How do I start a compost heap?

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. It should never smell bad! That is an indicator of a problem. 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.
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://compost.css.cornell.edu/Composting_homepage.html
http://www.primalseeds.org/compost.htm
http://ohioline.osu.edu/com-fact/0001.html


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

Your question is: How do you start a compost heap? Here's one simple way that a novice can do without to much trouble or technical knowledge.

To get compost to start cooking, you need to have a 3x3x3 container at a minimum so start there. The quickest, easiest, and cheapest, as in a few bucks, is to find a local company and beg, borrow or otherwise acquire four wood pallets.

Assemble three with "L" brackets, and the front one with latches.

This will give you a 4x4x4 box. Add in browns and greens, a little water, a little lime, and get yourself a thermometer with a long steel stem. Turn the pile periodically and cook the pile to about 155 degrees to kill all the weed seed.

As the pile cools, remove the front gate, dig out the "finished" material from the bottom of the pile, screen through a mesh smaller than chicken wire, larger than a window screen, over a wheel barrow store in a dry place or use.

Latch up the gate, add more material and repeat.

As you advance, you can add on a second and third bin. The first will house raw material, the second will be the cooking station and the third becomes the finished product, waiting for screening. Cost of materials, under $10.00 Have fun.

Answer 3

I would recommend not starting a compost heap if all you have is a small balcony, because first of all, they smell really bad. My dad has had a compost heap for years, and it stinks to high heaven. Second, the chemicals in compost, if not stored properly, can cause spontaneous combustion, which can be very dangerous on a small balcony. Sorry, it's just not a good idea.

Answer 4

There's been a lot of good answers here, but there is one thing that has not been mentioned.

You should try to have a three part compost bin, or three seperate bins for compost. That way you can use the decomposed compost, and still have a place to dump new materials.

Look below for a good article on the basics.

Answer 5

Pick a spot about 20 feet from a well used area (because, they stink) Place everything, but meat items on the pile. Some people place dirt on top of each layer, to help with the rotting, and keep down the smell. I use black hefty trash bags. Fill the full, place in the hot sun, and nature will do the composting for you.

Answer 6

go to hgtv here is a link gives ya all the info on makin one http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_soil_water_other/article/0,,HGTV_3635_3537599,00.html

Answer 7

Read here http://www.compostguide.com/