Subject: Re: How do I Compost?
From: rol@teleport.com (Roland Couture)
Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 97 19:11:07 GMT
Message-ID: <MOD$970911.22640@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$970909.8453@rec.gardens.ecosystems>


In article <MOD$970909.8453@rec.gardens.ecosystems>,
sharonsky@webtv.net (Sharon Krawczyk) wrote:
>
>I just saw a tv show on composting to cut down on garbage. I presently
>throw my corn cat litter waste in the yard along with some food scraps
>now and then, but I want to do more. I need to know what exactly I can
>throw out there and how to do it. The show gave me the impression that
>I might be able to make a pile in my yard and throw dirt on it. (snip)
>I don't really have the ability, desire or
>finances to make or buy a composter at this time, but I am willing to
>have a pile in the backyard and I'm willing to throw a little dirt into
>it now and then if I need to.
Don't know any resources offhand but I can tell you most of what you need to
know real quickly here.

First, you can indeed just make a "pile." The main advantages of having a bin
to keep it in are:
1. it keeps it collected and all nice and neat in one place (a matter of
aesthetics only)
2. it helps in hot composting (a more work-intensive method and probably not
what you would want, but I mention it anyway below)
3. it makes it harder for critters to get in and feed on your food scraps
(easily solved by burying the scraps deep in the pile)

In other words, you don't necessarily need a bin. However, a bin can easily
be made by rounding up four shipping pallets from the local industrial area,
standing them up on end and wiring the corners together to make a box. Voila,
free compost bin. This size bin would enable you to take advantage of the
benefits of hot composting, which include the ability to put weeds in the pile
and have the seeds killed off (see below).

I would avoid putting cat litter in your compost. It's a vector for disease.
Generally they tell you to stick with only vegetative matter, no animal parts
or products, and no feces from carnivores (cats, dogs, humans). Herbivore
dung is generally fine (horses, steer, chickens).

Things that you can put in include any organic vegetative material including
weeds, grass clippings, wood chips, leaves, kitchen scraps, etc. etc. etc.
Generally (and here comes the most scientific part of this post) you should
try for a ratio of roughly 2 parts carbon source (anything "brown" e.g. straw,
hay, wood chips, dried grass) to 1 part nitrogen source (anything "green"
including kitchen scraps, fresh grass, etc.).

As for the tossing dirt on it, it's not really necessary, but it is helpful
for purposes of inoculating the pile with beneficial microbes that live in the
soil, giving your pile a jumpstart as it were. Care needs to be taken that
the pile stays aerated though, because if it gets all matted down it will go
anaerobic and start to stink and get slimy. Aeration is usually accomplished
by turning it periodically with a pitchfork or by installing perforated pipes
in the pile. Sticking to the ratio above also helps here, since it's the
"green" parts that tend to get wet and compressed, and the "brown" parts tend
to create some nice air spaces.

You also need to keep it wet, to the consistency of a wrung-out sponge. This
may mean watering it in summer and/or covering it in winter

With roughly the ratio described above (2 parts "brown" to one part "green"),
hot composting will happen in any pile bigger than one cubic yard and produce
usable compost in about 2 months. Otherwise if it's a small or dispersed
pile, you'll have cold composting which will take about a year. Hot
composting gets up to temps of 150 degrees F which is enough to make it steam
in winter, kill off weed seeds, and even break down many harmful chemicals
(should they find their way into the system). But since it compresses the
process into a much shorter time frame, it will need more tending, i.e. it
will have to be turned more frequently (about once a week for hot, once a
month for cold). I haven't tried the perforated-pipe method, but it sounds
real attractive (no turning!).

By either method, the volume will decrease substantially, and the color will
darken until it looks almost like dirt, with some bigger chunks of material in
it. Sift out the big undigested chunks and put them back into the system, and
put the rest on your garden.

One thing, if you're going to be continually tossing new stuff on top of the
pile, the usable compost will be on the bottom of the pile. You'll have to
dig through the fresh stuff to get it. A better way might be to have more
than one pile (or bin) going at once.

But basically that's it. It's not an exact science, it's just rotting stuff.
Don't even worry too much about that "2 to 1 ratio" stuff I mentioned... as
long as you're roughly in the ballpark it'll work.

rol

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