Organic Gardening Tips and Methods (Part 2) How to Make Your Own Compost Making your own compost brings a number of benefits, it avoids wastage, it is cost efficient and gives you the confidence that no unwanted chemicals or diseases (ant-bodies) are present, as long as you take into consideration a few simple rules, it is not difficult and can be very satisfying. Composting is the accelerated rotting down of once living things, it converts waste into a brown, soil like mass that (to some) is pleasant to smell but even better to use. This mass is almost pure plant food and is in a form readily available to plant roots with no risk of over feeding or imbalance that can be caused by chemical fertilizers, not to think the vast number of different micro-organisms that have broken down the compost go on to colonize the soil once the compost is added, which is furthering the aid of fertility. All manures and other organic materials for use in the garden are better composted before use, except clean commercial mulching materials and clean straw, fresh manures contain soluble nutrients which can be too strong for healthy growth, but if they are stacked and turned they compost, once composted, their fertility is less easily lost and they become safer for plant roots. This is why it is recommended that only well-rotted farm manure is used, because of the variety of minerals going into a compost heap, garden composts contain a greater spread of nutrients and more varied micro-life than well-rotted manure, so it is used in preference. As the composting process converts most of the nutrients into an insoluble form, there is little danger of their/them washing out in heavy rainfall. However they do leach out slowly, so compost heaps and rotting manures should always be covered. Making Compost There are many different ways of making compost and composting, but they all come back/boil down to one principle, (A) in general, composting proceeds best when there are many- varied materials, well divided, moistened and thoroughly mixed together with plenty of air, (B) it helps to have roughly equal amounts of dry materials and fresh green materials as too much of either will cause poor composting, (C) adding water when mixing is usually necessary as many minerals are too dry on their own, (D) an activator is not essential but speeds things up if added during the mixing. Rather than chemical additives, it is better to use urine (it sounds nasty to some.. but it has its benefits) or poultry manure, seaweed or blood, fish and bone meal will do the job just as good, sieving’s from previous compost heaps are the best activator of all (as I was taught) and, if you are starting your first heap, try to get some from a more experienced gardener to mix it in. Covering the Compost Heap Keeping the rain out and the heat in the heap is usually best done with a plastic sheet or two and some insulation such as bubble plastic or an old carpet laid over the heap, the sides of the heap should also be insulated in cold weather, but they are best with some kind of opening to allow air in and out as the heap matures, the top of the compost heap must stay covered to dry the heap out for sieving and to prevent nutrients leaching out. When to use compost, Fresh compost, even immature, can be mixed in to the soil when you are planting trees and shrubs, but it is to be used as a top-dressing or with small plants, Such as when planting out cabbages, it is best to use mature sieved compost, this takes extra effort, but produces a finer material, and the residues can then be used to start the next heap. In any case, compost or well-rotted manure is best applied to growing crops in early spring, so that the nutrients are taken up rather than just leaching into the soil over the winter months. Basic Problem Solving Problem; too wet, Action; remake with extra straw or dry material. Problem; too dry, Action; add water, fresh wet manure or grass clippings to the heap. Problem; dry with white coating on material, Action; add water mixed with urine to add liquid and nitrogen. Weather to Turn or Not It is always better to turn and remix the compost heap, the more, the better, especially if the heap is small, extra grass clippings, urine and dung can be added at this stage to make it “cook” properly if it is poor stuff. If the compost appears to be wet and slimy, mix in some torn up paper or unglazed cardboard. Having a bin on a stand makes turning out potentially easier, but filling harder work, rotary composters only work well with soft minerals. Timing If insulated and mixed well with green materials, a heap can be ready in less than a month in summer. If made by slow accumulation in layers in a badly insulated bin, it could take up to about three years. Maturing the Heap I tend to stick a nice stake into the centre of the heap once it gets going, it has little effect, but for me, to watch the steam, it is showing/telling me the heap is “cooking” nicely, once the heap has been turned and “cooked” at least twice, it then is left to mature for six months, when it is ready for use, if you leave it longer, the worms mineralize