Pile It On with the King of Compost: From the Backyard to the Farm

Recorded outdoors around a table at Knight Family Farm in Garland, Maine, this episode features plenty of fresh air, farm sounds, barbecue and a conversation about things that are not always quite so fresh. Dr. Colt Knight is joined by longtime friend Mark King, organics management specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and one of Maine’s leading composting experts. Mark explains how anything from kitchen scraps and horse manure to livestock mortalities and food-processing waste can be transformed into a valuable soil amendment.Mark and Colt discuss the basics of building and managing a compost pile, small-scale composting with lobster-trap wire bins, compost-bedded livestock packs, carcass composting, food waste recovery and anaerobic digesters. Mark also shares information about the five-day Maine Compost School and the new Maine Master Community Composter program, which is designed to help communities prepare for Maine’s changing approach to food waste disposal. Whether you manage a farm, keep a backyard garden or simply want to keep food scraps out of the landfill, this episode offers practical advice for turning waste into a useful resource.Maine Compost SchoolMaine Compost School Sessions and CalendarMRRA Food Recovery Council and Maine Master Community Composter ProgramMaine DEP Composting InformationUniversity of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.