Compost Happens!

Root crops especially benefit from compost mixed into the planting area.

Compost Happens!

Gold can be made easily without a lot of effort…black gold that is. Compost is a gardener’s best friend. It leads to healthier soil, which leads to healthier plants, which lead to healthier vegetables, which can lead to a healthier you. So how do you make this “black gold”? Keep reading to find out how.

This first thing you need is something to contain your pile. These can be purchased. They run from about $40 for a simple bin, up to $150 for one with a crank to turn it. You can also make your own structure using lumber, old pallets, bales of hay, or even cinder blocks. Whatever you do, it should be at least 3’x3’. This is the minimum size necessary for the compost materials to heat up enough to decompose efficiently. I will talk more about keeping it hot later.

So, what can I put into my compost? It can be categorized into greens and browns. Greens supply the nitrogen, and browns represent the carbon.

Green materials include fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen, fresh grass clippings, manure, weeds without roots and seeds, and coffee grounds, to name a few.

Browns include old dried up leaves (it is best to run them under the lawn mower before putting them in), cardboard, paper grocery bags, dried ornamental grasses that you have cut down, and small sticks. Pick up bags of leaves from the side of the road!

The “ideal” ratio is 25 part browns to one-part greens. If you have too much green, it will cause an odor. Too much brown will cause the pile to break down too slowly. If this is too technical for you, just try to make it 50/50. Personally, I just throw in what I have available. If I notice an odor, or if it is looking too wet, I throw in some cardboard or leaves from my neighbor’s woods. I also will lay out a tarp and spread it out to dry if we have a deluge that oversaturates it.

There are two types of composting you can do: hot and cold. No matter what you do, organic material will eventually break down into dirt. It all depends on how fast you want it to happen.

Using the hot method, you can have a finished product in as little as three months. For me, it takes more like five to six. This is mainly because I am not patient enough, and I throw it on my garden when I need it! The most important activity for a hot pile will warm you up too. Every couple of days, you need to mix up your pile with a pitch fork or shovel. You can also buy a special tool for this (a compost turning tool). Churning up the pile oxygenates it. The tiny organisms need to breathe! A lack of oxygen is also what leads to a stinky heap. The other important aspect to consider when you've chosen the hot composting method is the maintenance of the proper green to brown ratio.

Finally, keeping the pile at a sufficient size will keep the temperature up. A properly maintained pile of at least 3'x3' can reach up to 140 degrees in the center. Mine steams when I open the bin on cool mornings. Even this past November, it was at 120 degrees.

For the cold method, all you have to do is start a big pile of leaves and grass clippings mixed together and keep piling on the materials as you have them available. This process takes about three years. My in-laws have three piles. One that they start in the fall with all the leaves and needles they clean up, one from the prior fall, and one that is ready to be put on the garden the next spring. They scoop up the finished pile in the fall, and then move everything over.

In the end, no matter what you choose to do, “compost happens.” You can add it to the garden at any stage, mix it in, and enjoy a fluffy soil full of life. Your plants will thank you. If you have any questions, let me know. Start a pile today!