it, increasing its richness but decreasing the quantity. It makes really good potting compost, all be it containing some weed seeds. Small Composters Plastic; Advantages, often free or subsidized, easy to assemble and use. Disadvantages, usually too small and poorly insulated, ecologically dubious and aesthetically grim. Wood; Advantages, more aesthetic and easy to make at home. Disadvantages, expensive, as it will rot in a few years, too small and too poorly insulated. Alternatively, you could always make a composter out of recycled materials such as; old wooden pallets or timber (likely to be found in skips) or even old branches. Compost Containers There are several different styles of compost containers that can be purchased from garden centres, but most are on the small side, so therefore they do not heat up enough to make really good compost unless given extra insulation. Simple constructions of wood, wire, netting or brick about 1m (3ft) in height, width and depth are sufficient and considerably cheaper, do not paint the compost bin with creosote as this will slow the process (creosote also contains chemicals), a lid will keep out the rain, but an old carpet and a plastic sheet will be better for retaining the heat and will prevent a flush of weeds from growing on top of the heap. In a Small Garden In a small garden a compost bin or container is more suitable than a shabby and untidy heap of the kind that can be found tucked away at the bottom of a larger garden, you could make your own container from a square cage of wire netting supported by four stout posts driven into the ground, ideally, make the front or one of the sides removable so that you can easily get to the rotted compost that’s inside. Traditional bins are made from slatted wood (such as commercial wooden pallets), which will help keep your compost heap looking tidy, they can easily be constructed from second hand pallets or planks of wood, or you could buy wood and cut it to the required size so that it slots neatly together. Some of the better composters are supplied with wooden tops; otherwise remember to cover the full bin/heap with an old carpet and a plastic sheet to keep the heat in the heap and the rain out of the compost to save from water logging. Cone Shaped, Black or Dark Green Plastic Composters Cone shaped plastic composters hold around 220-300 litre (8-10 cubic feet) or more are a tidy and convenient alternative to a heap. In a small garden, the problem is often that there is insufficient waste material to allow a sufficiently large heap to build up, so the material never gets hot enough to begin to break down. You will get far better results with two smaller bins, fill one and leave it for a while, or better still, mix and turn it into the second, additional insulation, allow the heap to “cook” and mature whilst you begin to fill the first bin again. Instant Containers Instant containers can be easily made, convert a dead fridge or small freezer into a composting container with gutter sealant and bituminous paint, the super-heated containers keep the compost much hotter and works very well if the ingredients are emptied and remixed with plenty of air worked in, it runs wetter and unless dry materials are mixed in, an ooze accumulates which can be tapped off and diluted as a liquid feed. Materials for Composting The composting process will rapidly breakdown almost all natural materials, including old clothes made of natural fibres and old newspapers, large lumps of wood bone or fat will decay too slowly and should be broken up or buried in the ground. Dry twiggy materials will compost if chopped up and mixed up with some nitrogenous materials such as fresh manure, thorny material is better burned, material containing seeds is best put into the middle of the heap or burned and live weeds of a pernicious nature can be killed by wilting them on a path or plastic sheet before mixing them in. Alternatively such weeds and seeds can be drowned for a month or two in a water butt before adding them to the compost heap. Diseased material may be composted, but only if you’re confident that the heap will “cook” well otherwise it is safer to burn it/them. Although some people are squeamish, it is sensible to recycle urine if local regulations don’t forbid it, this is not a health hazard in temperate climates, and it is wasteful to use a couple of gallons of water to flush a rich source of fertility into the sea, saved in a bucket it makes a brilliant compost activator, alternatively each days quota can be diluted down to about 20:1 (one part urine to twenty parts of water) and watered on last thing at night to feed lawns and increase to increase the cuttings for elsewhere. Leaf Mould The leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs can be ratted down on their own to make soil-enriching leaf mould, a simple wire container made from chicken wire stretched between four upright posts that have been driven into the ground, it makes an ideal leaf mould and or compost bin, a fast, space-saving alternative is to pack layers of leaves into black polythene bags or sacks that have been perforated