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Composting: Improving Your Soil With Yard Waste

An Open Space Committee Feature

Compost is an excellent soil amendment to use as back fill when you are installing a new plant. Compost can also be used as a top dressing on the soil, placing it around the bases of plants, where irrigation and soil microbes will slowly incorporate it into the soil as fertilizer. Or it can be distributed more widely as mulch to cover all the soil around the plants, protecting the soil from erosion and shielding it from drying out. It can be used to fertilize lawns, by broadcasting sifted compost as a top dressing, and also to top dress houseplants in small handfuls.

Compost does several things to benefit the soil that synthetic fertilizers cannot do. First, it adds organic matter, which improves the way water interacts with the soil. In clay soils, compost helps to make the soil more porous, so it drains more quickly and doesn’t stay waterlogged or dry out into a bricklike substance. Compost also inoculates the soil with vast numbers of beneficial microbes that are able to extract nutrients from the mineral part of the soil and eventually pass them on to plants. Compost also attracts worms, which further improve the soil.

Using your annual collection of fall leaves mixed with grass clippings and other yard and kitchen waste is a good way to make compost. The material can be heaped in a pile or placed in a purchased compost bin. (You must file an ARB application. Specific compost pile guidelines are on page 12 in the Architectural Standards book.) Size is important because the typical minimum size for a pile is one cubic meter (or about three feet per side), which is the mass required for the material to heat up and stay hot in the fermentation process. However, it doesn’t have to be hot to be successful. If you have good aeration and moisture, and the proper ingredient mix, your pile will decompose at cooler temperatures, just not as fast as a hot pile. A hot pile is desirable because it will kill weed seeds.

As a rule, compost should be made by mixing two parts grass clippings with one part fallen leaves. Layering can be useful in arriving at these proportions, but a complete mixing of ingredients is preferable for the composting process. In between layers, you can sprinkle actual soil, which has microbes that will act on the composting matter. Grinding up the leaves first with the lawnmower is an excellent way to start breaking them down.

To get the proper aeration, the compost should be turned every three days, but twice a month may suffice for a slow-acting pile. One way is to fork it out of the bin and move it to another bin, placing on the bottom what was formerly on top. This is good upper body exercise, by the way. You can water the compost while you’re turning it. Compost should be damp like a wrung-out sponge.

What not to compost:

-- Chemically treated wood products

-- Diseased plants, pernicious weeds.
-- Human wastes, pet wastes

-- Meat, bones, fatty food wastes

Morning glory/bindweed, sheep sorrel, ivy, several kinds of grasses, and some other plants can resprout (and multiply!) from their roots and/or stems in the compost pile. Don’t compost these weeds unless they are completely dead and dry (after a couple of weeks in a sunny place before composting). Remember also that composting weeds that have gone to seed will create weeds in next year’s garden, unless a very hot pile temperature can be maintained to kill the seeds.

An excellent brochure on composting is at the Cornell University Web site — http://cwmi.css/cornell.edu/compostbrochure.pdf.

Another excellent source of information is the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service — http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/dpts/hort/hil/pdf/ag-467.pdf.

A good how-to book for composting is Let it Rot, by Stu Campbell. It is easy to read and includes considerable detail for those who want to learn more about the composting process.

See the Rodale Guide to Composting in your library for more information on hot composting.

SAVE THE DATE … The Open Space Committee is hosting a guest speaker at the Still Pond Community Center on Friday, March 12, at 7 p.m.

Alan Ford, president of the Virginia Native Plant Society, Potowmack Chapter, will give a slide talk on the importance of native plants and how we may benefit from incorporating them throughout Franklin Farm’s open space and into our home landscapes. Look for more detail in the March issue of the Almanac.

Earthen Dam Restoration Effort Moves Forward

As noted in the January issue of the Almanac, in July 2010, the Franklin Farm Foundation will begin an earthen dam restoration project to remove the trees and vegetation that are threatening the stability of the earthen dams at the six community ponds — Franklin’s Pond, Sallie’s Pond, Hannah’s Pond, Still Pond, Sarah’s Pond, and Tuckaway Pond. Although this undertaking will result in the removal of many of the trees and shrubs that we are accustomed to seeing in our walks around the ponds — and open up areas previously shielded by shrubbery — the work will ensure the safety and stability of the dams for years to come.

