.
Site map
What's New
Tomatoes 2008
Composting.ppt
Iris with music.ppt
Flowers and
bulbs in garden.ppt
Compost
to make your garden beautiful.
According to a survey over 20% of what goes to the Albuquerque landfill is
grass, leaves, tree and shrub clippings, and other yard waste. Your town
probably has similar or higher figures. Aluminum, newspaper, plastic, and tin
cans are valuable resources and should all be recycled! Composting is a way to
also recycle organic materials, save space in the landfill, cut transportation
costs and benefit your plants and garden all at the same time.
What is
Composting?
Composting turns shrub clippings, grass, leaves and even paper into a dark
brown, crumbly, sweet-smelling soil conditioner. Compost holds moisture and
nutrients in garden soil so flowers and vegetables are more beautiful and
abundant. Compost saves money by decreasing the need for fertilizers and water,
while conserving these natural resources.
Carbon
to Nitrogen Ratio
Besides
water, air and organisms who do the work, the composting process requires two
elements, Carbon and Nitrogen. The organic matter you are composting provides
these. The ratio of 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen gives the most efficient
composting. For example, you can mix ingredients that have high carbon such as
dry leaves with high nitrogen materials such as fresh green grass clippings.
Carbon to nitrogen ratios of some various materials are:
Kitchen
wastes: 15 to 1
Grass
clippings: 19 to 1
Cornstalks:
60 to 1
Leaves
and straw: 80 to 1
Paper:
170 to 1
Sawdust:
500 to 1
How can
I Compost?
Composting is easy! It is nature's way of reusing the nutrients in organic
materials. Compost happens if leaves, grass and shrub clippings build up and
stay moist. But you can speed up the process, and if you do it in a convenient
location, YOU reap the benefits while you reduce or eliminate your yard waste!
Here are some ways to set up a compost operation in your own backyard!
STEP 1. FIND A SUITABLE PLACE
If possible choose a convenient location that is shady and cool in summer and
sunny in the winter, that is near a water source because you may need to add
water from time to time.
STEP 2. BUILD A COMPOST BIN
There are many types of bins you can buy, but if you want to build your own,
here are a few ideas for simple bins using inexpensive materials.
Remember.
1. A large bin dries out more slowly, holds the heat better and needs less
watering.
2. An opening allows you get inside to turn and add materials without having to
lift them over the edge
3. A lightweight bin can be moved more easily and stored when it is empty.
From wire fencing, make a round bin at least 3 feet in diameter. If any
bin dries out too much, line it with plastic, cardboard or other solid material.
A cover also helps.
Build a square bin from 3 to 4 foot square wooden frames using 1x4 or 2x4
lumber or pallets. Pallets are usually obtainable for free. Hinges and hooks on
one side will make it easy to open and close
Build a bin from cement blocks or old bricks In a long bin with a sheet
of plywood for the front you can move the compost from end to end when turning
You can also compost without a bin, just by piling up your organic materials.
However, compost works faster and will be neater if you enclose it.
STEP 3: START YOUR COMPOST PILE
Layering the materials helps keep proportions right for more efficient
composting.
Start with a 6 to 8 inch layer of coarse materials like weeds, clippings, or
wood chips.
Then add a 1-inch layer of farm animal manure or high nitrogen material such as
fresh green grass clippings.
Follow with a 6 to 8 inch layer of mixed leaves, dry grass, shredded paper,
kitchen scraps and other yard waste. Shredding all materials will produce
compost the fastest and the resulting compost will be easier to work with.
DO NOT COMPACT the pile because oxygen is needed for composting to occur.
Repeat the last two layers as many times as necessary, but for your own
convenience do not make the heap more than 4 feet high.
STEP 4: WATER THE PILE enough to make it as damp as a wrung-out sponge.
Turn or mix the pile once a week if possible
What
can I compost?
Do
Compost Do NOT Compost
|
Grass clippings Leaves and twigs Shrub prunings Dead plants Weeds, except those with viable seed or live stolons, and sod Sawdust and lint Hair and paper Vegetable and fruit wastes * * Bury these in the middle of your compost pile and cover them up. |
Meat, fish or
dairy products, grease or fat* Oil or salad dressings* Bones Pet wastes* Wood ashes, if you have alkaline soil. Logs or large branches Diseased plants Weed plants with viable seeds or live stolons. * All these items may be disposed of by burying them in a deep hole. |
The Patient Gardener Compost
The
easiest method but very slow.
Ingredients; Yard wastes and water
Directions;
1. In a barrel, pile, pit or bin, layer materials as they accumulate.
2. Water as needed to keep mixture damp.
3. Turn and/or mix as the spirit moves you. This method may take months for it
to decompose and it usually will not reach temperatures that will kill pathogens
or weed seeds. Sift through a coarse screen. Return screenings to the pile.
Container Garden Compost
For the
apartment dweller with house plants who wants to dispose of kitchen scraps.
Ingredients:
Fruit and vegetable trimmings and sawdust.
