flea, but crawls rather than hops. My cat's dry food was loaded with these things. (They aren't weevils like you find in flour. They're bigger.) My friend in another state suggested an "ozonator," which is supposed to kill all bugs, bacteria, mold and mildew. I'm looking for a non-chemical, safe method to deal with these invaders! You're describing a cigarette beetle or drugstore beetle. As curious as the names sound, they are rather common pantry pests, probably introduced to your home via the dry cat food.

We would like to continue composting our yard and kitchen waste during the winter. Do you have any suggestions to help speed up the process? First, I would recommend starting a second compost pile that is partially or fully below ground. The heat from the earth will keep your compost warm enough to promote the composting process. One way to do this is to bury a plastic garbage can about halfway in the ground. Before you bury the can, the bottom should be cut off with a utility knife and holes should be drilled in the sides of the upper half of the can. This will allow heat to rise from the bottom and air to enter from the top. Second, be sure to keep your compost pile moist through the winter.

I would like to plant a witch hazel in my yard. Can you tell me the difference between the native plant and the Asian variety? Is one more suited to our area than the other? Actually, there are two species from Asia (Hamamelis mollis and Hamamelis japonica), and there is also a group of plants that are hybrids of these two species. The hybrids are some of the most popular in the nursery industry. There are two native species. Hamamelis virginiana is the witch hazel that is native to Maryland.