Understanding how to make and use compost is in the public interest. The problem of waste disposal is climbing towards a crisis level. Don’t throw away materials when you can use them to improve your lawn and garden! Start composting instead.
Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Best of all, compost is cheap. Using compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration and increases the soil's water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Adding compost improves soil fertility and stimulates healthy root development in plants. The organic matter provided in compost provides food for microorganisms, which keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus will be produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments other than the compost will need to be added.
Fast or "active" composting can be completed in two to six weeks. This method requires four key activities:
1) Aeration- Turn your pile as often as you can. Each time you turn it will speed up the process.
2) Moisture- Keep your pile damp not wet. The "squeeze test" is a good way to determine the moisture content of the composting materials. Squeezing a handful of material should have the moisture content of a well wrung sponge. A pile that is too wet can be turned or can be corrected by adding dry materials.
3) Proper carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio -The bacteria and fungi in compost digest or "oxidize" carbon as an energy source and ingest nitrogen for protein synthesis. Carbon can be considered the "food" and nitrogen the digestive enzymes.
Strive for somewhere between a 5:1 and an 8:1 ratio, by volume, of brown materials to green, but don't get too fussy about it---if the proportion is off, it's easy enough to recognize and to remedy.
Nitrogen or Green materials – green grass, weeds, coffee, veggie scraps, tea bags,
Carbon or Brown materials – dry grass, dry leaves, straw, hay, wood shavings, shredded cardboard and newspaper
-If a pile doesn't heat up within 24 hours it needs more green material.
-A pile that develops an ammonia-like smell needs more brown materials; just work some more into the pile, and the aroma should go away.
-Do not use grease, meat, bones or dairy products.
4) Temperature - Microorganisms generate heat as they decompose organic material. A compost pile with temperatures between 90°F and 140°F is composting efficiently. Temperatures higher than 140°F inhibit the activity of many of the most important and active organisms in the pile. Given the high temperatures required for rapid composting, the process will inevitably slow during the winter months in cold climates. Some microorganisms like cool temperatures and will continue the decomposition process, though at a slower pace.
Fernanda Avalos
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