Compost In One Month




This composting method should yield about two plastic trashcans full of RICH PURE COMPOST every month. You will need a garden fork to turn the pile, a wheelbarrow to collect the leaves and grass cuttings, a leaf rake, and a garden rake. And you will need a couple of plastic trashcans and a 10'X10' piece of black plastic or trap. And a wire screen about 4'X4' about 1” to 1/2” square, Holy Moly you need a lot of stuff to start composting! Luckily, people have most this stuff already. It's worth setting up this system because it works so well. It takes very little effort to maintain this pile.

 Kitchen Waste Bin

It's time to make your kitchen waste bin. Take your two trashcans and drill ½ inch holes all over it, about 3 inches apart. The sides and bottom all the way to the top. Don't drill holes in the lid. This gives the kitchen waste air while it's breaking down. Fill one with dry leaves and start filling the other one with kitchen waste. Put some leaves in before you dump the first kitchen waste bucket in, about 3 inches worth. Cover the kitchen waste with another 3 inches leaves. Continue until the can is about 5/8's full, if you fill it to the top it's too heavy! You can stir the waste bin if you want too, it helps. Stir it about every two or three days. No need to water it, the waste usually contains enough water. The waste bin gives the kitchen waste time to breakdown before it goes into the compost pile. The waste bin will be emptied every month.

 Composting Pile Site Location

You want to have a compost pile that's easy and fun to use. Not too close to the house, and maybe under some trees for shade and all the leaves the trees will drop. Put it on flat ground, do NOT dig a hole for the pile! This helps when you're scoping up the finished product. Look around the land for a spot close to a leave source if you can. Remember it's the folks bringing the kitchen waste to your pile that keeps the pile going so keep them in mind. You want to leave the pile where you put it because it just gets better with time. The spot I mean, it gets charged, or inoculated by all the microbes and worms and other things that live in the dark of the soil. I may talk more about the soil later. Rake the spot clean and water it for a while, set the sprinkler on low for about an hour.

 Building the Fire

Building a compost pile is like building a fire, all the nitrogen rich kitchen waste and other GREEN leaves create heat. We are going to build a mound around the nitrogen rich matter with BROWN leaves. Green leaves give nitrogen, brown leaves give carbon. A good healthy compost pile has a TWO PARTS CARBON, ONE PART NITROGEN RATIO. More carbon cools it down and dries it out, more nitrogen heats it up and makes it wet. Most people put too much green matter in and that tends to go anaerobic and stinky. Over watering can be a problem too. Your compost pile should smell good and be moist but not saturated with water, in this case less is more. If your pile stinks let it dry out some by taking the cover off, maybe even adding some brown leaves. Anyway, back to building the fire. To have a good pile you need to be a little selective about the leaves you use. Do NOT use eucalyptus leaves or pine needles. The green leaf should crumble easily in your hand and not spring back quick, a soft leaf. And the brown leaf should crumble into small pieces easily. You're looking for something that will break down quickly. I think that's one of the most important things to remember, break down time.

You'll need two or three wheelbarrows full of dry leaves, your two parts carbon, for one kitchen waste bin, 5/8's full, your one part nitrogen. You can add some horse manure, seaweed, or grass cuttings if you want to heat it up a little bit. But you will still have to add more carbon to keep the 2 to 1 ratio. The first mistake people make is not adding enough carbon. Those leaves are squishy and fluffy so get more than you think.

Spread 3 inches to 6 inches of brown leaves on the ground about 3 feet around. Dump your kitchen bin in the center of the leaf circle. Don't mix it, just pile the rest of your brown leaves on top. Well, a little mixing is O.K., but keep most of the nitrogen in the center down low. Water the pile with a small sprinkler on low for about two or three hours. Put your hand in the center and feel if it's wet. Cover with plastic and put rocks or logs around the edge of the plastic to hold it down.

 Start Up and Maintenance

Once you have made your pile, you need to check it to make sure that it has warmed up enough. The ball of nitrogen in the lower middle part of the pile is where the heat comes from. Stick your hand in and feel, it should feel fairly warm. If after two or three days, if you don't have warmth in the center then you need to heat it up with more nitrogen. It may need a little more water at this time also. Once your pile has heated up, let it sit for about a week and then give it a gentle stir on the top with your garden fork. No need to stick the fork way in just put it in and turn it in a circle. As the pile breaks down it will be easier to spin a garden fork. After about a week and a half you can start knocking down the pile and piling it back up again. After about two weeks, you can stir it as frequently as you want as that will increase the decomposition time.




Good Luck and have fun!




FarmerMark...;)