Compost Symposium

On September 8th, 2024, Denver Botanic Gardens will be holding a two-hour long Compost Symposium from 10 a.m. - noon in the Sturm Family Auditorium. In this session, Rutger Myers, Soil Health Technician at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms, will discuss best practices for composting at all scales.

Throughout the presentation, we will discuss the science behind compost. What makes compost hot? What can you learn from the smells coming from a pile? These questions will be answered. We will talk about the physics, chemistry and most importantly the biology that creates a healthy compost pile.

Rutger will train attendees to create quality compost for home gardens, discussing the many benefits small scale compost can bring to a garden. With a background in community garden compost training, Rutger will discuss the logistics to consider when starting a compost program for a home or community garden. We will then compare practices at all scales, including worm farms (vermicompost) and "no turn" systems that are being implemented across the country.

Chatfield Farms' agricultural compost program produces nearly 150 tons of compost per year. Rutger will recount the growth of Chatfield's Farms' compost program and the decisions he made along the way to accommodate the 325-acre site. We will talk about the tools required to produce high quality compost at scale, ranging from heavy machinery to lab equipment.

We will discuss the perspective of large-scale composters in a municipal context. With curbside compost on the horizon in the Denver Metro Area, it is important for residents to understand the "do's and don'ts" of citywide compost. Citywide composting is a communal effort. Large composters need help from the community to reduce contamination in compost.

The symposium will culminate with a scientific demonstration. We will look at the microbes that make compost under a microscope. Rutger will identify bacteria, fungi, nematodes, protozoa and microarthropods. In a single gram of healthy soil, there are more than 8 billion active microbes. We will identify the most important groups of microbes and discuss their roles in creating healthy soil and compost. We will discuss the importance of Soil Ecology in agriculture in our current climate crisis.

All questions will be answered. Rutger will answer all questions from attendees about their own compost piles.

Fee: Free with registration.