Compost - Mother Nature Decomposed Materials
Compost(black gold) is part of having a healthy enviroment and doing our part to enrich our soil. Did you know in Minnesota you are not allowed to put yard trimmings and tree waste in the garbage since 1992. It is also calculated that 1/6th of land fill is material that can go into our pile. By composting you will answer the question where does compost come from, you can convert organic wastes — yard trimmings, leaves and many kinds of kitchen scraps — into a dark, crumbly mixture that can be used to improve the soil and reduce your use of fertilizer and water. Best of all the actual work is done by mother nature in the decomposing, she has been doing it for thousands of years. Let's take a few moments to see what makes composting work and building a simple compost pile, one idea is to make compost tea.
COMPOST WORKERS Bacteria are found in all kinds of organic matter(compost). They do the primary breakdown of materials without having to put them to work. Naturally they live and reproduce on their own and flourish under the proper conditions. Nonbacteria workers- like worms, fungi, and many invertabrates will work in your compost pile for just food and board. Some will feed on the actual material and others will eat on the bacteria but the natural chain will work together and put out a finished product unmatched.You can even compost rotting apples, one of the uses for horse manure or even adding fresh grass clippings to manure compost.
GREEN AND BROWN INGREDIENTS The greens like green leaves, coffee grounds, plant trimmings, fresh grass clippings, and raw fruit and vegetable scraps are items to put in compost pile that will provide nitrogen and protein for the microbes hard at work in the pile. The browns like dried grasses, straw, woodchips, twigs, branches, sawdust, shredded newpaper, corncobs, and cornstalks provide carbon and energy for the microbes. In addition since microbes are living things they need water and air. Turning your pile every 2 weeks will allow aeration to aid the decomposition. NOTE: I suggest that two smaller side by side bins be used in order to ease the task of turning. Turn from one to the other.
1.Keep it simple. Inexpensive materials like old pallets, snow fence, or chicken wire with poles can be used for home made composting bins. Cheaper yet is just make a simple pile. The bins though will have a compost aeration design for better aeration, retain heat, and better looking. the result are aeration compost systems. As far as size goes if we stay at about 1 cubic yard(3 ft x 3 ft x 3ft) we will get the heat necessary and retain the moisture. This size is easy to handle also. 2.What to add? Even if you only have grass clippings and leaves this is enough to decompose. Don't worry about not having enough at the start. When items become available- add them. Water sparingly but don't forget to water. If too wet just turn to other bin to dry. Rain, fresh grass clippings are 70% water, will provide the moisture. You'll find that smaller items decompose faster so shred and use compost chippers if possibe. When building layers with greens and browns you are building with nitrogen and carbon layers. How is prepare a compost pile is started here. Start that bin with a layer of twigs or coarse items to provide air circulation. 3.Turn the pile. Take a pitch fork to turn the compost after the first week, don't be afraid to add greens and browns to pile at any time. Repeat the turning until you see materials that is dark and crumbly, earth smelling, and does not look anything like what you put in the bin in the first place. Make a do it yourself compost tumbler. USING THE BLACK GOLD
Additional compost topics here. Common Problems With Composting
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