Why?
O
nic gardening compost solves many
blems. So much so that it’s tempting to wax philosophical on the merits of making compost. Compost isn’t just a gardening topic. It relates to conserving energy, reducing pollut
,
tecting the environm
, feeding the hungry, reducing waste … and we could go on. See what I mean about philosophical?
Many times, maybe even most times, valu
e o
nic gardening compost is made from household waste that would end up in a landf
. Now that’s a waste … burying valu
e raw materials in expensive landf
space.
In many cases, there is little
as an individual can do to solve many of the social
s of our day. Making compost is a small step
can take to make a valu
e
duct from waste. Now that’s a good deal!
B
d compost in large quantities and
‘ll become a famous gardener in
r ne
borhood. It’s easy to b
d compost, but to b
d the very best
duct requires both knowledge and sk
. B
ding great compost is part science and part art. It’s work, but it’s rewarding and fun too.
Composting is a
c
of decomposit
. Bacteria, fungi, nematodes, worms, and all kinds of tiny critters work on o
nic matter to break it down. This happens slowly in a natural environm
. Compost makers can speed up that natural
c
to quickly make superior compost in large quantities.
B
d compost
perly and
can add nutri
s and st
e humus to the
l. Compost im
ves water holding capacity. It encourages the format
of beneficial
l-borne o
nisms. It also makes
l nutri
s more avail
e. O
nic gardening compost is useful when starting and planting. It’s helpful for general
l im
vem
. It im
ves annual flowers and veget
es; perennials; shrubs; small fruit; fruit trees; lawns. You can use it as mulch and as compost tea. It helps potted plants and seedlings.
But how do
get started?
How?
Getting started.
B
d compost so it has contact with the
l or mix
l with the compost material. The o
nisms in the
l contact the compost
e and
er into the
c
. A well b
t
e doesn’t attract pests, nor smell bad.
Bins are helpful to contain the materials, but not at all nec
ary. Prepare an area for accumulat
of the raw materials for the compost
e. Look at
r accumulat
of raw materials like a savings account … that’s what it is! Try to have more than one
e in the
c
of composting too.
What goes in the compost
es? The supply of compost materials is limitl
. Anything that is biodegrad
e and contains things us
e and avail
e to microo
nisms can be composted.
The materials.
B
d compost with two categories of materials: h
carbon materials and h
nitrogen materials. The two categories overlap. The ideal carbon to nitrogen r
o (C/N) for stimul
ng the composting o
nisms is 25:1 - 30:1. Finished compost is 14:1 - 20:1. Don’t get overly concerned with these numbers!
H
carbon materials are usually dry and bulky. Examples are hay, straw, fall leaves, sawdust, pine needles. The C/N r
o varies from 500:1 for sawdust to 12:1 for alfalfa hay.
H
nitrogen materials include manures, grass clippings, t
e scraps, fish meal, cottonseed meal and soybean meal.
Other useful additives can bolster the micro-nutri
s of the finished compost. Examples are rock dust, limestone, seaweed, rock phosphate, greensand, and wood ashes.
The mix.
We’re trying to start and maintain a controlled aerobic ferm
at
c
when we b
d compost. Generally, if we mix roughly equal parts of h
carbon materials and h
nitrogen materials, the C/N r
o w
be about r
t.
In living top
l, only about half the total volume of the
l is solid. The remainder is air and water. Our o
nic gardening compost should be like that too. So the particle size of our material is best fairly fine. Grind or chip very coarse materials like corn stalks if
can. If
can’t, don’t worry about it, it’ll just take longer. Particle size should be from dust-like up to 1/2 inch in size.
The
e should be moist. Moist to the touch, but not so wet that
can squeeze water out by hand.
Layer in the materials altern
ng h
carbon materials with h
nitrogen materials. Add 5 - 10 perc
garden
l throughout the
e. Layers can be 6 inches deep or so. B
d compost
es 7 - 10 feet wide at the bottom sloping to 1 - 3 feet wide at the top. Keep the he
t at about 3 - 4 feet and the length a minimum of 3 feet.
Ferm
at
.
B
d compost
es well and microo
nisms grow rapidly and temperature w
quickly climb. Temperatures may spike up to 170 degrees F over a few days or weeks. Then the temperature w
drop off and remain elevated for a few days or up to several weeks or even months. Turning the
e can speed or slow the react
s especially if the mix is l
than ideal. If the mix is r
t, the
e need not be turned or it may need turning only once.
Never fear, even if condit
s are far from ideal
‘ll st
get us
e compost. Remember, this is a natural
c
. You really can’t do it all wrong. If the
e doesn’t heat up much, it’ll take longer to decompose and the quality may be inferior. Maybe weed seeds w
st
be vi
e. It w
st
do the
l good!
Conclus
B
d o
nic gardening compost well and vastly im
ve
r gardening succ
. Making compost is fun and a valu
e sk
. It’s art for
r garden!
To learn how to b
d…”the world’s best compost”… Click Here!
