Latoya Brown-Zimmermann reaches for a plant while surrounded by greenery. Image provided by Latoya Brown-Zimmermann

by Katrina L. Spencer and Latoya Brown-Zimmermann

Step into Latoya Brown-Zimmermann’s Birmingham garden and you’ll find a carefully curated microfarm: raised beds of kale, tomatoes, corn, bell peppers, squash, and beans beside an aviary of quails crafted by her husband. The structure provides the birds with shelter and, through their composted waste, feeds the soil she studies and tends.

In this small but thriving space of about 300 square feet, Brown-Zimmermann has created an oasis of flora and fauna — a living system where nothing is wasted and every element supports the next. As a PhD student in agricultural science and a specialist in soil, she shares five composting tips for home gardeners who want to grow their own food more sustainably.

“Keep compost away from your home,” she said.

It’s the bugs — flies, worms and roaches — that turn kitchen scraps into rich soil that nourishes plants. While you want the basil, onions, peppers and watermelon that spring forth from the earth, all of which the Zimmermanns harvest, the crawly critters may be less welcome indoors. That’s why the 42-gallon, black, plastic bin she and her husband use for composting is at least 15 feet away from the entrance of their home. 

Some standard items like fruit peelings, egg shells and spoiled vegetables go in, but also less expected ones like tea bags, toilet paper tubes and paper napkins are included. Her next tip for the savvy composter is emphatic: no meat and no bones go into the compost. On a rare occasion, she’ll add shrimp shells — but only the shells! Non-compliant composters beware: the rebellious home gardener could gain unwanted pests like opossums if they’re not careful.

A rotating compost mixer with slats for ventilation. Image provided by Latoya Brown-Zimmermann

Over Google Meet, she gives me a virtual tour. The bin has slats designed in its top that allow the compost she collects to aerate, and it can be spun, too, making the desired deterioration of the materials a thorough process. She shows me a “wingdigger” tool, or a long wooden stick with a blunt, metal, rotating blade at the end, which she uses to comb and turn the soil-to-be.

“Mix air into your compost regularly to help microbes breathe and organic matter decompose evenly,” she wrote. “A healthy compost should feel damp like a wrung-out sponge — never soggy, never dry. When the balance is right, your scraps stop being waste and start becoming wealth — just as nature intended.” She’s not new to this. She’s true to this. 

Brown-Zimmermann has traveled the world working on agricultural projects. In Ghana, she grew pineapples. In Thailand, she experimented with using waste from fish as fertilizer. Her tricks of the trade are gained through both study and experience. There are at least three items she seeks out to enrich the compost, aside from what comes from her kitchen and inside her home.

Discarded coffee grounds, collected for free from Starbucks, is one. Quail dung from the birds she keeps is another. And the last she purchases: granules from a brand called Nectar from the Gods that add nitrogen and phosphates to the developing soil. She uses just two tablespoons of the granules, once every three months, to curate a mix that ultimately helps to yield the beautiful vegetables she sows and reaps at home.

Latoya Brown-Zimmermann displays a tomato from her microfarm. Image provided by Latoya Brown-Zimmermann

Her last piece of advice is to mind the pH of the soil you create. Or, in other terms, know how acidic or alkaline your product is. This measure can influence the outcome of the plants you grow. For example, some herbs, vegetables and fruits need acidic soil to thrive while some flowers need alkaline soil to bloom successfully. Hydrangeas, she tells me, come in different colors dependent upon the pH of the soil in which they grow. So, testing strips can be purchased broadly from vendors in stores and online. But gardeners can also send soil samples out to universities for more in-depth analysis.

To recap, that’s five pieces of advice to aid you on your composting journey:

  • Keep your compost bin away from your home.
  • Avoid adding meat/animal flesh to your compost.
  • Mix air into your compost regularly with a combing tool and rotation.
  • Enrich your compost with minerals and other additions like coffee grounds.
  • Investigate your soil’s pH and to achieve the outcomes you seek.

For similar content about planting, gardening and farming at home, follow @theporchapotager1 on TikTok for an entertaining, close-up look.