The subject of composting is very popular at the moment, especially with people writing about how to make a compost pile. Part of the reason is clearly due to people looking to save money on alternative fertilizers, due to the tough economic climate at the moment, and another part will be the rising awareness of the finite availability of chemical fertilizers, combined with people’s gradually rising awareness of environmental issues.
How to make a compost pile is described in our Dummies video!
We hope you like our “Dummies” video below on the subject:
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Austin American-Statesman |
Go ahead, start a compost pile Austin American-Statesman Move the finished compost to an area near the garden and use it as needed. Go ahead, start a pile! Composting can be addictive. Once you start recycling organic matter, you will begin to pride yourself on how little trash you take to the curb. …
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We cannot quote from the article anything more than a “taster” from the article here, so do go and take a look. Meanwhile here are some of the better paragraphs from the article:
You’ll need both “green” and “brown” organic materials for your compost. Green materials are high in nitrogen and include fresh grass clippings, kitchen waste, weeds (without seed heads), and manure (from farm animals, not from pets). Brown materials are high in carbon and include dried leaves, straw, hay, shredded newspaper, and small bark chips. The larger the pieces of material you add to the pile, the less likely they will get broken down during the composting process. For kitchen waste, chop with a kitchen knife or food processor (for example, banana peels into half-inch squares) and for leaves and other yard waste, simply run your lawn mower over them to grind them up.
Some unusual materials that you might not think of adding but that are good include dryer lint and hair (but not if it’s been chemically treated). There are also, of course, materials that are not appropriate in your compost pile. Meat, oil, fish, bones and dairy products might attract rodents, other animals and insects and smell pretty foul as they decompose. And diseased plant material should be avoided for obvious reasons, as should pet wastes, which might also contain disease organisms.
Choose a level site for your compost bin, preferably near an irrigation source. Alternate layers of brown and green materials, using equal amounts of each in 2- to 4-inch layers. If you’re low on green materials, you can add a small amount of nitrogen-containing fertilizer. While building the pile, you should water it so that it’s moist but not saturated. When adding kitchen scraps to the pile after you’ve started it, you should dig a hole in the center of the pile, add the scraps, and cover them thoroughly to keep from attracting rodents and insects.
If the process is going smoothly, you should be able to dig down into the center of the pile and see steam rising in a few days. You can also purchase a compost thermometer and insert it into the center of the pile to check the progress. A pile that is decomposing properly will be anywhere from 110 to 160 degrees. You can either turn the pile on a regular schedule (every couple of weeks or so) or turn based on temperature. Once the pile cools down after having reached its maximum temperature, you’ll know it’s time to turn the pile and get the process started again.
Once the pile no longer heats up after you turn it, the process has gone as far as it’s going to go. There will be large particles remaining that did not break down, so it’s best to screen these out and add them back to the pile for another round. Move the finished compost to an area near the garden and use it as needed.
Have your ever done this before? What were your experiences when you set out to make a compost pile? What success did you have with your first compost pile? Did it work for you? Your comments are not only most welcome but are also eagerly sought after by us!
Listed below are some other websites with related information about this Compost topic:
WRAP guides on compost for growing media
Compost & Recycling Consultants - recycling and ...
Financial benefits of using compost in Agriculture - WRAP
Vermicomposting | Define Vermicomposting at Dictionary.com
Can you put compost in buckets? - Yahoo! Answers
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Related terms: Compost Pile Make Up, Small Compost Pile, Start a Compost Pile, How to Make Compost, What Is a Compost Pile, How Do I Compost, Compost How to Make It, Compost Piles How To
Tags: composter, compost pile, how to start a compost pile
