How is gardening compost made?

Question

Our soil in TN is horrible for growing vegetables and I've been told next year to try and mix compost 12" deep with peat moss and this should help?

Answer 1

Compost is used vegetable matter, that is broken down, to produce a "peat", or soil if left to its own long enough...

DO NOT ADD ANY PROTEIN - MEATS IN THE PILE!!! This will make it smell like a garbage dump! And your neighbor will have a right to complain because there WILL be rats then!

Also, grass is not a good thing to add, because its mostly all water 90% and it will STINK!! when it decompose, so it has to be turned once a day, until its decomposed in there, (and not everyone wants to turn it that much, because grass decomposes down to almost nothing after the water is out of it, so, its not worth the bother!).

What you do, is take all the vegetable matter, and put it in a bin, or a pile, and turn it every week. (I would put in leaves, and other plant materials to make it a huge amount, because a little bit and rodents may come into the thing, if a lot, then the compost pile will get "hot" and no rodents will live in it!)...

A proper compost will get to about 114 degrees, as I recall, and no rodents will live in that. The best thing you can get is a pitch fork, to turn the large compost at least once a week, thus it will break down faster into a moss like material.

Then, you take that, and add it to the soil, so the organics will make the ground more permeable and water and air can get through the soil better, plus, it wont compact as tight and be easier to work the next time.

I wish you well..

Jesse

Answer 2

Some additional commentary:

I've been composting for 3+ years. I'm diligent at collecting scraps thru warm weather, but don't add material thru the winter (4-5 mos/year), but by early spring I have some wonderful black soil to add to my Viginia red clay. However, even w/ a townhouse and limited property, I don't produce enough compost to do the whole area. A regular household will not produce enough compost to do a whole yard or even a large garden plot.

I go out of my way to get extra material (neighbors leaves, coffee grounds from work) and I generate 1-2 cu. yds/ year.
A large lawn or lots of trees may let you produce more, but you won't do a large area at 12" deep w/ household composting (except over years).

Good luck to you, I'm happy w/ my compost and reduced trash output.

Answer 3

start with brown material i.e. shreaded leaves and then add some green material i.e. grass clippings place them in a pile or in some type of bin. layer them alternately brown, green, brown etc... you can add any organic material except domestic animal feces it will also cut down on the amount of trash you throw out if you use kitchen scraps. Keep the compost pile moist and turn it from time to time. It should turn into rich black compost in about a year if you keep it turned.

Answer 4

Make youeself a wire enclosure as large as you want. Put leaves and grass and other things you get up out of your yard into the enclosue. The decomposition of this pile will become the compost you need.

Answer 5

there is no need to turn it everyday, once a week is fine....also I use a screen, wooden framed with 3/4 in. holes to sift my compost in to my wheel barrel good luck

Answer 6

you need to have composting containers to add your material to. and then turn it every week.

Answer 7

manure from animals