A collection of compostable materials: vegetable food scraps, lawn trimmings and yard waste, shredded paper products.

a fork or shovel to turn the pile

A place outside to make a pile

Optional:

Peppy music to inspire you while turn the pile

A brick or heavy object to crush roots or other

A sifter for removing lumps

A store-bought compost bin

decomposition - the process of raw materials being broken down into compost by microorganisms.

nitrogenous - material with high levels of nitrogen

carbonaceous - material with high levels of carbon

To make potting soil, mix two parts compost mixed with 2 parts soil and one part vermiculite or perlite. Some people use it as seed starter, although this isn't necessary. Seeds don't need nutrients when first sprouting. After they get their first set of true leaves (not the first two leaves, or the cotyledons, but the next two), they'll require nutrients contained in soil.

2torial #0847: Learn2 Make a Compost Pile From awful offal to awesome eats! Composting is the opposite of growing--nothing more than the breakdown of organic, once-living materials into simpler organic materials that are easier for plants to use. It's a kind of rotting, but speedier and not as stinky (if you do it right). Making a compost pile is a smart move for many--not just hardcore organic farmers. Not only will you save on your refuse bills, but by recycling kitchen and yard wastes you'll keep this "garbage" out of the world's overflowing landfills. And if you've ever thought of having a small garden (or even a houseplant), you'll end up with a fantastic supplement for the soil. So what is compost, anyway? It's the loamy mixture produced by the decomposition (see Keywords) of garden wastes, kitchen wastes, or other materials. Although compost only contains about 1/10 to 1% nitrogen (the rest is carbon and trace minerals), it'll dramatically improve the soil by improving the soil's water-retention capabilities and by providing nutrients for the vegetation. By adding compost, soil retains water without becoming soggy and encouraging root rot in soils with a lot of clay, and traps the water in sandy soils making the moisture available more evenly to thirsty plants. Bonus extra-technical explanation (feel free to skip): Yeah, but why is it so special? Compost has wondrous mechanical properties that compensate for the soil's deficency or excess. Unfortunately, some folks have too much clay in their gardens, and would like to make the soil more friable (penetrable) for plant roots. (As the compost is dug into the soil, large clay particles are broken apart. They, in turn, bind with the compost to form smaller particles which won't bind back together into large, unmanageable clods of earth.) Alternatively, some folks live in dry, hot climates with sandy soils which have difficulty retaining moisture, and compost helps correct that imbalance. As an extra bonus, the garden gets fed small amounts of nutrients.   You can produce compost with a minimum of effort--but ask yourself a few questions to decide how you'll proceed. How much time do you have to devote to this activity? What sort of space is available for the compost pile or bin? How much material is available for the compost pile? How much would you like to have? Composting uses naturally occurring microorganisms to transform organic materials to composted materials, and the microorganisms require oxygen, water, warmth, and materials that are not overly acidic. Once you've constructed the pile, you have some freedom of how much time you'll spend on it. On the time-intensive side of the continuum, you turn the pile frequently, one to three times a day. This aerates the pile--it mixes oxygen into the decaying material. When there is plenty of oxygen, aerobic decomposition takes place and the materials decompose quickly--in as little as three weeks. If you need immediate results and you can find the time, this way is for you is for you. On the other end of the continuum is a method for for easygoing, patient people, or those with less time to devote to this activity. Most of the work is in the construction of the pile; aside from turning the pile once every week or two, you just let it sit! The compost will be ready in about a year or so. If you live in a cold climate, figure about two years. But if you're continuously adding new material to the top, understand that the whole pile won't be ready at once--and this makes harvesting the compost a little trickier. Note: in the absence of oxygen (i.e., if you didn't turn the pile), anaerobic decomposition takes place; this will produce a pile of slime which is pretty unpleasant to work with. For estimating compost production, here's a rule of thumb: if you want to produce at least one cubic yard of compost, you will need 10 cubic yards of raw material. If you only want to compost a few kitchen scraps, talk to your neighbors; you may be able to donate your scraps to another's compost pile that needs more materials.   