Composting 101
August 24, 2010
with Jeff Kass

Handouts:

What does Jeff's compost look like?

Words of Wisdom from Jeff

These things I have learned by reading books, magazines, websites, and viewing youtube videos and applying them over the last 3 years. Composting is one of those things in life where you make something useful from what is or was considered waste. I didn’t know how valuable compost was until I made it myself.

• The great things about composting is that it can be done in many different ways according to what time, materials, and space you have. The level of effort that people contribute varies greatly. Pile activators available at nurseries and high nitrogen fertilizers are sometimes used but are not necessary.
• It is common knowledge that food and fruit scraps can attract rodents, hence I suggest an above ground or barrel type composter if you do this. If you have a pile, bury the scraps within the pile.

Composting relies on the breakdown of materials by natural process of microbes and insects. When you toss the pile start with the outside and move it to the inside so the microbes can work on the materials. I use grass clippings, prunings, weeds, brown leaves, old vegetable garden matter, and paper shreddings. I usually don’t have enough brown stuff but hay or horse stall bedding can be used just as well. If I have enough brown matter the general rule is to use 2 parts brown to 1 part green. When initially assembling the pile the customary thing to do is layer these parts. However after the first toss this all gets mixed up. The scientific most effective ratio is 25-30:1 ratio of carbon to nitrogen. Break apart any grass clumps as the clumps won’t break down well. Just spear it with the pitchfork and shake it out. Ants make the pile their home in my case. They get scattered every time I toss the pile but they help to break it down. After the pile gets a little more dense and broken down, the ants don’t find it a good home any more. However more worms tend to appear in the pile and help to break it down. The microbes and fungi continue to work on the job. You may not want to have your compost on the ground if you have it close to the house to avoid ants migrating into the house. I feel the center of the pile to see how warm it is, that the pile is working. Optimum temperature is 100-140 degrees but temperature will start to decrease as the microbes completely consume the material. A slower pile will operate at a lower temperature but that’s ok if you’re not in a hurry.

• I maintain pile sizes of about 4 feet in diameter and 3 feet high to get enough mass to provide an elevated temperature and to be able to handle the pile easily.
• There are millions of microbes in a handful of soil. Toss in a few handfuls of soil to add microbes.
• Sprinkle the pile with water as you toss it. People usually say “like a wet sponge, not soaked”. It works best if the microbes have some moisture to live on. So give them what they need to live, air, water and something to eat. Some people insert perforated pipes into the center of the pile to ensure air flow.
• I break down any tough plant fibers by cutting them using the bypass pruners or the hedge clippers. A rule is that you shouldn’t try and compost materials larger in than ¼ inch in diameter. I usually chop the prunings into 2 to 4 inch lengths into 5 gallon buckets until I can dump them into the pile. Leaves themselves don’t need to be chopped, just small branches and punings.
• The hedge clippers I use have relatively long handles and shorter blades.
• I use a 4 tine pitchfork to toss the pile with but a 5 tine would be better.
• I contribute our paper document shreddings to the pile. This provides super security. There is certainly no way to reassemble the paper once it is composted. I don’t find it practical to shred paper just for material. Paper and cardboard or high carbon materials.
• After 2 weeks of the pile being in the same place anything living under the compost pile dies and the ground is left clear. This is handy in my area because at present there are so many weed seeds ready to germinate.
• When the pile is deemed broken down enough I screen it with a 1 inch metal fabric. Anything too big gets taken out. This only amounts to a few branches or twigs that didn’t break down enough.
• I use the compost to mix into the soil and to mulch with. This conserves water, discourages new weed germination, and contributes slow nutrients to the vegetable plants.
• I toss the pile every 2 weeks this may not be optimum but it suites my schedule.
• It takes about 3 months for my pile to go through the cycle but for others it may take a few weeks.