RESUME BOOK

THE ORGANIC COMPOSTING HANDBOOK

GRUP I

1. ANGELA GLORYA MARITO BR.SAMOSIR

2. AINI FITRI
3. EUNIKE SRI HAPPY SIHOMBING
4. NURHALISAH PUTRI
5. WIDYA KARTIKA SARI

FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL SCIENCE

STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
MEDAN
2020
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CONTENT

a. Book Identity

Book Title : The Organic Composting Handbook

Author : Dede Cummings
Publisher : Skyhorse Publishing
Year Of Publication : 2014
Number Of Pages : 313 halaman

b. Resume Contents

Chapter 1

What is Composting?

Composting is the decomposition of organic matter into a nutrient-

rich soil amendment. Finished compost is an earthy humus-rich material
that helps soil retain nutrients and moisture to improve plant growth.
Biodegradable materials include wood chips, twigs, straw, paper, leaves,
manure, fruits, and vegetables. Some less common materials are dryer lint,
kelp, junk mail, and old cotton clothes. All of these materials can be
composted at home. The thing to remember is that compost is not fertilizer
even though it contains a lot of nutrients for plants.

Black plastic composter is a good way to start the composting

process. Black plastic compost bins and cups contain kitchen scraps and
can keep odors from living things, to a certain extent. However, this
composter is not very good at producing compost. So the types that we can
enter will be limited. Black plastic composters digest kitchen scraps with a
few dead leaves or maybe a little straw for balance. Plastic composter is
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rather limited. This composting requires waste such as paper towels, paper
towels, and pizza boxes. In addition we can also take orange peel, grape
skin, and egg shells because it takes a long time to break down into
composter.

To activate the billions of microbes that live and thrive in things

like food scraps and garden scraps and important parts of the decay
process, we have to build a structure inside. In its structure not only is food
scraps and waste gardens, but also chocolate debris, like leaves and sticks.
Just make sure that there is a lot of air and moisture in the pile.

Chapter 2

Why Is Composting Important?

Composting can help you maintain and improve the environment,
reducing waste disposal. Composting will provide beneficial nutrients
such as nitrogen potassium, phosphorus, and many other minerals in the
soil to increase overall plant or garden health. composting will reduce the
risk of soil diseases as well and help maintain weeds grow in the garden.

The main purpose of composting is to close community-based

loops, sustainable food and agriculture systems, thus overcoming land
problems health, water quality, solid waste, agricultural viability, and
climate change.

Benefits of Composting

Compost can significantly improve soil quality and protect the

environment in a number of ways:

 Improves soil structure

 Increases nutrient content in soil
 Improves moisture retention
 Increases soil aeration
 Remediates contaminated soil
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 Reduces plant diseases and pests and thus reduces need for pesticides and
fungicides
 Reduces or eliminates need for chemical fertilizers
 Improves organic matter and carbon in soils
 Reduces storm-water runoff and soil erosion
 Feeds the soil-to-food cycle of sustainability and keeps soil and plants
pesticide-free.

The benefits of using compost to enrich soil are myriad. The bottom line is
that composting creates rich and nutritious soil that will be aerated and not
subject to as much erosion. The newly composted soil, when mixed into
garden beds at the beginning of the season, will create a home for
earthworms, micro-organisms, and bacteria that will ultimately protect
plants against disease.

Generally speaking, the decomposition process involves both:

 Aerobic: oxygen decomposes and stabilizes the composting materials.

 Anaerobic: a lack of oxygen breaks down composition by the actions of
living organisms.

The dual process of aerobic and anaerobic decomposition balances

wet/dry conditions in the pile and creates an atmosphere most suited to
attracting the best organisms for the job. Organisms like fungi, mold, and
bacteria literally feed upon this decaying vegetation of the compost pile

The Color Of Compost

An active compost pile has a mixture of high nitrogen, moist materials

called “greens,” and drier, carbon-rich materials called “browns.
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 Greens Include : Food scraps (such as fruit and vegetable peels, coffee
grounds, tea bags, and prepared foods), fresh grass clippings, fresh weeds
and manures.“Green” refers not to color but to composting potential.

 Browns Include: Dry weeds, straw, fallen leaves, shredded paper, sawdust,
and wood chips