to allow air in, filled and tied up at the top, then the sacks/bags should be stood or stacked in an out of the way corner until the next spring, by then, the contents gathered the previous autumn will/should have turned into a good leaf mould, leaves that are kept in outdoor heaps/bins may take longer to breakdown. Compost Materials (Note; glass, plastic and metal will not breakdown, so should not/never be added to a compost heap or bin). Material: Speed of Composting: Notes: Bedding plants; Slow, none, Bracken; Intermediate rate of composting, do not use when spores are visible, Cardboard; Slow composting, none, Comfrey Leaves; Fast composting, A good- activator, Flowers; Intermediate rate of composting none, just as fruit and vegetables, Grass Clippings; Fast composting, to be mixed in well to avoid “capping”, Soft Hedge Intermediate rate of composting, valuable for Clippings; minerals, Materials: Speed of composting: Notes: Woody Hedge Slow composting rate, to be chipped Clippings; or shredded before being added, Herbaceous Intermediate rate of composting, none, Plants; Leaves; Slow composting rate, deciduous- leaves, Nettles; Fast composting rate, a good- activator, Newspapers; Slow composting rate, soaks up water, Poultry Fast composting rate, adds trace Manure; elements and encourages bacterial break- down (high in nitrogen), Rhubarb Leaves; Intermediate rate of composting, none, elements and encourages bacterial break- down, Old Straw; Slow composting rate, soak thoroughly if dry, Materials: Rate of composting: Notes: Straw Based Intermediate rate of composting, valuable for Animal Manure; fertility, Tea and Intermediate rate of composting, none, Coffee-Grounds; Tea Bags; Intermediate rate of composting, none, Tough Intermediate rate of composting, must be cut Vegetable Stems; into small pieces, Annual Weeds; Intermediate rate of composting, only add seeds if the heap gets hot enough to kill them, Perennial Weeds; Intermediate rate of composting, weeds must be killed before adding to the to the compost, Easy Composting Perhaps the biggest drawback to effective composting is the problem of accumulating enough material to make an effective heap, the bigger the mass, the more heat is retained and the better it composts, rather than store the material until enough is available, for those keeping hens, you could spread your waste on the ground for the hens to rummage through and their feet pack it down, later it could be scraped up and put in bins to breakdown, if you don’t have hens, it is probably best kept in plastic bags until it is ready to be combined, but most people just put it in layers in a bin and dig out and mix it when enough has built up. A heap will always make better compost if it is re-made after a week and the inside exchanged for the outside, digging this again after another week will be of further benefit, each turning mixes the ingredients and stirs in air which then speeds up the process, do not pack the heap down as this has the opposite effect. There are commercial rotary composters that will speed up the process, but these are better suited to warmer climates. Where there is little material available at any time, there are alternatives to the conventional heap, co-operation with the neighboughs can allow each to make a heap in turn or to share a heap. Another method is pit-composting, dig a hole and put the compost material in covering each layer with a thin layer of soil, once the whole is full, you could start another and use the first one for growing really hungry feeders on, such as; marrows, courgettes, runner beans or potatoes for at least a year or two, the pit can then be dug out and the rotted material can be re-used. Worm Compost/Composting Making worm compost is a very good way of using up house hold waste in winter when materials rot down slowly on the compost heap because of the cold, the waste has to be chopped up finely and added a little at a time to a large container containing red brandling worms (you can buy these or un-earth them from a manure or compost heap or from under a wooden-plank or carpet that has been laid on the ground). Put the worms in a layer of moist peat or leaf mould in the bottom of the container and keep it in the warm (for example, in the garage or the garden shed), the container should have air holes in the top and drainage holes in the bottom with a drip tray to catch any liquids that ooze out of the bottom. This liquid makes good feed when diluted down. The worms convert the vegetable waste into a rich material that is best mixed in when planting hungry feeders or that can be added to potting composts. The worms will die if dug out with the material and put into the soil, so carefully sift them out and return them to the container. The worms will not deal with a large quantity of matter at a time, so they are better for small households or for use in conjunction with another container or even with a conventional compost heap. Avoid large amounts of citrus peel and dairy produce.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 11:48:41 +0000
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