How do you make compost ?

Question

How do you make compost for the garden? I've seen the composters but some have activators. Is this nescessary?

Answer 1

Almost any organic material is suitable for a compost pile. The pile needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or "browns," and nitrogen-rich materials, or "greens." Among the brown materials are dried leaves, straw, and wood chips. Nitrogen materials are fresh or green, such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps.

Mixing certain types of materials or changing the proportions can make a difference in the rate of decomposition. Achieving the best mix is more an art gained through experience than an exact science. The ideal ratio approaches 25 parts browns to 1 part greens. Judge the amounts roughly equal by weight. Too much carbon will cause the pile to break down too slowly, while too much nitrogen can cause odor. The carbon provides energy for the microbes, and the nitrogen provides protein.

Leaves represent a large percentage of total yard waste. If you can grind them in a gas or electric chipper shredder or mow over them, they will reduce in size making them easier to store until you can use them in the pile, and they will decompose faster - an issue with larger leaves. They are loaded with minerals brought up from the tree roots and are a natural source of carbon. A few leaf species such as live oak, southern magnolia, and holly trees are too tough and leathery for easy composting. Avoid all parts of the black walnut tree as they contain a plant poison that survives composting. Eucalyptus leaves can be toxic to other plants. And avoid using poison oak, poison ivy, and sumac.

Pine Needles need to be chopped or shredded, as they decompose slowly. They are covered with a thick, waxy coating. In very large quantities, they can acidify your compost, which would be a good thing if you have alkaline soils.

Grass Clippings break down quickly and contain as much nitrogen as manure. Since fresh grass clippings will clump together, become anerobic, and start to smell, mix them with plenty of brown material. If you have a lot of grass clippings to compost, spread them on the driveway or other surface to bake in the sun for at least a day. Once it begins to turn pale or straw-like, it can be used without danger of souring. Avoid grass clippings that contain pesticide or herbicide residue, unless a steady rain has washed the residue from the grass blades.

Kitchen Refuse includes melon rinds, carrot peelings, tea bags, apple cores, banana peels - almost everything that cycles through your kitchen. The average household produces more than 200 pounds of kitchen waste every year. You can successfully compost all forms of kitchen waste. However, meat, meat products, dairy products, and high-fat foods like salad dressings and peanut butter, can present problems. Meat scraps and the rest will decompose eventually, but will smell bad and attract pests. Egg shells are a wonderful addition, but decompose slowly, so should be crushed. All additions to the compost pile will decompose more quickly if they are chopped up some before adding.

Answer 2

If its lived then its organic.

A properly sited compost heap should be placed where it can see the sun. Building one is similar to making a layer cake.

Set out an area approx. 4 feet x 4 feet. Lay down a 4" layer of organic material - garden and kitchen waste - then a 4" layer of topsoil from the garden - this contains organisms that should feed off the waste, converting it into compost. Further, 4 "

Answer 3

Don't put in any seeds, diseased bits, or roots of perennial weeds, otherwise anything that once grew and hasn't been cooked (veg/fruit, not meat!) can be added to compost. Try to have a variety, and not too much grass, and chop big things, such as melon rind, up. Autumn leaves are great to add. Many councils will sell you a compost bin for <£10. For more help, look at www.compost.org.uk scroll down and click on home composting.

Answer 4

What a wonderful experiment. Can you report back to us when finished? Compost is slower in providing the nutrients you want, so manure(compost) tea would be my choice for fast.(I'm impatient). I make my own, as others have instructed here) by putting compost in an old nylon hosiery, put this in a large barrel of water, and then use it as needed. Compost is available at Walmart's, or any nursery. You must make your own tea, so you would probably only have to purchase the container. I got a very nice one yesterday for $6.47 at the local market. A good size would be the approximate size of a bushel basket that you put wet clothes in. Good luck.

Answer 5

Alfalfa meal is a wonderful heat creating substance to add to your compost pile. If you start with grass clippings or leaves and then add veggie waste and then sprinkle alfalfa meal and layer two or three times and still a couple of times a week, in about 2 weeks you should should have some nice compost! keep it moist but not wet. Good luck:)

Answer 6

Compost evolves from rotting vegetable matter,- potato peelings etc. Get a small cheap compost maker,- which is similar to a plastic dustbin if you have a space away from the living are of your house. It will tend to smell on a hot day..

