Hints for a Good Compost
Intro: Hints for a Good Compost
Compost is very good for plants. Unfortunately it doesn' t always work like it should. Here I have written some hints for making a good, healthy compost.
STEP 1: What to Add (And What Not to Add)
For your compost pile to properly decompose into a proper compost it needs to contain the proper ingredients.
Things to add to a compost pile:
-Paper/Cardboard (Not waxed)
-Garden waste (Avoid weeds with seeds and rhizomes to prevent their spread)
-Coffee grounds and Tea leaves
-Mushrooms
-Eggshells (Cleaned from the yolk and egg whites)
-Kitchen waste
Things that shouldn't be put in compost:
-Meat
-Egg whites and yolks
-Dairy products
-Manure (Some is OK to put in compost but some may have parasites)
Things to add to a compost pile:
-Paper/Cardboard (Not waxed)
-Garden waste (Avoid weeds with seeds and rhizomes to prevent their spread)
-Coffee grounds and Tea leaves
-Mushrooms
-Eggshells (Cleaned from the yolk and egg whites)
-Kitchen waste
Things that shouldn't be put in compost:
-Meat
-Egg whites and yolks
-Dairy products
-Manure (Some is OK to put in compost but some may have parasites)
STEP 2: Container and Care
The container which contains compost should have openings for proper aeration. The process of composting is an aerobic decomposition process. If the compost doesn't get enough air a anaerobic decomposition process might happen which is rotting.
Also for a compost pile to properly decompose it needs to be moist for the micro-organisms which do the composting to decompose the pile. This means that in dry weather watering may be needed. Although water is needed too much of it may get rid of oxygen in the pile letting unwanted anaerobic decomposition to happen.
Also for a compost pile to properly decompose it needs to be moist for the micro-organisms which do the composting to decompose the pile. This means that in dry weather watering may be needed. Although water is needed too much of it may get rid of oxygen in the pile letting unwanted anaerobic decomposition to happen.
STEP 3: Helpful Herbs
Composting usually takes a rather long time but there are ways to make the process faster. Some herbs such as Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) can speed up the decomposition process. One small finely chopped leaf of the Yarrow plant can speed up the decomposition of a whole wheelbarrel of compost. Also Camomile when put on a compost pile it promotes its decomposition.
STEP 4: Other Ways of Speeding the Process Up
There are yet other ways of speeding the decomposition process up such as:
-Adding old compost will add more of the micro-organisms that are needed
-Adding fertilizers, manures, or other things rich in nitrogen
-Adding worms
-Good aeration
-Adding some saprophytic fungi
-Adding old compost will add more of the micro-organisms that are needed
-Adding fertilizers, manures, or other things rich in nitrogen
-Adding worms
-Good aeration
-Adding some saprophytic fungi
STEP 5: End Product
Once all the micro-organisms in the compost pile with your help decompose all of the matter you've put in it you'll have an natural and organic compost which will help all of you plants grow big and healthy.
19 Comments
rwlh1950 12 years ago
RoBear613 10 years ago
Actually, urine is Urea, which breaks down into Nitrogen. BTW, this is also why female dogs (in heat) burn the lawn; their urine is super high in urea. But if you dump some water on the spot right after she peed, it will dilute the urea and stop it burning the grass.
Masterdude 12 years ago
Khanidge 11 years ago
Just Bill 12 years ago
ANY manure, including human, can be added to the center of the pile and parasites / pestilence will NOT survive. Where the manure CANNOT be used is as a side-dressing in its raw state. If you are not comfortable with using some manures for fear of parasites, just let the pile age for a full year -- no human parasite can survive a full year outside of a living body. Heat, cold and ultraviolet will all take a toll and the combination is deadly.
Check out the "humanure handbook" by Jensen (DAGS) for the actual facts on this stuff.
Someone suggested uploading a photo. Here's proof that I know my stuff. This is not the hottest my piles usually get ... it's just the first photo I came across ... 170 degrees F. for 2-3 weeks at a time is not at all unusual. That is well above autoclave temps for lots longer time than needed to sterilize surgical instruments.
Masterdude 12 years ago
Just Bill 12 years ago
That said, perfectly usable compost can be made at lower temps and higher temps are no guarantee of sterility of the pile as a whole. Nor is the sterility of the pile a goal unless you have knowingly added manure from sick animals (two-legged as well as four). In that case, it will probably heat up just fine. Turn it like crazy and then let it sit for an extra season.
Stuff rots. Leave a pile of tree leaves alone long enough with NO additional ingredients and NO turning and it will rot. Do the same for a bale of hay and you'll get the same result. Organic material does not need us to do anything in order for it to rot ... otherwise the planet would be covered in a layer of dinosaur do-do and carcasses of every sort.
Masterdude 12 years ago
Just Bill 12 years ago
However you choose to compost is fine by me ... there really is no wrong way as long as you account for local conditions.
I hope to continue learning and I try to share what I have learned with others who have not learned it yet, all the while learning from them the things that I do not yet know.
Peace. Out.
Just Bill
pldehoff 12 years ago
Just Bill 12 years ago
The "compost" won't happen, but the nasties will be dead and you can freely add the contents of the pile to your soil. It will finish breaking down in the soil, albeit slower. Sometimes slower is better. Higher temps make compost more quickly, but they do it by using the nitrogen for fuel. Slower compost retains more nitrogen.
Either way, add as much organic material to your soil as it can reasonably hold as often as you are able to do so and it will reward you in a magnificent way.
Building Books 14 years ago
Just Bill 12 years ago
On the other hand, of course, if you opened the pile and tossed them into the hottest part of it, they would promptly die.
lemonie 14 years ago
Just Bill 12 years ago
If you are referencing my photo, it is original. I took it to prove to a judge that I wasn't running an unlicensed waste disposal site in my backyard (honestly ... that is what the ticket accused me of!). I didn't harvest the photo elsewhere, but like as not, inside of a week you'll be able to find it in plenty of other places.
Masterdude 14 years ago
Lucyfurr 13 years ago
Mirime 14 years ago
ah what fun to be standing 4 feet in the air with lambs boucing aruond you on the compost while you try to get to the "good stuff"
yep we have a huge pile 50 sheep 200 birds and 6 cows make a lot of compost
upper49 14 years ago