How do you start a compost pile and what do you do with it?

Question

I want to do more than recycle so Im wanting ta start a compost pile. Do they smell? What goes in one and what do you do with the stuff once its filled up?

Answer 1

The basics are simple but it is a bit of an art to get one to heat fast and finish quickly. However there is evidence that a slow pile produces more humus, which is the goal.
The pile is effectively built out of two elements, carbon- C and nitrogen -N. It is the balance between these two in the presence of invertebrates, fungi, and bacteria that allows an exothermic reaction to occur and produce the final decomposition.
Yard and kitchen scraps are layered with manures or dirt to achieve a ratio that is close to 30:1 C:N. Ideally one uses a thermometer with readings from 0 degrees to 200 degrees F and is long enough to read well into the pile to determine when to turn the pile. If you have layered the carbon to nitrogen to the ideal 30:1 the pile will shortly begin to heat up. There will be a steady rise in temperature for a day or two. Normally the pile will continue to rise until it reaches 120 to 149 degrees F, at which point it may suddenly stop rising. Keep on monitoring the temperature. If it stays up, fine. If it drops, turn again. Once it no longer rises in temp after being turned it is complete. Note this is predicated on being able to balance the carbon or 'browns' to the nitrogen or 'greens'. Also the particle sizes being added matter. If possible all material should be run through a chipper to mix and reduce the size. This makes turning much easier, too.

http://www.compostguide.com/ C:N ratios

Green ingredients (grass clippings, weeds, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, seeds, soft green prunings, seaweed, animal manure (sheep, poultry, horse, rabbit & cow))

Brown ingredients (dead leaves, straw, hay, wood shavings or chips, egg cartons, newspaper)

Particle size also affects the availability of carbon and nitrogen. Large wood chips, for example, provide a good bulking agent that helps to ensure aeration through the pile, but they provide less available carbon per mass than they would in the form of wood shavings or sawdust. To much carbon prevents the pile from heating.

As to smells, that is the best method of managing a pile if you do not use a thermometer. If it smells fresh like turned soil it is working properly.
If you get it to wet it will begin to decompose anaerobically and produce hydrogen sulfide, the rotten egg smell. The best thing is to turn it and get air in.
If the pile has an ammonia odor, you have too much green material (grass clippings, food scraps, green plant material) and not enough brown (dry leaves, woody prunings, pine needles, dried out plants, saw dust). Add more brown material or a shovel of soil and turn it.
If you see ants then the pile must be to dry. Everything should be moist but there should be nothing dripping. If you piled it to dry, its own heat dried it or the summer did then you must turn it rewetting the layers as you go.
If it just sits there and wont heat up you have to many browns. To much carbon prevents the pile from heating. Go to a coffee shop and get some coffee grounds, any grain, seed or meal is a good source of nitrogen. Add some grass clippings in thin layers or get a neighbor to donate kitchen scraps.

Use compost as a mulch or top dressing. Work it into new beds and amend holes dug for new plants. Mix it with vermiculite and sand to make your own potting mix. Last, make compost tea. http://www.simplici-tea.com/
The reason we need to add organics to soil is to create humus. Good soil is equal parts sand, silt, & clay. These give soil its texture and are about 95% of soil. Organics give it structure and should be 5-7%. How the soil aggregates or forms crumbs affects how air and water move through the soil. The organic portion of the soil determines this. Basically it is almost impossible to add to much compost to existing soil.

During the early stages of the composting process, flies provide ideal airborne transportation for bacteria on their way to the pile. Flies spend their larval phase in compost as maggots, which do not survive thermophilic temperatures the bacteria and fungi digestion creates . Adult flies feed upon organic vegetation. If flies become a problem cover food scraps with a little soil from the garden.
In small-scale backyard compost piles, soil invertebrates aid the decomposition process. Together with bacteria, fungi, and other microbes, these organisms make up a complex food web or energy pyramid with primary, secondary, and tertiary level consumers. The base of the pyramid, or energy source, is made up of your organic matter including plant and animal residues.

Meat and dairy products are high in fat. They can cause an unpleasant odor if added to a passive pile or poorly-managed active compost pile. For a hot, well-turned compost pile, meat and dairy wastes are not a problem. However, it is better to run the wastes through a blender or food processor to reduce their size and speed their decomposition.
Fat, oil, & grease, known as FOG, can be added at 1% of the compost’s mass.
'An application rate, limited to a concentration of fat at 1% of the soil mass was reported as being the most desirable rate in that no negative effects were observed.'
Fat, oil, and grease have a high C/N ratio (90:1), if applied to compost they may affect the availability of N, due to N immobilization during its decomposition by nitrifying bacteria. The same is true of any high carbon ingredient like wood chips. Particle size also affects the availability of carbon and nitrogen. Large wood chips, for example, provide a good bulking agent that helps to ensure aeration through the pile, but they provide less available carbon per mass than they would in the form of wood shavings or sawdust. To much carbon prevents the pile from heating.
http://www.compostguide.com/ C:N ratios
What should never be added are;
Feces either from your pet or human - They carry diseases and parasites, as well as cause an unpleasant odor
Diseased garden plants - They can infect the compost pile and influence the finished product.
Invasive weeds - Spores and seeds of invasive weeds (buttercups, morning glory, quack grass) can survive the decomposition process and spread to your desired plants when you use the finished compost.
Wood ashes - highly alkaline (high pH), and rich in potassium salts so it is good for sandy, acidic soils (low pH). However, the fine particle size of ash tends to plug the pores of clay soils leading to water penetration and drainage problems.
Glossy, colored paper - The inks are toxic to the soil microorganisms.
Pesticide-treated plant material - These are harmful to the compost foodweb organisms, and pesticides may survive into the finished compost..
Eucalyptus leaves and bark - allelopathic effects impact nutrient cycling and prevents some seed germination
Treated lumber - Will not break down.
Poison Ivy - It is a potent source of urushiol even after a year and a half (to sensitive individuals).
Walnut shells - Juglone, a naturally occurring chemical released by all parts of black walnut trees, can have a toxic effect on many vegetables and landscape plants.
Slugs and snails generally feed on living plant material but will attack fresh garbage and plant debris and will therefore appear in the compost heap. (Better there where you can find and kill them than in the garden. I dump them in soapy water til dead then compost them. Soap is a phosphorus source.)