Currently, the Foundation office staff is engaged in developing a statement of work and a request for proposals in order to select a contractor for this project. In the coming months, tree removal work will begin at the ponds, and the embankments will be reseeded in areas where trees will no longer grow. Information will be provided by letter and in the Almanac to update you on progress to date, and opportunities for input by affected residents and interested neighbors will be available.

Although none of us wants to disturb the natural beauty of our ponds and the neighborhoods that surround them, this restoration effort is essential in maintaining the integrity of our earthen dams and the safety of the homes in our community. Your patience and understanding as this work progresses are very much appreciated.

Leash Laws … It is against Fairfax County leash laws for animals to be allowed to run loose on public property or on the private property of others. Dogs must be restrained on a dependable leash at all times when outside of the owner’s property. Residents looking for a place where their pets can run free may take them to one of Fairfax County’s dog parks. The closest one to us is on Baron Cameron Avenue in Reston.

Please Don't Feed the Geese

We are all familiar with the flock of Canada geese that live in the ponds of Franklin Farm. Although residents often do so with the best intentions, it is against Foundation regulations to feed these birds. It is bad not only for the geese (as the bread causes digestion problems) but also for the ponds and the residents of Franklin Farm.

Each year, Canada geese eggs are addled in our community under a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In order to obtain this permit, by law, Franklin Farm must maintain a strict no-feeding policy at all times. Please follow Foundation policy and do not feed the geese. With your cooperation, we can create a safe, healthy environment for everyone in Franklin Farm.

Franklin Farm Road Streetscape Design

As many of you are aware, a few years ago Franklin Farm underwent a major facelift in the form of newly installed beds and trees along Franklin Farm Road. Since the installation of the design, the Foundation office has received several calls and e-mails requesting information on the types of plants within each bed and the way in which they were planted.

The twenty (20) serpentine shaped beds that line the road, are full of a variety of annuals and shrubs in addition to several new trees. There are four different beds (“A-D”) included within the design.

In Bed “A”, plant materials include; Skip Laurel, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Firepower Nandina and Stella d’Oro Daylily. You can view the nine “A” beds next to Wellhouse Court, at Dairy Lou Drive, across from Thorngate Drive, next to Stone Heather Drive, behind Autumn Hill Court and next to the Still Pond Community Center.

Bed “B” features; Large Fothergilla, Maiden Hair Grass, ‘Autumn Joy’ Sedum and Purple Coneflower. The two “B” beds are planted near Thorngate Drive and across from Tuckaway Drive.

Plant material within the “C” beds include; ‘Edward Gloucer’ Abelia, Forsythia, ‘Anthony Waterers’ Spirea and Black-eyed Susan. The two “C” beds are located at each side of the Nestlewood Entrance.

The seven “D” beds feature China Girl Holly, Scotch Broom, Pink Carpet Rose and Russian Sage. Examples of the “D” beds can be seen near Thorngate Drive, next to Dairy Lou Pool, behind Applegrove Court/Lane and next to Franklin’s Pond.

The size of the beds, on average, is approximately 1,300 square feet, leaving plenty of room for the plants to grow and expand. In the initial planning of the design, the Open Space Committee stressed the importance of plant health care to benefit all flowers, shrubs, and trees within each bed. It is hoped that, through careful maintenance, the beds will be full and lush for many years to come.

Using plant materials similiar to those in the beds along Franklin Farm Road and in neighborhood entrances, the Open Space Committee has also recently directed the renovation of the beds at the main entrances and medians at West Ox Road and Centreville Road.in Franklin Farm.

It's Open Space, Not a Dump Site

Franklin Farm would like to ask that all residents help in preserving the beauty our community. Remember that dumping of yard debris in the open space is expressly prohibited.

Many who dump on open space figure their brush is biodegradable and it is just an area that doesn't belong to anyone. That is not true. Franklin Farm open space is considered prime real estate set aside for the enjoyment of all residents. This space is designed as a protective buffer between streets and neighborhoods.

Please properly dispose of any yard debris. If you notice any small limbs or leaves lying about, pick them up and help keep Franklin Farm clean!

Open Space Committee Information

Purpose

The Open Space Committee oversees the common areas throughout the neighborhoods to ensure they are properly maintained.

The Franklin Farm Foundation - 12700 Franklin Farm Rd - Oak Hill, VA  20171
Phone:  703-620-6230     Fax:  703-620-9021     E-Mail:  foundation@franklinfarm.org
Map of Franklin Farm      Map of the foundation office at the above address

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