Finished compost is reputed to be the heart of organic gardening, supplying nutrients, microbial material and ultimately humic matter back into the soil. Some gardeners though find that getting to the finished product is more of a challenge than they had anticipated. The process is not a quick one even though some ads tout “buy this tumbler and produce rich, crumbly compost in two weeks.” Whether you’ve tried and given up or are a beginner, it’s just like baking bread: if you follow the recipe, composting is a snap.

Yard waste, such as grass clippings and leaves, is considered the main source of composting materials. But don’t overlook old plants and potting soil, annual weeds, flowers and kitchen scraps. Exclude from your pile meat scraps, invasive weeds such as morning glory, and diseased plants such as tomato plants infected with blight.

By the way, yard waste and compostables are not trash. Since 1993, it has been against the law to send yard trimmings to the landfills in North Carolina. If this little known law was obeyed and we all recycled as well, we would have little need to so quickly create new places to bury our trash.

Home composting is an environmentally friendly and economically wise way to help solve the problem of what to do with some of your yard waste. With a little knowledge and planning, techniques like composting and mulching actually take less time, effort and money than dragging those bulging plastic bags to the curb. So here’s the deal: find your composting method and stick with it, then follow the composting recipe of your choice to the letter.

Slow & Cool Compost:
The slow and cool method costs only the space needed to process the waste and provides compost in about two years, sometimes less. It requires no turning and little special attention.

Simply set aside an area in a secluded corner of your yard for piling up fallen leaves and other organic materials.

Over a two-year period, the material on the bottom will compost. Pull back the top layers and use the rotted material in your garden.

The downside to this method is that it ties up the space for two years and you have to wait a long time for the use of the composted material.

Hot & Fast Compost:
This method provides compost much more quickly; in as short as four months time. In addition, the quality of the compost is more consistent. A bonus with the hot and fast method is that the heat produced in the pile destroys many weed seeds and diseases.

Ingredients: Layer about 50 percent of brown, such as leaves or dried grasses, and 50 percent of green such as grass clippings (not soggy) and weeds. Then add a layer of manure or finished compost to introduce bacteria and other microbes in order to start the decomposition process. Add water to each level to keep the moisture content even.

Water: Your compost pile should contain somewhere between 40 to 60 percent moisture. It should have the consistency of a wrung out sponge. If the pile is too wet or too dry, the decomposition process will slow down or stop. You will know this by checking your compost thermometer. The best way to control the moisture is by adding a lid to your bin. Otherwise, when rain saturates an uncovered pile, decomposition stops.

Air — In order for the fungi, bacteria and other microbes to do their job of breaking down the organic materials, the pile needs to be turned, and knowing when and how often is the key to making finished compost quickly. The easiest way to know when to turn is to get yourself a compost thermometer (found in various gardening catalogs). When the pile is first mixed, the temperature should rise rapidly to between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Within a week or two the temperature should begin to drop; when it has decreased by 20 degrees below its peak, it’s time to turn the pile. Yes Virginia, you do have to turn the pile.

Temperature: If all other conditions necessary for proper composting exist, the temperature will come naturally. Pile temperatures between 90 and 140 degrees degrees are necessary for decomposition to occur in the shortest amount of time. Below 90 degrees composting slows significantly, while temperatures above 140 are too high for most microbes to live.

In the talks I give on organic gardening, I find that many people have a misconception about what heats up the compost pile. The heat is created by the chemical composition of the pile and subsequent reaction of the materials, not the atmospheric temperature. In past issues, Organic Gardening magazine has published pictures showing snow covered compost piles with large white plumes of steam rising into the wintry air. Now that’s a working pile!

Composting Methods
Composting methods include the 3-bin system, single bin, rolling orbs, revolving barrels, and the lonely single pile. I have used all of the above and have settled on the 3 bin system because it lends itself to the hot and fast routine quite nicely.

The first bin receives the layering formula. When ready to turn it goes into the second bin, which now holds the pile in progress. When it is ready it is turned into the third bin, which eventually holds the finished compost. If you are spreading the finished compost on your beds, you need only apply about 1 to 2 inches. The finished compost is also an excellent medium for potting soil; just sift and you’re ready to plant.

The plans for the three-bin system are available at the Seattle Tilth website at http://www.seattletilth.org/, once there go to downloads and you will find the plans. In the meantime, the bins are 4 feet square and have hardware cloth for the sides and back and are framed with 2 x 4s. A lid of fiberglass patio roofing the length of the three bins keeps out the rain and keeps the pile cooking. The front of each bin has wood slats that slide in and out for ease in turning the piles.

There you have it. Follow this recipe and you will have compost working for you year round.
See you in the garden!

(Kathleen Lamont is president of the Mountains Chapter of Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, http://main.nc.us/cfsa_mountains, as well as a seasoned speaker on organic gardening. She can be reached at garden_girrl@yahoo.com)

 

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