compost

Easy Peasy Pumpkin Squeezy

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It’s that time of year again where EVERYTHING is pumpkin spice, but these pumpkins take over more than just our grande nonfat latte’s. They’re in our pies, on our front porches, in our gardens, it seems they are always on our mind. Pumpkins are a fall staple just like the falling leaves that lend their name to the season. But what happens to all these pumpkins once their lifecycle is complete? 

Say boo to landfills! 

Each year 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins end up in the landfill – talk about scary! Why is this a problem? Well, landfills are designed to store material, so pumpkins and other organic waste doesn’t actually break down like you would think; the lack of oxygen means buried organic matter will produce methane gas, a leading greenhouse gas. Additionally, a single pumpkin plant needs about 16 gallons of water per week during peak development. If the pumpkins it grew all season are then thrown away that’s like wasting over 100 gallons of water!  

Green your Halloween!  

This year is the perfect time to add new traditions to your family’s fall fun. Pumpkin fun doesn’t have to end on October 31st. Once Halloween has come and gone, give pumpkins a second life. We are not the only ones who love everything pumpkin. Squirrels, deer, pigs, rabbits, birds, and many other wildlife species would be more than happy to nibble on your spent pumpkins. Check your local zoos or animal sanctuaries to see if they are accepting them as an additional food source for wildlife. Pumpkins for Pigs, a non-profit that helps connect pumpkin consumers with wildlife sanctuaries, is focused on reducing food waste one gourd at a time. Check out their webpage for a list of donation areas near you.  

Decaying pumpkins are also the perfect ingredient for making compost. If you have a pile in your backyard, cut the pumpkin into small pieces and add it to your bin with other green material. If you haven’t yet started a compost pile at home, you don’t need to reap the benefits: hovel out a shallow depression in the ground, lay the pumpkin pieces inside and cover with leaves. Nature will get straight to work decomposing and cycling the nutrients back into your landscape.  

Smash it don’t trash it! 

Let us compost your pumpkins for you! The Woodlands Township Environmental Services Department invites all ages to ghoulish green fun at Pumpkin Smash, Saturday November 4, 2023 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Sterling Ridge Park and Ride (8001 McBeth Way). Choose your own pumpkin smashing adventure! Catapult it and watch it fly, grab a baseball bat or mallet and smash it to smithereens, or watch it explode on impact from a 50’ drop. There is no limit to the number of pumpkins you can bring, they can be carved, uncarved or painted; remove non-biodegradable materials (candles, stickers, yarn, googly eyes, plastics, etc) because all pumpkin pieces will be transformed into nutrient-rich compost. 

With so many options for repurposing pumpkins, the landfill should be the last option. Green your Halloween this year, and for many years to come. For further information email enviro@thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov or call 281-210-3800.  

Join Us for a Backyard Composting Class!

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Composting at home is easy! It can be done in a small space (approximately four cubic feet), in sun or shade, and in any season of the year.  Did you know that most food waste ends up in the landfill?  By composting yard trimmings and kitchen scraps at home, you can help turn these materials into a rich soil amendment instead.

Using compost has many advantages including improved soil texture, improved drainage, and nutrient availability in clay soil, and preventing water loss in sandy soil.  When compost is added to soil, it also reduces the need for fertilizer by providing nutrients. The organic matter in compost holds moisture, which saves water and money.

Success in backyard composting involves combining waste from plants into proper ratios to accelerate their natural breakdown or decomposition.  Learn about ratios of greens to browns and more beginning on Saturday, November 4, from Montgomery County Master Gardeners at The Woodlands Township’s Parks Department Campus located at 8203 Millennium Forest Drive.  Classes are held from 10:00 am to 11:30 am and include hands-on opportunities to try your hand at turning a pile, experiment with various composting tools and learn about vermicomposting – composting with worms!

The classes repeat on a Saturday morning each month in November, December, January, February, and March.  Check out the class schedule and join us to demystify backyard composting! Classes are free and no registration is required.

High quality C.E. Shepherd compost bins are available for sale at each of our monthly composting classes for only $65.  Residents may also purchase a compost bin from the Environmental Services Department at 8203 Millennium Forest Drive during regular business hours.

For more information on backyard composting, check out this helpful overview from the University of Florida.

Contact Environmental Services at 281-210-3800 or enviro@thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov with any questions.

Resolution for a Greener Year

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This New Year, while fine-tuning your list of personal resolutions, how about including a few goals to help the environment? Changing habits can take effort. One theory of behavior change is the Fogg Behavior Model (FBM). This model posits that motivation, ability, and triggers are the three key factors for any behavior change—the higher the motivation, the greater the ability to perform the new behavior and the presence of a trigger drive how well one can make a change.  

Here are ten “triggers” for resolutions that can make for a healthier earth.

Use reusable shopping bags. Plastic bags are the second most prevalent form of litter, with over 4 billion bags getting carried by wind, clogging storm drains and littering our forests, rivers, and oceans every year. According to Plastic Oceans, eight million tons of plastic end up in our waters each year harming marine life. Carry a tote or two and forgo the plastic bag. 

