Q. I want to try out composting, but I find it daunting and am uncertain where to start, any composting tips?
A. Sure thing! Compost is great for your heirloom vegetable, fruit, or flower garden, and essential to organic heirloom gardening, as it is natural, nutrient-rich fertilizer right from materials you most likely have on hand, or can get easily. Not only is compost great fertilizer, it improves the structure of your soil, and it’s water retaining capabilities(less work to water your garden!). All of the above reasons will help produce healthier plants in your heirloom garden, what’s not to like about compost?!?
Table of Contents
6 Essential Composting Tips for a Thriving Garden
Making compost isn’t as difficult or complicated as it may seem, and the great thing is it utilizes things you would usually throw away. There are many, many methods of making compost, but the fastest way to get compost ready for this years’ garden is the “hot” method, or what’s called an active composting pile. With not too much work on your part you can have nice, nutrient-rich, soil enhancing compost in only about 30 days time.
1. Shredding and Chopping Materials for Faster Composting
One of the the first helpful tips for making compost is to shred or chop the materials before adding them to your composting pile. You don’t have to get overly meticulous about this, but the smaller the pieces the better, as they will break down faster, which gives you less work in the long run(as you won’t have to turn the pile so many times before you have the finished results), and has you adding your “garden gold” to your heirloom vegetable, fruit, or flower that much sooner.
2. Composting Ingredients
To keep things simple remember two basic types of ingredients that work best in making compost, those with high nitrogen content, the “Wets” or “Greens”, and those with high carbon content, the “Dries” or “Browns”. Basic Wets/Greens commonly used are:
Wet Ingredients or “Wets”
- grass clippings
- veggie/fruit scraps from the kitchen
- coffee or tea grounds
- animal manure(only form herbivores, not cats or dogs, and aged manure is best)
- trimmings from plants
- weeds that haven’t gone to seed
- crushed eggshells(crushing them helps them decompose a lot faster).
These items provide the protein which help the good bacteria in your compost pile to grow, breed, and multiply fast, thus creating the extreme heat needed to make your composting pile decompose quicker.
Dry Ingredients or “Browns”
The Dry/Browns typically added to composting piles would be:
- Fall leaves
- straw
- pine needles
- sawdust
- cornstalks
- paper( including paper plates, coffee filters, napkins, printing paper, newspaper)
- plain corrugated cardboard(without shiny printed sides, and with tape removed)
- cotton fabric
- chipped tree branches/twigs
- and even dryer lint.
These materials supply the carbohydrates/energy needed by all organisms in soil to survive.
3. Balancing Carbon and Nitrogen for a Healthy Compost Pile
A healthy composting pile likes it best with more carbon than nitrogen materials. A simple rule of thumb is to use one-third green and two-thirds brown materials. The bulkiness of the brown materials allows oxygen to penetrate and nourish the organisms in your compost pile. Too much nitrogen ends up in a dense, smelly, slowly decomposing anaerobic mass. Not pretty!
4. Maintaining Proper Moisture Levels in Your Compost Pile
Another important element in your composting pile is moisture, make sure you wet it down every so often, keeping the moisture level about that of a damp/squeezed out sponge throughout the pile. Don’t soak the pile too thoroughly, you don’t want it sopping, just moist. In fact, some people like to cover their compost with a tarp, plastic sheeting, wood, or even an old scrap of carpet, it helps retain moisture and the heat, both essentials to the “work” of a composting pile.
5. Turning Your Compost Pile for Even Decomposition
The last element most folks agree is important in maintaining your composting pile and keeping it “working” at a decent rate of decomposition is turning the pile every so often, usually once every week or two is best, although some people prefer to wait until 4 weeks out. It’s quite simple, just start at the top with a pitch fork, moving the composting pile from spot A to spot B, stirring the materials up as you go. This way all the materials at the outer edges of the pile that haven’t been heating up and decomposing get some “working” time at the center of the pile, and it keeps the decomposition even throughout.
6. Choosing the Right Composting Container for Your Garden
There are numerous ways to contain a composting pile. You can just build your pile right out in the open, piling it high as you go. You can build a very simple fencing around it by making a loop of wire fence 3-4 ft. in diameter, and hooked together at the ends with bits of extra wire left on one end when you cut it. When it comes time to flip your pile, all you have to do is unhook the wire fence lift it off the pile, move it over and move the pile over, stirring the contents as you go.
Some people like to make a sturdy 3 sided wooden “fence” around their compost bin, that will last for years. You can even find plans online for simple or more complicated homemade composting tumblers. Or, if you have the budget for it, there are some great, very easy to use commercially made composting tumblers. You can put any of these composting pile containers anywhere, but the handiest spot, if you have the room is right in the garden, as that’s where a lot of your green materials will come from, and when you go to use the finished compost it’s right there handy to your plants!