Directions:
1. Chop or shred kitchen scraps.
2. In a large bucket with a tight fitting cover, mix scraps with an equal
quantity of sawdust. If the mixture is soggy, allow draining and drying out or
adding more dry material.
3. Stir thoroughly at least once a week.
4. Allow to compost for one to three months, stirring weekly.
Pronto
Compost
The fastest method.
Ingredients;
Shredded yard wastes, fruit and vegetable trimmings, water, and manure or
fertilizer.
Directions;
1. Layer and mix fresh green grass clippings or other nitrogenous materials with
dry brown materials in a pile or bin until the pile is 3' by 3' by 3' (one cubic
yard) or larger, in the ratio of 2 parts green to 1 part brown.
2. Keep the pile moist. If you are in a dry climate cover loosely .to retain
moisture. In rainy climates a cover will keep the pile from getting too soggy in
wet weather.
3. Turn pile once a week or oftener. Pile should warm up noticeably. A
temperature of 135 degrees F or higher is necessary to pasteurize the mixture.
4. If the pile does not heat up, add manure and/or a handful of fertilizer and
mix again.
5. Compost will be ready in a few weeks. Screen and return larger materials to
the pile.
6. Several piles can be working at once to give you a continuous supply of
compost
Tending
the pile
Take the
temperature of your pile using a probe to track how it is progressing. To
determine the temperature at the center of the pile you can estimate it by
putting your hand in the pile. A temperature of 120°
F will be uncomfortably warm. When you turn the pile, steam will rise even on a
hot summer day if the pile is working. When decomposition is complete the pile
will cool down .
A properly constructed compost pile that is heating up will not be infested with
pests or have a bad odor. If you have trouble with either pests or odors turn
the pile more frequently. Insects may inhabit the pile because it provides them
with warmth and food but most do no harm. Worms or pillbugs may move into the
pile after it has cooled down and continue to break down the organic matter.
Trouble
Shooting
Common problems
| SYMPTOM | PROBLEM | SOLUTION |
| The pile is wet and smells bad. | Not enough oxygen. | Turn it. Add dry material. |
| The pile is damp and warm only in the middle. | Pile is too small. | Collect more materials mix the old and new for a new pile. |
| The heap is damp but doesn't heat up. | Lack of nitrogen. | Add fresh grass clippings, manure or nitrogen fertilizer. |
| The heap smells like ammonia. | Too much grass or high nitrogen material. | Turn it to aerate, add dry leaves, sawdust or wood chips. |
| Pests in the pile. | Rotting food wastes attract pests. | Turn often and remove any meat or food wastes. |
| Pile shrinks and turns dark brown. | This is normal. | You have compost!! |
Using Compost
Compost is ready to use when it is reduced to a sweet-smelling, crumbly,
dark-brown humus. It has many uses, and can make gardening easier and more
successful.
Soil
amending is the natural thing to do with compost. Dig an inch or two of compost
into flowerbeds and vegetable gardens each year to renew the soil.
Mulching
helps keep soil cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Spread several inches of
compost on top of the soil around plants, trees and shrubs to deter weeds and
conserve water.
To
make Potting soil for houseplants mix equal parts of compost and sand or soil.
Pasteurizing the compost will insure that there are no insects or other pests in
it. To do so place the compost in a clear plastic bag, close the bag securely
and put it in direct sun. It will heat up enough to destroy any pests.
Compost
can be added to soil at any time. Besides improving soil structure, it
suppresses plant pathogens, and adds needed nutrients, minerals, and beneficial
soil organisms to help plants grow.
An additional method of disposing of kitchen wastes that will benefit your
houseplants or garden is this.
Fisherman's Special
Let worms eat your
garbage.
Worm bins should not heat up or the worms will leave or die.
Ingredients:
Fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grounds, shredded newspapers, and red worms.
Directions
1. Shred and moisten newspaper and layer 6" deep in a box or old cooler that has
holes in the sides to allow oxygen to reach the worms.
2. Add red worms and put kitchen scraps on top of the bedding. Cover the box
with damp newspaper to exclude light. Add additional food scraps when available.
If you do not have enough food scraps, feed the worms cornmeal or other food.
3. Harvesting the worm castings for use in houseplants or garden is simple.
Empty the worm bin into a heap and the worms will hide from the light. Remove
the castings until you come to worms then they will plunge deeper so you can
remove the castings again. You can put the surplus worms in the compost bin or
the garden and they will continue to multiply and work on the organic matter.
4. It is not necessary to put any screening or other materials over the holes in
the compost box because the worms will not try to escape unless the conditions
inside the box are worse than the conditions are outside the box. If there is no
food, if the compost is too wet so the worms are in danger of drowning, or if
the bin becomes too acidic or too hot or too dry the worms will not be happy. They will try to
escape to a better environment. In that case, I would prefer that they did
escape and survive rather than stay and die.
For a Powerpoint presentation on this same
subject click here Composting
02/01/2009