How do I compost?

Question

I don't know the first thing about gardening. But we just bought this house and I
d really like a garden next year.

I've been reading and many people recommend using mulch for the soil. Instead of buying it, how do I start composting from scratch?

Please keep your answers in plain english-or explain unique terms as you go! LOL!!

I'm really new to gardening, like I said.

Thank you buckets!

Answer 1

How fun...you were me this time last year......bought a new house and wanted to learn how to compost....ok the important thing to remember with composting is that it is made up of two parts (Green Matter & Brown Matter). Green matter are items like fruit and vegetable waste. Brown matter is like dead leaves, sticks, etc. Compost is made up of green and brown matter. Do not put your compost that close to any windows that may be open ....will attract bugs..the compost itself it dependent on air supply and moisture. ...what you need to remember about moisture is that the compost should be as wet as a ringed out sponge. To reduce the bugs/flies, you can put the compost in a container, HOWEVER, make sure the container has holes for air. ( I used a big tupperwear bin because i didnt know where to put the permanent pile and drilled holes in the side) The more you turn the compost the more the air gets in and speeds up the decompostion process....

Answer 2

I want to add a few little facts about composting. My neighbor and I have shared a compost pile for years. We have a little area in the back of our gardens that we've enclosed with some wooden planks and wire to hold it together. Any kind of fruit and vegetable peelings can go in the compost, along with egg shells, which you should break up into very small pieces, Also coffee grains are good -- the worms love them. Yes worms, you want big fat juicy earth worms in the compost to help break it down. One thing you definitely do NOT want in your compost pile are meat bones and other kinds of greasy leftovers. No butter or oily foods. Fish bones and skin is not good either and contrary to what some people may tell you, I would not recommend using cat litter either. It is a good idea to intersperse the food with grass cuttings, dead leaves or other types of yard waste. The compost pile is a wonderful place to put all those extra fall leaves. The smaller you cut up your vegetable peelings and fruits skins, like cantaloupe and mango peels, for instance, the faster they will break down. Finally, it is important that you turn your compost frequently, bringing what's on the bottom to the top. If your compost is large, you will need someone with muscle to do this. They do however make compost bins that can be turned and kept at the proper temperature for maximum effect. And remember the bigger the worms, the bettter the compost.

Answer 3

The easiest way to find out is visit a local garden center. You can also do a search engine search and they will give you a lot of ideas. You must start with a "base" that will activate the compost. I'm sure the internet can answer your question. Don't forget, new gardener, to feed your plants and have some plan for the bugs! Bulbs, such as tulips, should be planted this fall. (they will also need food). Gardening is a learn-as-you-go process and can be very rewarding! Don't let one or two failures stop you from trying! Many things can also be planted in pots.

Answer 4

Find an area of your garden to build your compost. Some people use metal fencing to make a small round area to make the compost pile. Begin putting all your food waste there including left overs, food and fruit peelings. Keep adding to it and in the spring you have compost. Yes, the internet has very good information in simple terms. Just click on a few of the website and enjoy that garden next year! Good luck.

Answer 5

What a surprising test. are you able to record back to us while finished? Compost is slower in offering the nutrition you elect, so manure(compost) tea would be my decision for instant.(i'm impatient). I make my very own, as others have pronounced right here) by using putting compost in an previous nylon hosiery, placed this in a large barrel of water, and then use it as mandatory. Compost is obtainable at Walmart's, or any nursery. you should make your guy or woman tea, so which you will probable in basic terms ought to purchase the field. I have been given an exceedingly severe-high quality one the day gone by for $6.40 seven on the interior sight marketplace. a stable length may be the approximate length of a bushel basket which you place moist outfits in. stable success.

Answer 6

You are gonna love gardening, don't try to do it all in one year. Get to know where the sun shines the most, and where the shaded areas are. Because you will need flowers for the sun areas, and flowers for the shaded areas.

Since you are a beginner, this year start your garden with plants that you get from a garden center or nursery. They are called bedding plants and come in a six pack. Look for a little tag sticking in the six pact showing directions on how to grow the plants. If the tag is not there, ask for one or buy something else. Directions are VERY important.

Seeds are not always easy to grow. And wildflowers are the hardest so don't be disappointed if they don't show up.