St. Clare Favorites for Composting:
Books:
– The Complete Compost Gardening Guide
– Composting Made Easy – A Complete Guide To Composting At Home
– Composting for the Absolute Beginner
Tools for Composting:
– Kitchen Compost Bin Countertop – 1 Gallon Odorless Small Stainless Steel Composting Bin
– Kitchen Countertop Compost Bin with lid – Small Compost Bin includes Inner Compost Bucket Liner
– Kitchen Compost Pail, 2.4 Gallon (larger size for the kitchen with lots of scraps, or those times when canning/preserving a bunch)
– Compost Tumbler Bin Composter Dual Chamber 43 Gallon
– Compost Bin – 246 Gallon, Expandable, Easy Assembly, Made in the USA
– Compost Tumbler Dual Chamber – Easy-Turn Composter Tumbler Outdoor for Fast Composting – Heavy-Duty Composting Bin with 2 Sliding Doors (Large capacity, and 2 chambers to keep different compost at different stages going. Love the 2 different color doors to keep track of/document which pile is which!)
– Compost Thermometer, 16 Inch Stem (Like the ones like this that have the colored zones, making it so easy to read and gauge how things are going!)
– Compost Soil Thermometer by Greenco, Stainless Steel, Celsius and Fahrenheit Temperature Dial, 20 inch Stem (A little longer for the really deep compost piles)
– Heavy Duty Digging Fork, Pitch Fork-45Inch, Forged Steel Y-Grip, Wood Handel (for stirring and turning compost pile, works much better than shovel or many other tools)
– Pitchfork,Pitchforks for Gardening Digging Composting Spading,4Tines Garden Fork witn Fiberglass Handle,43 Inches (For those who prefer a fiberglass handle)
– Compost Turning Tool Compost Stirring Tool,Compost Turning Bar 33.4inch,Manual Compost Aerator Tool Turner and Mixing Tool for Outdoor Compost Tumbler Bins (works great for compact or more upright bins, stirs /aerates a lot easier and with less effort)
– Compost Stirring Tool Attachment for Drill, Post Hole Digger, Ice Auger
– Long Garden Gloves (For working in deep piles of compost material. Like these for protecting arms from allergic plant matter.)
– Bacterial Compost Accelerator
– Jobe’s Organics Fast Acting Granular Fertilizer Compost Starter
– Soil Scoop, Plastic Garden Cultivation Scoop, Hand Scoop Soil Sifter , Garden Scoop Trowel Shovel Hand Shovel Cultivation Tool for Digging up or Transporting Scoops of Soil (great for spreading compost or scooping out of bin)
– Soil Sifter, Dirt Sifter for Gardening, Compost Sifter
– Rotary Soil Sifter Compost Sieve (be aware this is smaller than appears in first picture)
Conclusion
Making compost might seem intimidating at first, but with the right approach, it becomes a simple and rewarding process. By following the basic principles of balancing green and brown materials, maintaining proper moisture, turning your pile regularly, and choosing the right composting container, you’ll be on your way to producing rich, nutrient-filled compost in no time. Not only will you be reducing waste, but you’ll also be enriching your heirloom vegetable, fruit, or flower garden with the best natural fertilizer available. Start small, be patient, and soon you’ll see the benefits of your own “garden gold”!
FAQ: Composting Tips for Beginners
How long does it take to make compost?
Making compost can take anywhere from 1 to 12 months, depending on the method used. The “hot” method, which requires regular turning and maintaining proper moisture and material balance, can produce compost in as little as 30 days.
Why is my compost pile smelly?
A smelly compost pile usually means there’s too much nitrogen (green materials) and not enough carbon (brown materials). Adding more dry, bulky materials like leaves or straw and turning the pile more often will help eliminate the odor and balance decomposition.
What materials should I avoid adding to my compost pile?
Avoid adding meat, dairy products, fats, oils, pet waste (from cats or dogs), and diseased plants to your compost pile, as these can attract pests, produce unpleasant odors, and potentially introduce harmful bacteria.
Do I need a special bin to start composting?
No, you don’t need a special bin. You can build a simple open-air compost pile, use a wire fence, or build a wooden structure. However, a compost bin or tumbler may make the process more efficient and contained, especially in smaller spaces.
How often should I turn my compost pile?
Turning the compost pile every one to two weeks is ideal for speeding up decomposition. However, some composters prefer to wait three to four weeks. Turning helps aerate the pile, promoting faster breakdown of materials.