Answer 7

No, activators are not needed. It is desirable to add nitrogen rich plant matter to accelerate the breakdown though. If you stuff a composter full of dry leaves it won't break down as fast as if you stir in grass clippings. I just make sure my green to brown ratio is roughly equal.

Answer 8

Almost any organic material is suitable for a compost pile. The pile needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or "browns," and nitrogen-rich materials, or "greens." Among the brown materials are dried leaves, straw, and wood chips. Nitrogen materials are fresh or green, such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps.

Mixing certain types of materials or changing the proportions can make a difference in the rate of decomposition. Achieving the best mix is more an art gained through experience than an exact science. The ideal ratio approaches 25 parts browns to 1 part greens. Judge the amounts roughly equal by weight. Too much carbon will cause the pile to break down too slowly, while too much nitrogen can cause odor. The carbon provides energy for the microbes, and the nitrogen provides protein.

Leaves represent a large percentage of total yard waste. If you can grind them in a gas or electric chipper shredder or mow over them, they will reduce in size making them easier to store until you can use them in the pile, and they will decompose faster - an issue with larger leaves. They are loaded with minerals brought up from the tree roots and are a natural source of carbon. A few leaf species such as live oak, southern magnolia, and holly trees are too tough and leathery for easy composting. Avoid all parts of the black walnut tree as they contain a plant poison that survives composting. Eucalyptus leaves can be toxic to other plants. And avoid using poison oak, poison ivy, and sumac.

Pine Needles need to be chopped or shredded, as they decompose slowly. They are covered with a thick, waxy coating. In very large quantities, they can acidify your compost, which would be a good thing if you have alkaline soils.

Grass Clippings break down quickly and contain as much nitrogen as manure. Since fresh grass clippings will clump together, become anerobic, and start to smell, mix them with plenty of brown material. If you have a lot of grass clippings to compost, spread them on the driveway or other surface to bake in the sun for at least a day. Once it begins to turn pale or straw-like, it can be used without danger of souring. Avoid grass clippings that contain pesticide or herbicide residue, unless a steady rain has washed the residue from the grass blades.

Kitchen Refuse includes melon rinds, carrot peelings, tea bags, apple cores, banana peels - almost everything that cycles through your kitchen. The average household produces more than 200 pounds of kitchen waste every year. You can successfully compost all forms of kitchen waste. However, meat, meat products, dairy products, and high-fat foods like salad dressings and peanut butter, can present problems. Meat scraps and the rest will decompose eventually, but will smell bad and attract pests. Egg shells are a wonderful addition, but decompose slowly, so should be crushed. All additions to the compost pile will decompose more quickly if they are chopped up some before adding.To collect your kitchen waste, you can keep a small compost pail in the kitchen to bring to the pile every few days. Keep a lid on the container to discourage insects. When you add kitchen scraps to the compost pile, cover them with about 8" of brown material to reduce visits by flies or critters.

Wood Ashes from a wood burning stove or fireplace can be added to the compost pile. Ashes are alkaline, so add no more than 2 gallon-sized buckets-full to a pile with 3'x3'x3' dimensions. They are especially high in potassium. Don't use coal ashes, as they usually contain large amounts of sulfur and iron that can injure your plants. Used charcoal briquettes don't decay much at all, so it's best not to use them.

Garden Refuse should make the trip to the pile. All of the spent plants, thinned seedlings, and deadheaded flowers can be included. Most weeds and weed seeds are killed when the pile reaches an internal temperature above 130 degrees, but some may survive. To avoid problems don't compost weeds with persistent root systems, and weeds that are going to seed.

For more, go the following website: It has a lot more on it.

Answer 9

forget the bin and all that.....i just have a corner of my back yard that i dump my organic matter in...its probably slower than a real compost maker, but then again my pile of compost is really big
so far it has:
apples
apple tree leaves
miscelaneous maple tree leaves
grass clippings
dirt

Answer 10

Recommended way is to spread a layer of soil, then a layer of green (grass cuttings, leaves, etc.) then another layer of brown (soil.) This should be airated by mixing up. Keep adding kitchen waste with no fat, no bones, like left over salad, potato peelings, tea or coffee grounds.

A layer of green, a layer of brown and mix in air. That will make a nice soil for you in about a year.

Nancy