Two good things to do for yourself is to call your local County Extension Service and ask for all the information that they have about gardening in your area. They usually have a packet/kit of things for the home gardener.

And number two would be to pick up a couple of beginner books. You really do need to know about soil, compost, mulch and etc. My sweet hubby and I have always liked the Dummies series, but there are many, many good books to buy, or visit your local library.

To keep from over watering or not watering enough, buy a water analyzer from a nursery or garden center. Be sure to read the directions. This will be one of your best tools.

Send for some free gardening catalogs and get use to the different types of plants, colors, and when to plant. They are filled with good informtion and pictures. And they will keep you company during the long winter months. Here is a list of just a very few. There are hundreds more. You do not have to buy from them:

http://www.waysidegardens.com
http://www.dutchbulbs.com
http://www.jacksonandperkins.com (Roses)
http://www.parkseed.com
http://www.burpee.com

Other catalogs:
http://www.leevalley.com
http://www.gardeners.com
http://www.GardensAlive.com
http://www.deerbusters.com (all types of animal control)
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Container/pots/window boxes needs:

All need holes in the bottem for water drainage,
Potting soil that comes in bags,
Slow release fertilizer for flowers (not for green plants), OR liquid fertilizer that will need to be used more often-read directions,
Water crystals to be mixed into the soil for holding water,
Bedding plants or full grown plants.

Here is an excellent link to check out for color combinations and plants that look good together:

http://www.fernlea.com/awesomeaccents/recipes.html

Answer 7

Give the Internet a whirl, searching for composting. A wealth of info there, and in the search box at the top of this page.

Answer 8

For your 1st question, you can click here on how to compost. Very informative and helpful site.
http://www.worldbestcompost.com/?tid=7111165&hop=mama71

Good luck

Answer 9

The basics are simple but it is a bit of an art to get one to heat fast and finish quickly. These hot piles are called active composting. However there is evidence that a slow pile produces more humus, which is the goal, so passive composting is another option. The passive pile is also done with specific worn bins using Eisenia fetida or red worms.
Active Composting
Making a compost pile work is a balancing act between adding 'brown' leaves with 'green' kitchen waste and garden trimmings to generate a an optimal carbon to nitrogen ratio. The pile is effectively built out of just 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 C:N ratio that is close to 30:1.
C : N ratios http://www.compostguide.com/
A rule of thumb on C:N ratio is make roughly 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 of the pile green nitrogen materials and 1⁄2 - 3⁄4 brown carbon materials.
Green ingredients include grass clippings, weeds, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, seeds, fresh soft green prunings, seaweed, & animal manure (sheep, poultry, horse, rabbit & cow)

Brown ingredients include 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. Too much carbon prevents the pile from heating.
Free compost ingredients
http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Free-Compost-Ingredients

Monitoring the pile
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. 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.

Since you can never know the actual contents smell and temperature are the best gauge of your composts activity level.
1 - If it smells fresh like turned soil it is working properly.
2 - 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. Possibly layer in fresh dry ingredients to absorb excess moisture.
3 - 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.
4 - 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 weather dried it then you must turn it rewetting the layers as you go.
5 - If it just sits there and won’t heat up you have to many browns. Too 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.
What can be added with proper handling are;
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, enclosed 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.
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. So FOG is best added in small quantities when turning the pile.
Wood ashes - highly alkaline (high pH) so are 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.
Some thought may be needed before using these in compost.
Compost invertebrates
During the early stages of the composting process, flies bring bacteria that are useful to the decomposition. Flies lay eggs in compost then the flies & their larvae feed on the decaying vegetation until in heats up. Flies do not survive thermophilic temperatures the bacteria and fungi digestion creates. If flies become a problem cover food scraps with a little soil from the garden.
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. If they are a problem dump them in soapy water til dead then compost them. Soap is a phosphorus source.)
In small-scale backyard compost piles, soil invertebrates aid the decomposition process. The compost should have many kinds of worms, including earthworms, nematodes, red worms and white 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.
Together with bacteria, fungi, and other microbes, these organisms make up an energy pyramid with primary, secondary, and tertiary level consumers. The base of the pyramid, or energy source, is made up of organic matter including plant and animal residues.
Invertebrates of the Compost Pile
http://www.css.cornell.edu/compost/invertebrates.html
http://www.digitalseed.com/composter/whatiscompost.html