Pick your method   Composting uses naturally-occurring microorganisms to transform organic materials into composted materials, and the microorganisms require oxygen, water, warmth, and materials that aren't overly acidic. Once you've constructed the pile, you have options that effect how much time you'll spend on it : On the effort-intensive side of the continuum, you turn the pile frequently, one to three times a day. This aerates the pile--it mixes oxygen into the decaying material. When there is plenty of oxygen, aerobic decomposition takes place and the materials decompose quickly--in as little as three weeks. If you need immediate results and you can find the time, this way is for you is for you. On the other end of the continuum is the long-term method for easygoing, patient people, those who aren't in a hurry and don't want to work too hard. Most of the work is in the construction of the pile; aside from turning the pile once every week or two, you just let it sit! The compost will be ready in about a year or so. If you live in a cold climate, figure about two years. But if you're continuously adding new material to the top, understand that the whole pile won't be ready at once--and this makes harvesting the compost a little trickier.   Find a good spot If you live in a cold climate, you may want to locate your pile in a sunny place.Any heat the pile can get during a cold winter is a help, even though the pile may dry out a little. The opposite is true with a hot climate: the pile will require shade to keep it moist longer. If you're in a middling sort of climate (not really either hot nor cold), sun exposure isn't much of a factor--but monitor the location with an eye toward any unplanned moisture retention. Sometimes that great spot turns out to be underneath the rain gutter outflow, or right under the watershed of a roof. You may need to move the site a few times before you get it right. How large a space do you need to stake out? For estimating compost production, here's a rule of thumb: If you want to produce at least one cubic yard of compost, you will need 10 cubic yards of raw material. If you only want to compost a few kitchen scraps, talk to your neighbors; you may be able to donate your scraps to another's compost pile that needs more materials. Neighbors should also be taken into consideration when locating your pile: for some reason, not everyone seems to think that heaps of rotting waste are a noble addition to the neighborhood. A well-planned and maintained compost setup need not be odiferous, but you should be sensitive to prevalent breezes and obvious insect congregation patterns. You may find it prudent to let your neighbors know what you're up to, before they draw the wrong conclusions. Heck, why not invite them to join in? Collect compostable materials   If you, like many gardeners, enjoy the thrift that gardening allows, then this is the method for you. It requires that you collect your compostable materials and throw them in a pile. To make this method work, it's important to know the difference between nitrogenous and carbonaceous ingredients. This is not as imposing as it sounds: nitrogenous ingredients are high in nitrogen, and carbonaceous ingredients contain a lot of carbon. The formula is about 1/3 nitrogenous ingredients and 2/3 carbonaceous materials in the pile.   Carbon sources Carbonaceous ingredients include any plant material (all plant material is carbon-based.) Tree byproducts, autumn leaves, sawdust, shredded newspapers, cardboard egg cartons, chopped dead cornstalks, fireplace ashes. And, if you live in or near an agricultural area, you might want to add some straw (look around for a farmer giving it away). Go easy on the fireplace ashes. Although they're high in potash, ashes tend to raise the soil's pH balance; also, you may find they're too messy to work with. If you do include them, only add about 3 pounds per 1,000 square feet. And, of course, make sure they're thoroughly cold--smouldering ashes could find many flammable components in your compost.   Nitrogen sources Horse or cow manure are fine, especially those which are already decomposing and crumbly. If you go to a stable, look for the old stuff in the back of the pile; it's already breaking down and will speed the process in your pile (it also tends not to smell as bad as the, er, younger stuff). You may have read that ... Grass clippings Soft green prunings from shrubbery, Kitchen wastes (including coffee grounds and used tea bags, as well as vegetable and fruit and other food scraps) Green vegetation and manure ...all contain nitrogen, and indeed they do. But they may not contain enough nitrogen to get the pile cooking. Grass clippings, for instance, may have only 1% nitrogen. A compost heap cooks best at about 160 degrees F (64 degrees C). If you find that your pile is not heating up enough, try forking in materials which are higher in nitrogen such as kitchen wastes, grass clippings. If that doesn't do the trick, try things like: Dried blood (13% nitrogen) Fish emulsion (5% nitrogen) Fish meal (10% nitrogen). If you add crushed crab shells (or lobster, shrimp or clam shells) to your pile, they'll add calcium--a mineral which plants need in trace amounts. If you live near the seashore, add some seaweed which contains trace minerals such as potassium. Perhaps you're including soft tree or shrub prunings, or fibrous kitchen wastes, or shells such as mussel or clam shells in the pile. If so, use a brick, a shovel or another blunt-ended garden tool to break open the stems and roots, or crush the shells. The smaller the materials are, the easier they decompose. An added benefit, the seafood shells contain a compound called chitin (kie tin). Chitin helps control pesky nematodes in the soil which damage the roots of garden plants. No, nematodes aren't toads--they're a sort of midget worm that lives in the dirt. Avoid problem materials Not all organic substances will yield nicely to the composting process. Here are a few you should