Turn off the water while you brush. It can save up to 200 gallons of water a month. That’s good for your water bill and the environment. Learn more ways you can conserve water in your home at Sustainability.ncsu.edu 

Reduce your lawn. Lawns are water hogs that also are often chemically dependent. Cut back on turf grass and plant natives instead. This single step helps conserve water, reduces polluted water runoff, and enriches biodiversity. 

Compost kitchen waste. Organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By composting wasted food and other organics, methane emissions are significantly reduced. So refrain from dumping those nitrogen-rich coffee grounds or calcium-loaded egg shells and other organic kitchen waste. Enrich the soil instead. Learn more about the environmental benefits to composting at EPA.gov 

Ditch paper towels. They may be easier, but in one year alone, Americans use 13 billion pounds of paper towels. That’s about 45 pounds per person. If everyone used just one paper towel less, 570 million pounds of paper waste would be eliminated per year. In case that’s not enough to make a change, it goes without saying that paper towels simply can’t rival the charm of a kitchen towel.  

Eliminate phantom power usage. When household devises are left plugged in they still use energy—even those chargers with no phone or tablet attached. The draw may be small, but collectively and over time it adds up. Unplug. Or, use a smart power strip that reduces your power usage by shutting down power to products that go into standby mode. Doing so may save you some cash. Statistics vary, but experts say standby power consumption ranges from 5 to 10 percent of total household energy consumption on average. 

Cook from scratch. In a busy household, this may be challenging but the benefits are manifold. Processed foods come with loads of packaging that ends up in landfills yet deliver little nutritional value. Cut down on waste and improve health with some good old home cooking. 

Bring your own water bottle. Not only do all the plastic water bottles we use require 17 million barrels of oil to be produced, in 86% of the time they end up in landfills. You’ve seen some of the neat reusable water bottles on the market—consider buying one and using filtered tap water instead.   

Walk, bike, use public transportation. Bikes have been hailed as the most efficient transportation ever invented. Why not bike for those short trips? While helping to reduce emissions and saving on gas, you’ll be helping yourself stay fit at the same time. 

Cut back on meat. This may challenge carnivores, but consider this: industrially farmed corn and soybean that feeds livestock is a major source of greenhouse gasses and air and water pollution. What’s more is that it takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce just 1 pound of meat. Yet, only 25 gallons of water are required to grow 1 pound of wheat. You can save more water by not eating a pound of meat than you can by not showering for six months! 

When you crave that steak, only buy meat from grass-fed livestock. Eating less meat can have health benefits too. Check out more information about the benefits of reducing meat in your diet by The Mayo Clinic. 

The Environmental Services Department wishes you a safe and Happy New Year!

Fall in Love with Leaves

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It’s Fall! Time for cool mornings and pumpkin spice everything. And, while nothing says fall like fallen leaves, sometimes they can feel like a bombardment.  If you’re thinking there’s got to be a better way to deal with those leaves than hauling bag after bag to the curb, you’re right. Here are three things to consider as you tackle the autumnal abundance. 

Rake Into Beds

The best place for leaves is right on the ground – raked under your trees and shrubs or mowed into the lawn. This returns nutrients back to the soil and provides shelter to caterpillars and other overwintering insects. Come spring these insects will get to work as natural pest control in the garden, and they in turn will feed new clutches of baby birds. This native mulch also suppresses weeds and holds in soil moisture. A great return for “leaving the leaves”. 

If all your landscape beds have a 3-4″ layer and you still have leaves here are some good options: 

  • Start or feed a compost pile
  • Heap up 6-8″ in a corner along with branches and hollow stems for a simple insect hotel 
  • Stockpile to put around tender shrubs as insulation over the winter 

If you regularly contend with a lot of leaves, consider vacuuming instead of blowing. Units that vacuum and shred leaves as you go really help reduce the volume and small pieces break down faster into rich compost wherever they end up. 

Out of Drains & Gutters 

One place leaves don’t belong is in the stormwater system. Don’t blow leaves into the drain, it’s illegal! Stormwater flows, untreated, into local waterways and all that extra debris depletes oxygen, reducing water quality for fish, dragonfly naiads and a host of other aquatic organisms.  

After a rain, check for needles, sticks and other debris that may be lodged in driveway culverts and drain inlets near your house. Keeping the stormwater system clear reduces flooding. It also prevents formation of small, stagnant puddles ripe for mosquito breeding.  

Fall is a great time to check those gutters, too. Pay special attention to sections under trees as well as roof valleys (where two sections of roof join). As these areas fill with debris, you risk damage to the roof and you create more ideal mosquito breeding sites, right at your doorstep. 

Fun with Leaves 

Albert Camus wrote “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” There are 168 words to describe leaf shape, arrangement, venation, and edges; take some time to delight in the variety. Have a leaf scavenger hunt or make a leaf print bookmark. Learn the language of leaves. 

