How to Compost

Compost is nature’s own organic fertilizer. It’s the cheapest, most dependable, safest, and easiest to use of any type of fertilizer for your garden. Chemical fertilizers destroy the natural biology of the soil. Even store bought “organic” fertilizers can do this. Manure for fertilizer is even banned here for commercial farmers because it adds so much nitrogen to the soil at one time and that pollutes the water table. Too much nitrogen even harms the plants. Compost won’t do that. A healthy, living soil creates its own nutrients and makes them available to the plants as they are needed. This is what compost will do for your soil in your garden.

Given enough time everything organic will break down. Certain conditions work faster and better. As soon as plant material is removed from a plant, microorganisms slowly begin to decompose it. These organisms create a small amount of heat. If the plant material is piled in a compost heap or in a compost bin, this heat begins to build up. It will eventually get so hot that it kills the organisms that started the process. Other micro organisms that thrive in this high heat take over. They work much more quickly than the low heat ones. This heat also kills most seeds, plant diseases and fungus. We can also classify them as aerobic and an anaerobic. That just means some like oxygen and some do not. The anaerobic (non oxygen) organisms live in a cooler environment, without air and are the ones that create all the bad odors.

It’s easy to make your own compost for your garden. Whether you use a compost bin or just piling the compost in a heap doesn’t really matter. If you are using a compost bin it should be at least 3 feet in every direction to heat up well. A compost pile should be at least 4 feet high.

What you put in your compost is important. Plant material you put in your compost pile contains all the nutrients in roughly the right proportions that plants need. Not all the material is going to break down completely and some nitrogen is lost in the process. This has to be compensated for. Some people have very elaborate compost recipes but simply speaking, most of them are approximately 1/3 “green” to 2/3 “brown”. Green materials are things like lawn clippings, kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps or anything organic that has a lot of nitrogen. Make sure your greens are chopped up well with a shovel. Add these by digging a hole one foot deep into the compost and mixing them in. Then cover with about six inches of compost, so the flies don’t find it. The Brown materials are things like tree leaves, small twigs, or pine needles. These have higher carbon content, break down slower and help improve soil texture. These should also be chopped up, mixed in a little and have some water added, when they are put in the compost pile.

Moisture is necessary for the microorganisms to thrive. Too much water creates anaerobic pockets within your compost pile creating a stinky muck. Stirring the compost every week or two or anytime the pile cools off, helps even out the moisture and add oxygen to the pile.

It’s best to have two compost bins or piles, one that is being filled and one that is finishing or done. If you are continually adding to your pile, you inevitably end up with too much unfinished compost in it.

The compost is done when there is very little in it that is recognizable. Some small twigs may remain, but any larger pieces should be picked out and moved to the working pile. Compost that is still hot is still working and shouldn’t be used yet. If it is used, the microorganisms will actually consume nitrogen from the surrounding soil, depriving your plants. The heat may also burn the roots.

Making your own compost is easy. Most suburban yard waste is naturally 2/3 fallen leaves and bush trimmings to 1/3 lawn clippings. Once you get the hang of it you’ll hardly give it any thought. It’s the only way you can be sure of what you are putting in your garden's soil. It’s recycling as nature intended it. We just use a few tricks to speed it up. If you have problems feel free to ask. I will also be making a blog about common composting problems.

Examples of Compost ingredients:

 Greens:

            Lawn clippings

                        Nothing that has been treated with fertilizer, herbicide, or pesticide

                        Avoid weeds after they have seeded

            Debris from the garden

                        Not plants heavily infested with bugs

                        Not diseased plants

            Kitchen scraps

                        Apple cores, watermelon rinds… anything starting to spoil is ok

                        Coffee grounds, tea baggers

                        Nothing cooked

                        Not with any oils, meat, salt or cheese in it (like salad dressings)

            Manure from herbivores (so little is needed it’s not worth seeking out)

                        Only from organic animals

                                    No pharmaceuticals

                                    Grazed on land without herbicides                      

Browns:

            Leaves (brown, yellow or green)

                        Fallen from trees

                        Bush trimmings

                                    No oleander or other poisonous plants

                        Pine needles (adds acid; not a big problem in our neutral clay)

            Shredded wood, twigs

                        Don’t add just bark, the tannins slow seedling growth

            Saw dust

                        Not from pressure treated (green) or painted wood

            Brown paper (like bags) without colored ink

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