Benefits of compost
Recycling – keeping plant materials
out of the landfills – keeps landfills from filling up too fast,
and keeps the sun's energy out of the landfill
Builds soil structure and fertility
Composting Piles and Methodologies
No pile – dig it into the soil
(trench composting)
Plastic bins -
Wire bins
Wooden bins
No bins
Vermicomposting
Collect every waste you can for
composting from your own house first
newsprint, tea bags, coffee grounds,
veggie and fruit trimmings, food that died in the fridge
no dog or cat waste, bones and unused
meat are poor choices,
Check with neighbors for their free
waste i.e. coffee grounds, leaves,
find local waste that's free – wood
chips, sawdust, Starbucks coffee grounds, scrounge your neighborhood
for waste streams that could prove useful – another's trash could
be your treasure
Activators
Commercial products that contain
microbes to inoculate your compost pile. Most research shows
limited use as the number of microbes multiply to full capacity in
short order, but they would do that (more slowly) without the
inoculation. No matter the claims made by the sales force for such
products, most independent research indicate any positive long term
effect from such products.
After too little water, the most
common failure in compost piles is a lack of nitrogen – too little
materials with not enough nitrogen to facilitate heating up or quick
decomposition; all the detritivores need nitrogen to build their
protoplasm and do to their work. Additional inputs of nitrogen
will correct a slow pile, assuming that lack of water is not the
problem.
Components
Alfalfa – one of my favorites,
sold as livestock feed in feed stores. One bale sells for under $20.
It has some nitrogen and absorbs, and holds onto moisture making it
an excellent addition to a compost pile. Alfalfa serves as a good
compost stimulant and activator. Alfalfa sold as animal feed in
dehydrated pellets or a meal works just as well too.
Apple pomace – any pomace –
leftovers from crushing fruits for their juice. Will attract yellow
jackets and other wasps so cover them with leaves or soil or straw or
hay.
Banana residue – makes
a compost pile go whoopee – seems well supplied with nitrogen and
guarantee lots of bacterial activity
Beet waste
– if you should move near a sugar beet processing plant – many
books will recommend beet waste – be careful, though, now that GMO
sugar beets have begun to be used.
Bonemeal – high
in phosphorus if you find yourself within striking distance of a
slaughterhouse. Ditto for blood meal.
Citrus wastes –
from your table is sometimes denigrated as a compost pile component,
but it is good in nutrients and breaks down quickly. If you are near
a factory producing orange and other citrus products – sometimes
available from some feed stores – the more peel the more nitrogen
the final product will contain.
Cocoa Bean Shells
– for those that live near a chocolate factory – they are rich in
nitrogen and benefit the soil no matter how they are used. They do
not break down quickly so I have used them as pathway mulch. I have
heard they are poisonous to dogs although I used them whilst living
with two dogs and neither dog showed the slightest interest in them.
They smell great, although you might find yourself gorging on
chocolate as a result.
Coffee wastes
– earthworms love them and they break down nicely. Slightly acidic
they make a good mulch around any acid loving plant (skipping the
compost pile altogether). Mix them with other OM as they hold
moisture well. If allowed to sour, they will attract fruit flies.
Cottonseed meal –
commercially available as fertilizer – used to be a great source of
nitrogen but most of it is now GMO, as well being sprayed with
insecticides of all kinds and I would skip it these days unless you
can find a source of organic cottonseed meal.. It is one of the most
dependable long term
organic sources for nitrogen, a rare thing in organic gardening.
Garbage
– will be one of your most consistent and reliable components in
your compost pile. Do not use meat craps, fat or bones in your pile
for they take too long to fully break down and are very attractive to
scavenging animals. When put into your compost pile, always mix with
absorbent material like dead leaves, straw or hay and cover them
completely with dirt or other substantive materials to prevent smells
and discourage flies.
Grape wastes –
from wineries, producing waste products in the way of skin residue,
seeds and stalks by the ton in pressing season. Not a lot of
nutrition but the bulk of organic plant matter may be useful to
achieve a rapid hot compost
Grass clippings – most of us
have these or can easily obtain them from neighbors who have them.
Exceedingly rich in nitrogen, and will heat up on their own if put
into a pile, but, because of their shape and high moisture content
can pack down, rotting and turn slimy and smelly on you. Add grass
clippings in small layers and mix with leaves, garbage and or other
materials. Dried grass clippings will have lost most of their
nitrogen, treat like hay or straw. If the source lawn is
being treated with herbicides, use with care – although the
composting process, if done properly will remove most of those
residues.
Hair – if you can get an
amount of it is probably the most concentrated source of nitrogen you
can get for free. Six to seven pounds of hair can contain as much
nitrogen as 100 to 200 pounds of manure. Hair will decompose rapidly
and may pack down and shed water – mix with other materials to
prevent that. Available for free from barbershops or hair salons.