keep out of your piles: Weeds should be avoided, especially if they have gone to seed. Seeds don't break down readily in compost piles and you may end up spreading weeds in your garden by including them. Steer clear of any rose bush refuse. Roses get diseases such as rusts which affect leaves. Some folks don't even include the petals. Any manure from carnivores (meat eaters). This includes dogs, cats, and other meat-eating pets--and especially human waste. This kind of manure can include diseases and bacterial infections to which humans are susceptible. Horse or cow manure are fine, as is the manure of any animal that has a vegetarian diet (zoos are an excellent source of exotic offal, by the way). This isn't a bit a vegetarian propaganda, but a simple hard-and-fast rule. Meats or meat products, even though they are high in nitrogen. Meats, raw or cooked, attract critters that could tear up your compost, and leave behind unhealthy droppings to boot. Fish products, on the other hand, seem to do just fine. Dried blood (found in farm supply stores or large garden centers) is another exception: it's a source of nitrogen, which you may opt to add to your pile. Pile it on Oftentimes, gardeners have materials or space that's sufficient for only one pile at a time. But if you're starting out with a lot of materials, space, and time to spend, consider building up to three piles. One pile stores new raw materials, a second pile actually making compost you're actively turning (at least once a day, for this method) and a third pile that contains finished compost that's ready to be added to the garden or to houseplants. As the second, active pile is completed, you move its contents over to the third pile for storage with the other finished compost, and move the new raw materials from the first pile into the newly emptied second pile. If this seems like too much, forget about it! Just build a single pile and harvest the finished compost from the bottom of the pile. Start with a layer of grass clippings about four to six inches thick (10-15 cm). Then add a shovelful of dirt. The dirt contains the microorganisms to get the pile going. Then add about two to four inches (5 to 10 cm) of shredded newspapers, leaves or other carbonaceous materials. Add another shovelful of dirt. Add some high nitrogen ingredient, such as dried blood. You may have to experiment to see how many scoops of blood to add to your pile, depending upon type and quantity of materials you've added. (When adding manure, skip the shovelful of dirt for that layer. Manure has plenty of microorganisms in it, not to mention worms to help with the decomposing process.) Continue alternating nitrogenous and carbonaceous ingredients with shovelfuls of dirt included, and boosts of fish emulsion, fish meal or dried blood. These materials will speed up the cooking process by adding nitrogen to the pile. Maintain the pile There's one last vital ingredient in compost: elbow grease. For it to turn from a pile of rot into a potent soil enricher, you'll need to aerate it with a pitchfork, shovel or other implement. This process is called turning. Turning sounds tedious, but it's good exercise and it goes quickly if you approach it methodically. Note: in the absence of oxygen (i.e., if you didn't turn the pile), anaerobic decomposition takes place; this will produce a pile of slime which is pretty unpleasant to work with. You should not have to turn the pile more than once per week. But if it starts to smell, it needs oxygen and may also be too wet. (If the material is any wetter than a damp sponge, it's probably too wet.) Although an overly wet pile will eventually smell, your first clue will be the temperature of the pile: it'll have dropped below 140 degrees F (54 degrees C). To dry the pile out quickly, turn it with a garden fork, and stop watering it (or cover if the weather is rainy). Add some more nitrogenous materials. Keep in mind that compost piles need moisture, but shouldn't be soggy. There are several alternatives to turning, although none so easy and efficient to put the manual method out of business. Some people place a couple of PVC pipes which have holes bored into them into the pile. Air travels down the pipes and helps oxygen get to the center of the pile. Another method is to insert boards into the pile at intervals. This method requires a bin: the boards rest on the slats and go straight through the pile to the other side, creating small pockets of air. After a couple of weeks, put your hand on top of the pile or buy a composting thermometer (they're available in most garden centers, or larger hardware stores). The temperature should be up to 140 to 160 degrees, preferably 160. If not, thoroughly mix in more dried blood or fish products. Spread it around!   The final step in composting is, of course, putting the end product to use. When is it ready? That depends: if you're on the relaxed plan and are turning the pile four times per month or less, you'll wait six months to a year--that is, if you live in a dry, hot climate. If you live in a cold climate, plan on one to two years. If you haven't been adding new materials to your pile, you'll be able to harvest the whole pile at one time. Otherwise, scoop out the compost from the bottom. Compost can be either dug into the garden, or spread on top of an already planted garden and then lightly scratched into the top two inches of the soil's surface. Not too deeply, or you'll disturb the roots of existing plants. -end- Learn More!