http://www.primalseeds.org/compost.htm...
http://compost.css.cornell.edu/compostin...
http://ohioline.osu.edu/com-fact/0001.ht...

The compost should have many kinds of worms, including earthworms, nematodes, red worms and potworms. They will invade the pile from the soil or through drain holes if you have an enclosed bin.
Besides worms you will see many other creatures like sow bugs or springtails. All the creatures that move in are there because they like dead stuff. Bugs, big and little, are what make the decomposition happen.

Answer 2

It can be easy or complicated. If it smells, you are doing something wrong. Outside is easier. You don't have to add any bugs, worms, or starters. Speed varies. The best size is 4' cubed, give or take a foot in each dimension. If larger, air cannot reach the center; if smaller, the pile won't heat up. Try to have a mix of 2/3 high carbon material (leaves, sawdust, wood chips) and 1/2 high nitrogen material (grass clippings, table scraps). If you have too much of the first, the rate will be slower. Too much of the second and the pile will stink. If it does, get in there with a spading fork and turn it over so more air can get in. Never use oils, grease, or meat in the pile. The more finely you can chop the material, the faster it will compost and the less likely it is to attract rodents. Every so often, toss a little soil into the pile; it provides the micro-organisms you need..

Answer 3

You can have a compost pile be really simple or you can get very creative. This simpliest way is to just have a pile. I can smell depending on what you add to it. I keep mine close to the garden but away from the house. I put weeds, grass clippings, leaves, dead plants, egg shells, coffee grounds, rotten fruits or vegetables or the leftovers of it. Basically anything that will decompose. Don't add things like meat, oils, branches or logs.

Just start piling it on. Every once and a while I turn the pile to help get thing decomposing faster. I water it every once and a while too. If you want, you can place black plastic over your pile. This will get thing heating up and help decompose things faster. I do that in the winter for the most part.

That is the simple way to have a compost pile. It can be more extravigant and make it look neater if you want. Here is a link for some more information on how to make a compost pile. . . http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/FACTS/COMPOST.HTM

Answer 4

I recommend reading the book "Organic Gardening" published by Rodale Press.
The magazine "Mother Earth News" also has articles about composting.

Composting can be very simple. You need a place where you can dig two holes, about 2' x 2' is nice but smaller can be used. You also need a frame to put around the hole that lets air through (for example, make one from chicken wire.) You deposit your kitchen waste (potato peels, fruit rinds, leftover cooked foods etc - no fat or meats) into the first hole, and cover them with a layer of soil. (From the second hole.) You can also add a layer of grass clippings, not more than a couple of inches thick.
Every time you have more kitchen waste, make another layer, until your hole is full. Then keep on repeating layers until your frame is full too.

Then you put the frame around the second hole and start making compost in it. The first one will just sit.

Most people situate their heap near or in their gardens, to reduce having to move the finished compost to where you want it.
For faster composting, water and turn the pile (with a pitchfork). Or you can let it sit until next season. That's what we did, and it never smelled, ever.

What happens is that the compost pile turns the waste, soil and grass & leaves you put into it into rich, nutritious soil that grows huge, healthy vegetables and flowers. Use a wheelbarrow to haul your beautiful rich finished compost to your existing gardens, or make new ones.

Answer 5

I've used compost piles for more than 20 yrs. There are a couple ways to do this or you can buy a container. If you make your own you will have to make at least two, or if you have enough room make one pile. Next yr. you will need the space for another next to the first. The more organic material used, the more rich soil you will have for the garden, flower beds etc. I have used a lot of leaves in the Fall and grass clippings in layers.

The pile has to be turned regularly and watered. The following site will get you started:

http://www.ehow.com/how_3541_begin-compost-pile.html

Answer 6

Here are the things to keep in mind for a compost pile.

1. You really need space for three piles - one for new material, one to transfer material, and a "finished" pile.

You need to have equal parts of "green" (nitrogen) and "brown" (carbon) matter (i.e. grass & leaves) for best results.

Lastly, you need to turn it over once every few days and keep it moist, and it won't stink. If you don't turn it and/or it dries out, the decomposition process goes from aerobic (fast and hot, no smell) to anaerobic (long, cool, and smelly).

If you don't have a lot of material, you can buy a compost barrel, but it fills fast and it's hard to separate into "finished" and "not finished"

Happy composting!

Answer 7

green waste , not too much grass , veg scraps etc , do nothing and wait about a year just keep adding to the top , etc