Page 8 - Nov/Dec 2015 Vol. 33 No. 5
P. 8
COLLIERVILLE PUBLIC SERVICES By Susan Agee, Public Information Specialist, Collierville
Free Compost Gives Local Gardens
a Seasonal Boost
Most people will tell you they enjoy “We are blessed in Above: Carl Wayne, Master Gardener, with
almost everything about the fall season Collierville to have a cornucopia of fresh vegetables from the
except raking leaves. So you think those a farsighted Public Collierville Victory Garden.
dying leaves in your backyard are nothing Services Department Left and below: Collierville Middle School
but a nuisance? Think again. that gathers loose stocking up on free compost. Students
leaves to decompose studied the effects of nutrients on corn and
“When plants die, they begin a pro- into a rich humus ready sunflower growth.
cess called decomposition where all their to put on our gardens,
elements are broken down and returned lawns and flowerbeds.” removed by hand. “That’s a small price to
to the soil for use in making new plants,” pay for wonderful, free soil,” said Harde-
said Carl Wayne Hardeman. Hardeman and the importance of legumes in prepar- man. “We are blessed in Collierville to
is a Master Gardener, cofounder of the ing the soil for a crop such as corn.” have a farsighted Public Services Depart-
Collierville Victory Garden, and founder ment that gathers loose leaves to decom-
of the Collierville Farmer’s Market. “That Hardeman says the compost is safe pose into a rich humus ready to put on
breakdown produces live soil called hu- because any chemicals on the original our gardens, lawns and flowerbeds.”
mus, which is one thing that plants need organic material has dissipated or been
to grow.” digested by microbes. The risk of residual
weed seeds is very small and they can be
The Collierville Public Services De-
partment is offering aged-leaves-turned-
humus, also known as compost, to any
resident with a truck bed or pail. The
compost is free and available Saturday
mornings from 8 a.m. to noon at the
Solid Waste Transfer Station at 476 East
South Street. It has been lab tested and
Hardeman says the results are “predict-
ably astounding.” Plants need certain
nutrients to grow well, and a good pH
level is a sign that the soil has those
nutrients. Hardeman’s lab tests on the
Town’s compost came back showing a pH
level of 7.0, which is exactly in the middle
of the desired acidity range for soil. His
vegetables have shown proof of the quality
of the compost, and so have those of the
students of Collierville Middle School.
Mark Gray is a science teacher at Col-
lierville Middle School, and last year, his
students used the Town’s compost in their
garden. They planted corn and sunflow-
ers, dividing the plants into composted
beds and non-composted beds. The final
results showed that the composted corn
plants grew 47.2 percent better than the
non-composted corn, and the composted
sunflowers grew 19 percent better than the
non-composted sunflowers.
“One thing this taught all of us was that
corn’s nitrogen requirements are much
higher. The compost had double the
impact on corn’s growth,” said Gray. “Also,
this led to the discussion of crop rotation
8 TPW November/December 2015
Free Compost Gives Local Gardens
a Seasonal Boost
Most people will tell you they enjoy “We are blessed in Above: Carl Wayne, Master Gardener, with
almost everything about the fall season Collierville to have a cornucopia of fresh vegetables from the
except raking leaves. So you think those a farsighted Public Collierville Victory Garden.
dying leaves in your backyard are nothing Services Department Left and below: Collierville Middle School
but a nuisance? Think again. that gathers loose stocking up on free compost. Students
leaves to decompose studied the effects of nutrients on corn and
“When plants die, they begin a pro- into a rich humus ready sunflower growth.
cess called decomposition where all their to put on our gardens,
elements are broken down and returned lawns and flowerbeds.” removed by hand. “That’s a small price to
to the soil for use in making new plants,” pay for wonderful, free soil,” said Harde-
said Carl Wayne Hardeman. Hardeman and the importance of legumes in prepar- man. “We are blessed in Collierville to
is a Master Gardener, cofounder of the ing the soil for a crop such as corn.” have a farsighted Public Services Depart-
Collierville Victory Garden, and founder ment that gathers loose leaves to decom-
of the Collierville Farmer’s Market. “That Hardeman says the compost is safe pose into a rich humus ready to put on
breakdown produces live soil called hu- because any chemicals on the original our gardens, lawns and flowerbeds.”
mus, which is one thing that plants need organic material has dissipated or been
to grow.” digested by microbes. The risk of residual
weed seeds is very small and they can be
The Collierville Public Services De-
partment is offering aged-leaves-turned-
humus, also known as compost, to any
resident with a truck bed or pail. The
compost is free and available Saturday
mornings from 8 a.m. to noon at the
Solid Waste Transfer Station at 476 East
South Street. It has been lab tested and
Hardeman says the results are “predict-
ably astounding.” Plants need certain
nutrients to grow well, and a good pH
level is a sign that the soil has those
nutrients. Hardeman’s lab tests on the
Town’s compost came back showing a pH
level of 7.0, which is exactly in the middle
of the desired acidity range for soil. His
vegetables have shown proof of the quality
of the compost, and so have those of the
students of Collierville Middle School.
Mark Gray is a science teacher at Col-
lierville Middle School, and last year, his
students used the Town’s compost in their
garden. They planted corn and sunflow-
ers, dividing the plants into composted
beds and non-composted beds. The final
results showed that the composted corn
plants grew 47.2 percent better than the
non-composted corn, and the composted
sunflowers grew 19 percent better than the
non-composted sunflowers.
“One thing this taught all of us was that
corn’s nitrogen requirements are much
higher. The compost had double the
impact on corn’s growth,” said Gray. “Also,
this led to the discussion of crop rotation
8 TPW November/December 2015
