Composting Helps Create Nutrient-Rich Food at Serenbe Farms
The natural world finds ways to regenerate itself. There may be many we don’t know or understand, but even for those we do, really thinking about the process is fascinating. Take food waste, for instance. When left to the earth, organic matter such as leaves and food scraps decompose into a valuable fertilizer that enriches the soil with nutrients. Those nutrients then help new foods grow, and we get to consume nutrient-rich food. Trash to treasure, on repeat.
This process is called composting, and there are more benefits than feeding us. When we compost we reduce the amount of waste that heads to landfills, and thereby reduce the methane emissions from landfills. We also help lessen erosion and conserve water.
Art Farm’s Environment Council funded and installed a state-of-the-art Compost Station at Serenbe Farms. This will also be the first compost drop-off location for everyone in Chattahoochee Hills and the creation of a closed loop food system at Serenbe. This new community composting facility is uniquely efficient and powered by blowers that force air from the bottom of the compost pile for enhanced airflow. This allows the pile to be in a steady aerobic state, increasing capacity and quality. During the process, piles heat up to over 130 degrees - producing healthy soil with no odor.
Why is this important? Composting is about eliminating waste and regenerative living. Roughly ⅓ of the food produced goes to waste - ending up in landfills where it produces methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
As if that is not reason enough to participate, this rich compost also enhances the farm’s soil that grows our fresh, organic food.
Compostable bags can be filled with raw vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters, egg shells, and tea bags, then placed on top of regular garbage and recycling inside the in-ground trash can. This small step gives Serenbe Farms enough compost to use in their fields, then residents reap the benefits when they purchase produce from the Farm at the Saturday Farmers Market or when they join the CSA Farm Share program.
3 Steps To Becoming A Composter
1. Grab a compostable bag
2. Fill the bag with raw vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters, egg shells, and tea bags. NO meat, fish, grease, or dairy, please.
3. Place your compost bag on top of your regular garbage and recycling inside your in-ground trash can
The organic matter decomposes into a valuable fertilizer that enriches the soil with nutrients. Those nutrients then help new foods grow, and we get to consumer nutrient-rich food. Trash to treasure, on repeat.
This small step not only provides Serenbe Farms with plenty of compost to use in their fields, it also keeps all that food waste out of the landfill, where it would break down into methane that pollutes our communities. Residents also reap the benefits of composting when they purchase produce at the Saturday Farmers Market or join the CSA Farm Share program.
The natural world finds ways to regenerate itself, and Serenbe and Serenbe Farms work hard to make it easy and convenient for residents to compost.