Hay – you can buy a bale from
a feed store – may contain weed seeds unless it was cut early –
how would you know? If you can find spoiled hay from a farmer it
will be free or at low cost.
Leaves – very compostable and
available for free to most of us. Leaves, because of the extensive
roots of trees that forage deep into the subsoil for nutrients, are a
superior component in your compost. Pound for pound, leaves provide
twice the mineral content of manure. They are low in nitrogen and
may pack down taking a long time to break down, but mixed with a good
source of nitrogen and kept aerated, they are a fabulous resource.
Manure – used with discretion
can be an important part of a compost pile. If you have chickens or
rabbits (or any farm animal) I suggest you use it in your compost
pile; but I do not encourage importing fresh animal manures if you do
not know the animal. Many of our farm animals today get unregulated
dosages of medications and that will be expressed through their feces
and urine, furthermore, most animals today are not pastured and their
manure will have high concentrations of urine in the manure – urine
is high in salts. If you do have a source of manure, use it in the
compost pile, get a hot pile and let it break down thoroughly before
incorporating these items into your soil. If it smells like animal
poop, it is still too fresh.
Paper – you can use paper of
many kinds even those with colored ink and slick pages. The secret,
and the problem, for using paper waste is they need to be shredded or
chopped into fine bits for successful incorporation into the pile. I
have used paper from an office shredder, but it was difficult to wet
and until wetted was as airborne faster than corn pollen. Wetted
newsprint is excellent. Use like straw.
Pine needles – in the south
it's called pine straw, but they break down super slowly. They are
highly acidic and that means they should not be used intemperately.
They have been found somewhat effective at controlling Fusarium
wilts.
Rice hulls – a great source of
potash and break down readily in your compost pile. They are an
excellent soil conditioner, are loved in the compost heap and are a
desirable mulch. Many soil conditioners contain large amounts of
rice hulls for the 'fluffy.'
Sawdust – available from
lumber yards or furniture refinishers. It is valuable as a source of
a cabon and helps allow good air penetration into the compost pile.
It is slow to break down – the robbing of nitrogen that is often a
source of concern for gardeners, most research (my own anecdotal
experience included) shows that is not a credible problem.
Seaweed – free and available
on the beach, but, some folks worry about the radioactive level since
the recent nuclear power plant problems in Japan. It has a similar
nutrient level as manure, but should be composted while fresh. While
I have worried about salt content, I see no mention of it in most
composting literature. Seaweed contains a multitude of
micronutrients essential to human and plant health. Mix with other
materials and it will decompose quickly. Kelp meal, purchased, can
be used as an activator in compost.
Soil – not an essential
component in a working compost pile, it can prove helpful. Soil can
be used as an inoculator to imbue your pile with microbial activity
setting your new pile on its way. Most gardeners, though, add a
small amounts of finished compost to a new pile as an activator.
Straw – adds few nutrients but
does add organic material and helps aerate a compost pile. It adds
carbon to the pile and is a sort of plant food. If using a lot of
straw, add commensurate amounts of nitrogen. Straw that has begun to
break down is a wonderful addition to any compost pile.
Tea grounds – has a high
content of nitrogen (about 4.15%) and breaks down easily.
Weeds – non-perennial weeds
can be be placed in the compost pile as long as they are not seeding.
Some weeds, like mallow, have an incredible tap root and bring
materials from the subsoil up which is in the plant leaves and stems
making their contribution to the compost pile much more desirable.
However, some weeds, like Bermuda grass, which also has a tremendous
root system (Bermuda roots are known to go as far as 27 feet deep!)
will only grow in your compost pile – don't risk it.
Wood ashes – a valuable source
off potash. Use cautiously for they have a strong alkalizing effect
and might also increase soil salinity.
Wood chips – useful in the
garden and compost pile. They do break down slowly, but even as they
break down they increase the moisture holding capacity and aerate the
soil. If your soil has enough nitrogen to begin with, decomposing
wood chips should not adversely affect your soil's nitrogen
availability.
Feeding your worms:
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Worms LOVE
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Worms HATE
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Breads & Grains
Cereal
Coffee grounds &
filter
Fruits
Tea bags
Vegetables
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Dairy Products
Fats
Meat
Feces
Oil
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Troubleshooting
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Problem
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Probable Cause
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Solution
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Worms are dying or trying to escape
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Too wet
Too dry
Bedding is used up
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Add more bedding
Moisten bedding
Harvest your bin
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Bin stinks!
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Not enough air
Too much food
Too wet
|
Drill more ventilation holes
Do not feed for 1-2 weeks
Add more bedding
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Fruit Flies
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Exposed food
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Bury food in bedding
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