2004 U. S. Composter of the Year

The United States Composting Council awarded New England Organics and the Hawk Ridge Composting Facility, Unity, ME with the 2004 Composter of the Year award at the January conference in Las Vegas. On hand to receive this award was Facility Manager, George Belmont and Product Marketing Manager, John Kelly.

The Hawk Ridge Compost team earned the award for its track record in facility management, operational excellence and product marketing. The facility has been in operation since 1990 and produces more than ten professional grade products designed for the horticultural, construction and agricultural markets.

The facility uses compost technology from Holland (Gicom Dutch Tunnel). The enclosed composting operations uses biofiltration and scrubbers for odor/emissions control.

A new 21' McClosky trommel screen was added in 2003 to help meet increased production (100,000 cubic yards). The new high production screen offers full remote control functions and radial stacking and allows us to produce both <3/8" Premium Grade and <1/4" Select Grade products.

Super-Peat Selected For New Sunday River Golf Course

Construction began on the new 18-hole Sunday River Golf Course in late April of 2003. With a summer of 2004 opening date, the construction schedule for this championship course demanded a quick grow in.

The joint venture between Sunday River and Harris Golf, owners of the Bath and Boothbay Country Clubs, worked with famed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr. When it came time to select materials, the Harris Golf team went with New England Organics based on their experience with earthlife™ products for maintenance/topdressing on the Bath and Boothbay courses. For the Sunday River Course, Harris Golf chose earthlife™ Super-Peat (USGA approved Compost and Peat blend) for its greens and tees.

With eighteen separate, self-contained fairways, golfers will be lead through the Maine woods and over dramatic elevations. The course will epitomize the best in mountain golf.

Other Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Courses

• Sugarloaf Golf Course
• The Links at Spanish Bay
• Chateau Whistler, British Columbia
  

earthlife™ Compost Quality Assurance Program

Our goal is simple—to produce the best possible compost and soil products and to match those products with their best use.

In order to achieve this goal, we have combined our experience manufacturing and selling over 1,000,000 cubic yards of compost into a compost quality assurance plan.

Each product is produced with the end use in mind. Our Hawk Ridge Compost Facility's compost quality assurance plan includes the following:

1. Analyses of compost inputs
2. Computer modeling of recipe
3. Phase I—aerobic composting
4. Phase II—aerated curing
5. Phase III—windrow aging
6. Product screening
7. Quality assurance testing
   

Quality Assurance Testing

Some of the 30 quality parameters used to match products with their best use include:

• pH
• Organic matter
• Maturity
• Water Holding Capacity
• C:N Ration
• Plant growth assays
• Nutrients
• Conductivity

Growing Your Business with the Value of Compost

From a soil health and plant benefit perspective, compost is unmatched in value. Adding a quality compost to your landscape is the single best thing to improve root growth, plant color, and overall health.

Compost offers:

• Organic matter
• Major nutients—N,P,K
• Soil building microbes
• Lime value and pH buffering
• Disease fighting organisms
• Minor nutrients

For example, earthlife™ compost has billions of soil building aerobic microbes per gram of compost! Imagine how many microbes are hard at work in a cubic yard of compost and you begin to appreciate how it can transform a soil.

Here are some of the industries that are growing their bottom line with the unique benefits of compost.

• Lawn & Sorts turf
• Nursery & Field Growers
• Garden Centers & Retailers
• Topsoil dealers

Topdressing: Easy as 1-2-3.

To address the challenge of improving lawns and sportsturf without full reconstruction, Tom Sukley, Keystone Horticulturist developed a compost topdressing program.

Shortly after the North Yarmouth Academy teams finished up their spring season, Tom went to work. The first step was to gather a soil test of the existing athletic fields. The fields had been depleted of organic matter over time and Tom knew the soil needed more water holding capacity.

Next the field was core aerated and prepped for topdressing. Calibrating the topdressing unit to apply 1/4" application, the field received about 60 cubic yards of earthlife™ compost. The turf was then brushed and seeded.

The results were immediate and dramatic. Lush new growth came in immediately and the existing turf thrived from the added nutrients and stimulation from the compost microbes.

For small projects, Tom purchased a Bannerman Turf Topper and the results have been equally impressive on residential lawns.

New Products

Three new products are now available:

• Nutri-Joe
• Premium Compost <1/4"
• Wood Ash (High Carbon)

Nutri-Joe

Unique to the landscaping industry, Nutri-Joe is made from 100% coffee grounds. Ideal for acid loving plants, it performs well as a soil amendment or mulch. Nutri-Joe is approved by Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association for Certified Organic Growing. Now you can wake up to the smell of coffee in your garden!

Premium Compost <1/4"

Ideal for use in topdressing, garden and shrub beds, and for bulk sale at garden centers. Premium Compost is a well aged, very fine textured compost.

High Carbon Wood Ash

Also new to our product line is this high carbon Wood Ash. Excellent for use as a liming agent, soil additive or compost bulking. High Carbon Wood Ash is easy to use, provides valuable nutrients and improves soil ability to hold moisture.

Athletic Fields Choose Compost

Athletic programs from grade schools to top colleges have grown enormously over the last ten years — and so have the standards by which fields are constructed.

Engineered soils, irrigation, laser grading, and even lights are a few of the decisions to consider to get the most out of today's sportsfields.

More than 75 New England schools have used earthlife™ compost to enhance their sportsfields. Here are a few of the fields that have incorporated earthlife™ compost.

• Bates College
• Bowdoin College
• Dartmouth College
• Medway, MA
• Douglass, MA
• Shrewsbury, MA
• Mass Dev., Devens, MA
• Lisbon, ME
• Ellsworth, ME
• Scarborough, ME
• USM, Portland, ME

Southbridge, MA Landfill: Compost Helps Late Season Green Up

When it came time for Doug Casella, owner of Casella Construction, to create a vegetative cap for the expansive Southbridge landfill project, he knew he wanted to use compost.

Critical to maintaining the integrity of a landfill cap and to minimizing erosion is the immediate establishment of turf.

There are a number of defensive measures that can be taken to ensure the vegetative layer does not erode prior to germination, but one of the best methods is the addition of compost.

Deliveries to the project started in late October and finished in November of 2003. A total of 7,000 cubic yards of earthlife™ compost was used to create a high organic manufactured topsoil that resulted in excellent germination in this late season seeding.

Experience has proven that a high organic soil holds much more water and resists erosion due to the friction created by the organic particles.

What Product Do I Use?

Uses	Suggested Product
Enhancing topsoil	Regular or Premium Grade
Flower & garden beds	Premium or Select Grade
Turf topdressing	Premium or Select Grade
Potting mix amendment	Select, Super-Peat, Superhumus
Container potting mix	Grower's Mix, Superhumus
Mulch	Nutri-Mulch
Liming agent	Wood Ash
Erosion control	Erosion Control Mix
Organic gardening	Nutri-Joe, Superhumus

Technical Assistance

Our staff is available to provide on-site assistance with mix ratios, storage, handling, nutrient calculations as well as seed and fertilizer recommendations.