Leaf Print Bookmark 

  1. Collect leaves from the neighborhood that have interesting shapes or vein patterns 
  1. Use a roller or brush to apply paint to the underside of a leaf. Do it sparingly so that the texture appears 
  1. Place painted side down on a heavy sheet of paper or cardstock 
  1. Cover with a scrap piece of paper and use a rolling pin or straight-sided can to press the leaf down evenly 
  1. Remove the scrap paper and peel the leaf back gently from the stem end 
  1. Let the print dry and embellish with doodles, stickers, glitter or stamps 
  1. Punch a hole at one end and loop through a piece of ribbon or yard to complete the bookmark 

Other ways to use the leaf print technique: 

  • Decorate brown kraft paper for a tablecloth or placemats 
  • Stamp over newsprint for recycled wrapping paper 

Resources

Leaf-Hunt-Activity-PageDownload

Check out the Texas A&M Forest service for help identifying native trees

Montgomery-County-Compost-ManualDownload

Feed Your Plants with Kitchen Scraps and Yard Trimmings

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Would you like to waste less, eat healthier food, and grow thriving plants in your home and landscape?  With just a few small steps and habit changes, you can do this!  Take advantage of these ideas for thinking outside the box. 

According to a new report, “Food Waste in America”, by Recycle Track Systems 

  • Food takes up more space in US landfills than any other material. 
  • On average, each American can save one pound of food per day with a few simple steps. 
  • By simply putting our food to good use (consuming or composting) we will reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 11%. In fact, it’s one of the easiest things we can do to fight climate change.  
  • Food-saving planning, shopping and storage strategies prevent most produce waste and save households an average of $1,600 each year. That’s enough to pay for more than an entire month’s worth of groceries for a family of four. 

What can you do to reduce food waste in your own home?  The organization “Stop Food Waste” suggests putting this cycle into action: 

Plan 

  • Before shopping, take inventory of your home food supply 
  • Create a weekly menu plan using the food in your refrigerator and pantry. 
  • Take advantage of the “Save the Food” Guestimator and Meal Prep Mate. 
  • Base your shopping list based on needed items. 

Store 

Eat 

  • Start 2022 with a “New Year’s Fridge Clean-Out”. Make a resolution to eat down your food before the next big shopping trip.  
  • Take advantage of “Save the Food’s” recipes for creative and tasty ways to make use of those odds and ends in your refrigerator or pantry. 
  • Check out these handy resources from “Stop Food Waste” like the “10-Minute Fridge Reality Check” and the “Food Shift Kitchen Guide” 

Compost 

  • Save vegetable and fruit trimmings, cores, peelings, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags and other compostable items. 
  • Start a compost bin in your backyard. 
  • Make backyard composting part of your food preparation routine. 
  • Place your grass clippings and leaves in your compost bin rather than curbside. Sure, yard trimmings collected curbside in The Woodlands are composted commercially, but why not save the good stuff for yourself? You’ll also reduce hauling and the green house gases that come with it.  

Create Compost in Your Own Backyard 

Let’s talk more about compost. Because, while we can all do better at reducing waste, there’s still going to be some great resources coming out of your kitchen. I’m looking at you carrot ends and egg shells. Don’t look a resource in the mouth, compost it! It’s easier than you think, and your plants will LOVE it. Backyard composting is the process of combining dry leaves, brown pine needles, green plant trimmings, and kitchen scraps to create a rich, slow-release fertilizer for your plants. 

Adding compost to soil is one of the best ways to improve soil quality and texture.  Here’s why. Compost contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium – primary nutrients  gardens and landscape plants need. It also includes traces of other essential elements like calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. These nutrients are released slowly, as opposed to fast-release synthetic fertilizers, and far healthier for your plants. Compost improves drainage and helps the soil retain moisture – less irrigating for you. In short, you’ll have healthier plants with less work, water, and money. 

Creating compost requires a few weeks to a year depending on how often you turn (or mix up) your pile. The more often you turn it, the faster the rate of decomposition. This is because the microbes that are the workhorses of decomposition need air to live. The more often the pile is turned, the more air is delivered to the microbes and the harder they work. I usually turn my pile about every two weeks. But, again, it’s up to you how often you choose to do it. I have some friends who are proud lazy composters and never turn their pile. They still create compost; it just takes longer.  

How can you tell when your compost is finished?  The material at the bottom of your compost bin turns a rich, dark brown color and smells and looks like fresh earth. 

Now comes the most gratifying part – using your compost!   

  • Sprinkle ½”-1” over your backyard vegetable garden and around your planting beds.   
  • Add 1/4” to the surface of indoor and outdoor potted plants.  
  • Make your own potting soil with one of these recipes from University of Florida soil experts.  
  • Or even brew a potent “compost tea” for container plants by steeping homemade finished compost in a five-gallon bucket of water for 1-3 days.  Strain the liquid and apply it to your plants. While research is ongoing, it is thought that compost tea not only provides nutrients but a host of microorganisms that boost plant health.   

Resolve now to reduce food waste, give our climate a hand, and help your landscape thrive in 2022. Learn more about backyard composting with our free, hands-on, backyard composting class on Saturday, January 8 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at The Woodlands Township Parks, Recreation and Environmental Services campus, 8203 Millennium Forest.  Experts from Montgomery County Master Gardeners Association will show you all you need to know. High quality C.E. Shepherd collapsible compost bins will be for sale for only $50 each.  Drop in – no registration required. See you there!