Becoming A Master Composter

by Willliam Kruger

To become a master composter a person has to take composting classes. My instructor was Mary Stable who is both a master composter and a master gardener. Ms. Stable works for the Mecklenburg County Waste Management office. It is the Mecklenburg Office of Waste Management that puts on these classes and provides all the materials you need to complete the class.

There has to be at lest 10 people dedicated to completing this class or it is not given.

My group met every Monday at Wing Haven for four months.  We studied soil types and various types of soil augmentation, including compost.  My class visited community gardens and saw how they were composting and using compost.  In addition, we studied types of gardening and exotic and invasive foliage.  Next in our course of study was instruction on hazardous chemicals used in folk’s gardens.  Finally, we studied various types of composting and composting containers, and learned the Mecklenburg hot batch style of composting.

After the class is complete, one becomes a certified composter, which is the level I am at now.  After 40 hours of community work and service, I will become a master composter. I am almost there.