A compost pile can be very beneficial to your garden because it contains nutrient rich organic material. Several people do this at their own gardens, but there is a bit of know-how to get it to work. Without this knowledge, it won’t benefit anyone.
There are 4 major ingredients for a good compost.
- Greens
- Browns
- Air
- Water
Let’s discuss them.
Greens are green ingredients that have a high nitrogen level and a low carbon level (a 30:1 ratio). Greens include all garden scraps, grass clippings that are still green, vegetable and fruit peels, annual weeds, animal waste of herbivores (guinea pigs, rabbits). Egg shells and coffee grounds will also add to your browns. Egg shells will add calcium to the compost, and coffee grounds will add a richer depth of nitrogen, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and other trace minerals. Although coffee grounds look brown, they are a “green” material.
It is very important that these “greens” do not include animal waste from dogs, cats, etc., animal fats or any oils, fruit or vegetable seeds, or any plant that has been killed by an herbicide or insecticide.
Browns are anything not green. Browns have a high carbon level and a low nitrogen level. Good examples of browns include sawdust, straw, wood chippings, shredded brown cardboard, and fallen leaves. Basically, all the brown material that has already started to turn into compost is also counted in the brown category.
Compost decomposes much faster if you chop the ingredients up, so shredding woody materials and tearing up cardboard speeds up the process because there is then more surface area exposed to the microbes that decompose the compost.
Do not use old Christmas trees or other evergreen materials as your browns. They will not decompose properly, are very acidic, and the residue will prohibit growth when you utilize the compost at a later date.
When making compost you want to aim for 2 to 3 times more brown materials than greens, at least initially, although some more greens can be added as the compost cooks. For most gardeners, the biggest challenge is therefore collecting enough brown materials and not just piling in loads of greens which will result in a soggy, smelly mess.
Never add lots of grass clippings in one go as they will just form a slimy matted layer.
Air is vital to the composting process so it’s important to mix the ingredients in together, and never squash them down. By turning or remixing the compost more air is introduced, which speeds up decomposition.
The fourth vital ingredient is water. If like me you stockpile brown materials, you’ll need to water the pile to things going when first mixing it. Build the compost pile up with layers of browns and greens, watering it where necessary to produce a moist (but not soggy) mixture.
A good compost heap has a slightly sweet compost smell. If it smells sour or rotten then it either has too many greens, or is too wet. In either case, the remedy is to mix more brown materials in to compensate. By getting the right balance of 2 or 3 parts browns to 1 part greens with moisture and air, you’re giving the microbes that decompose the materials the best conditions to work in.
As they break the organic matter down, they give off heat, which in turns speeds up the decomposition. In a well-mixed heap temperatures can easily reach over 150 degrees Fahrenheit, or 65 degrees Celsius.
Adding a catalyst to the mix:
The entire purpose of a catalyst is to create an environment that fosters an explosion of beneficial growth. The majority of the decomposition that takes place in a compost pile or tumbler is done by bacteria. The more bacteria you can get into your pile, the faster it will decompose (although excessive bacteria are although the producers of smell so you may need to add brown to reduce bacteria and slow things down).
To further give bacteria a boost we’re going to add in a source of nitrogen. Nitrogen is a key component is the proteins that your compost-friendly-bacteria need to build their structures. There are compost catalysts you can buy in a store, but making one is so easy to do.
Recipe:
In a 5 gallon bucket, add the following:
Fill 1/3 full with water (rainwater or from the hose, but let it sit for 24hrs outside)
Add a burlap bag and fit it over the opening of the bucket (any mesh type bag will do)
Add one shovel full of good compost or soil to the bag.
Add coffee grounds and egg shells if it is just soil and not actually compost.
Add ½ cup Ammonia (this adds easily accessible nitrogen to the catalyst).
Add ¼ cup food grade kelp to the bag (added nitrogen that will last a bit longer in the soil).
Add 1 cup blackstrap molasses.
Add ¼ cup Brewer’s yeast.
Tie bag and let soak in the bucket for up to six weeks. Keep a lid on it so rainwater does not dilute. Twice a week remove bag and plunge back in the water to aerate the material.
Composting for Chickens
If you are wanting to compost for chickens, as compost material is great to supplement chicken feed, do not put compost into a composter but instead have it in the open where the chickens have access to it. You can use fruit seeds in the compost, provided they are not apple, plum, pear, or peach seeds in it (these fruit has a cyanide in the seeds). The chickens will peck at the compost for both plant matter and insects. You won’t need to turn the pile, except when you need the actual compost for your garden.
Composting for Earthworms
If you plan on composting for earthworms, you will need to do this in a raised bed or open container. Leaf litter can be used, but thick stems need to be broken down in 1” segments. Coffee grounds and egg shells are great to use. No fruits, especially with citrus needs to be near this ground, as they can burn the earthworms. If using an open container, drill ¼” holes in the side of the container so air can circulate through it. Too much heat and humidity can cook earthworms.
Never put in a compost pile list:
Toxic plants. At the community garden we try hard not to have poisonous plants grown, but sometimes, people add them from time to time. The most current example is the Morning Glory vine. Both the seed and the plant itself can cause psychedelic hallucinations. That can be followed by lower-level migraine for days and persistent dizziness for a week. Weeding out this plant requires gloves and long sleeve shirts, as the toxins can enter your pores. As you sweat, your pores are open more and you can get poisoned quickly. So please, do not plant this in our community garden. And never compost it.
Acontium spp: Monkshood
Atropa belladonna: Deadly Nightshade
Brugmansia spp: Angel’s Trumpet
Conium maculatum: Poison Hemlock
Datura spp: Devil’s Weed
Digitalis purpurea: Foxglove
Euphorbia spp: Spurge
Gelsemium sempervirens: Carolina Jessamine
Helleborus foetidus: Christmas Rose
Hyocyamus niger: Black Henbane
Ipomaea violacea: Morning Glory
Nerium oleander: Oleander
Ricinis communis: Castor Bean
Fecal Matter from an omnivore or carnivore: animal waste from your dog, cat, raccoon, opossum, bear, or human should never be used in a compost pile.
Plastic or other material that will not break down: Plastic bags, waxed paper cups, shiny and slick newspaper and magazines, diapers, glass, etc. should not be added to the compost.
Seeds: All seeds from fruit, vegetable, weeds, flowers, should never be put into the compost pile. These will cause weeds to spread in your garden.
Evergreen material: Pines, juniper, pine straw, Christmas trees, etc. should never be added to the compost material. The pH for most veggies and fruit should stay at around a 7. Evergreens are very acidic and can cause your plants to never grow as the compost will become a 2 or 3 in pH level. It will be very costly to fix the compost and soil in the long run. It is best just not to add it in the first place.
Earthworms: Composting for earthworms is an entirely different method than composting for gardens. These two rarely can be combined. The reason for this is the amount of heat, especially in black or dark green tumbler composters. The heat will cook the earthworms, and thus this is an ineffective and costly mistake.