I started my compost (in an enclosed container) back in August. I've added mostly food scraps (as we go through so many veggies and fruits) and of course leaves and other carbon rich materials. The problem is I am not sure if my compost material is ready for use. I believe that the end result of composting should yield a soil-like material, however, mine still has fragements of food scraps (like pineapple skins, bits of egg shell, etc.). The compost has gone down considerably and I am turning it every two weeks or so. I have not been adding water lately (not sure if that is a problem). What exactly should the end result look like and if mine is indeed ready, should I just blend it into my garden? I'm wanting to add it to both my veggie garden and flower garden. Thank- you, Yolanda
Composting Your compost isn't ready yet. It should be brown and crumbly, with the components completely decomposed. Heat is required for good decomposition. Your compost should be just right by the fall. To speed up the decomposition process, it should be prepared in layers, much like a lasagna, with layers of clipplings, vegetable matter etc. alternated with layers of soil. You should put a layer of soil on top of your compost and water it well over the summer.
Composting, more questions Thanks for the response to my composting question, however, it leaves me with a few more questions. I suspected that my compost was not ready, however, if I'm supposed to layer it like lasagne, what about the common suggestion made about turning the compost. Will that not disturb the layers? I thought turning was important to create more heat in the compost. Second question; my compost as mentioned has gone down cosiderably, however, I had stopped adding food scraps to it about a month ago because it had reached the top of the container. Afraid that I would disturb the decomposing taking place, I have stopped adding to it. I'm confused between the layering and turning process. Third question; the layer of soil on top and adding a bit of water to the compost suggestion- is this what I should do everytime I add items to my bin? Everyday I have lots of food scraps, so I would actually be layering everyday. Thanks,
composting questions The secrets to good compost making are 1.air 2. moisture, 3. maintenance of a correct proportion of carbon to nitrogen. 1. Your covered box should have holes or gaps in the sides and bottom to allow for good air circulation. 2.The cover protects your compost from excessive moisture which leaches out the goodness. The pile should be moist but not excessively wet. It should be like a damp sponge. 3. The layering method is used to achieve a correct carbon to nitrogen ratio, needed to produce good compost. It's ok to disturb the layers by turning the compost -- turning aerates it, produces heat,redistributes the layers in their varying stages of decomposition, helping the bacteria to activate and encouraging rot. In order to prepare your compost in layers, you will need to save your food scraps until you have enough for about a 6 inch layer. Also it's important to chop up rinds etc. into small pieces for faster decomposition.This 6 inch layer should be sprinkled with a little fertilizer that is high in Nitrogen (for example, bonemeal or chicken manure). Sprinkle some water on this if it is dry, and then top with a 1-2 inch layer of soil. Continue layering in this way, and turn every 3 weeks or more frequently. There is another method of aeration that works well when you have just one bin. When the bin is half full, poke 4 bamboo canes down into the pile. This will give good air circulation, and if you have chopped your materials into small enough pieces and added some nitrogen, the compost should break down quite quickly without having to turn it. I hope this helps!
Composting: a few more comments Actually water should be applied to your 6 inch layer before you add your Nitrogen fertilizer. Amonium sulphate can be used as the nitrogen fertilizer instead of bonemeal or fresh chicken manure. Sometimes lime is used, but this is not always desirable, particularly when manure is being composted. The calcium in lime can be replaced by bonemeal or egg shells or wood ashes and these provide potash as well. More about the carbon/nitrogen ratio: Excess carbon slows down decompostion and excess nitrogen causes unpleasant odours. High carbon materials are usually brown or yellow, dry and bulky; high nitrogen materials tend to be green, moist and often sloppy. Seaweed is an excellent high nitrogen material, and the salt in seaweed is not a problem when used in the compost. The most ideal compost set up, if you have the space and if appropriate, is to have 3 bins side by side. One is used for the initial gathering, the 2nd for turning half ready material into and the 3rd for useable compost.
Or you can just keep a fairly balanced pile of carbon (leaf mold, newspaper, old cereal boxes) and nitrogen (wet garbabe, fresh garden clippings) with an occasional handful of either blood meal for nitrogen or bone meal for carbon, poking h oles in it now and then. Build it up on twigs to allow air from below, cover it in cool weather with black plastic, or don't. Throw on some soil now and then to let the microbes in the soil have at the heap. Sooner or later it will compost. You will know because it will have brown, crumbly earth. Worms, sow bugs, dung beetles and snails speed up the preocess. It's faster in summer and may grind to a halt in winter (not in warmer climates). Ice crystals, however, speed up the breakdown of the plant matter. The smaller the composted material, the more surface the critters hae to work down, so finer compost goes faster than coarser. About once a year I lift the frame (I use plastic) from the heap (frames/heaps, actually), move them about a foot away, pull up the still uncomposted material, whiche leaves the good stuff in piles I cover with a tarp until they are needed. The "rawer" the compost, the harsher it is for plants.
lazy composting I've been composting for about 10 yrs. at 2 houses. After reading in a Farmer's Almanac about an old farmer who never turned his compost, I haven't turned mine. It is extremely healthy with tons of earthworms. No worries about how to mix carbon & nitrogen items. Carbon includes dog hair & dryer lint, plus all dead plant material (anything yellow or brown, as long as it's not diseased). Nitrogen includes kitchen scraps (fruit & veggie). As others have replied, watering the compost is important, as is cutting everything into small chunks - the harder the material, the smaller it should be (as it takes longer to decompose). I throw a lot of kitchen scraps in, then once a wk. or so, add some dead plant material. The compost is either spread on top of the soil, or dug in a few inches. I do both. Good luck from a lazy gardener. Cricket
My personal recipe is one part green to one part brown, seems to yield a reasonable copost after appropriate time to digest. ie. two bags of lawn clippings, one bag woody bis and a few shovels of garden soil. seems to keep things flowing.
