Organic Gardener's Composting Guide
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If you have a garden, placing the compost pile in the middle would be a
convenient location. Although trickier, indoor composting is possible,
either conventionally with a large bucket or, for the more daring, by
vermiculture - composting with red worms.
- Use simple, easy-to-find materials for the compost bin: scrap
lumber, concrete blocks and bricks, 7-10 feet of fence, chicken wire, etc.
If you build a free standing pile, a tarp will protect it
from the wind. Adding wood chips, branches and trigs allows oxygen to
permeate the pile - you may literally smell the difference they make!
- Feed the pile.
All sorts of ingredients can be added to
the pile but the bacteria work best if there is about 20-30 times as
much brown material as green material (carbon to nitrogen). Mix the pile
well (every three to four days), water it if necessary (never soggy
though), and keep in mind small pieces are composted faster than large
ones. Also avoid including certain materials,
like meat, which may attract unwanted vermin to your pile and add
unpleasant odors.
- Keep it going. Composting goes fastest if the pile is 3 x 3 x 3
(a cubic yard) but no taller than five feet; any higher and the extra
weight may squeeze air out and slow decomposition.
- When its ready - a uniform dark brown with crumbly texture - let
it cool off for a few days before use. To see if the compost is safe, free
of plant-killing acids, plant seedlings in it and if they grow, its ready to
go. Usually 4-12 weeks are necessary for full composting to occur.
Composting activity drastically slows when temperatures are below 50 ° F,
so consider either insulating the bin or leaving material until warmer
weather returns.
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