Topics of Interest

Composting

Composting is one of the best ways to have source of free organic matter that will enrich the soil you plant in. Whether you are gardening vegetables or landscape plants, compost adds valuable nutrients to the soil and feeds your plants right from the roots. If your soil contains high quantities of clay, sand or other material, building up your garden dirt with compost will ensure a much better environment for healthy, thriving plants.

Compost can be made from a variety of organic materials. Cornell University provides an excellent resource for what ratio of materials should go into a great compost bin. A good rule of thumb is 2 parts green compost to 1 part brown. Green compost materials consist of fresh (not dry) grass clippings, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds and crushed eggshells. Brown materials would include chopped up dried leaves, sawdust and other dry organic material. Fresh manure from farm animals can be included, but be prepared to allow a longer composting time to ensure the destruction of any detrimental bacteria (especially if use for edible plants). Your overall ration will result in a 30:1 carbon to nitrogen mix.

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The larger the material, the slower it takes to break down. For example, dead plants that are dried out and perhaps woody will take a long time to compost. You can cut them up into smaller pieces to expedite the composting process. Dry leaves and sawdust can compact and leaves will matte together and mold, so collecting them with a lawnmower to chop them up is ideal.

While compost piles are the cheapest (free, in fact) way to compost, you can build a more contained, attractive compost bin using two simple things: hardware cloth and zip ties. If you're not familiar with hardware cloth, it is a type of barrier material that is made of wire available with hole spacing of various sizes. For a compost bin, you'll want to use hardware cloth with spacing small enough to keep the compost from falling through the holes and to keep scavengers out, and large enough to allow air contact to the composting matter. I recommend 1/2 by 1/2 squares.

To build the bin, cut a length of hardware cloth to make a bin 4-5 feet in diameter. This would be 12 to 16 feet long. Be careful as the edges may have wires that aren't flush and may snag your clothes or scrape you. Because hardware cloth comes in rolls, it tends to curl. I put mine together by myself, and what I did was overlap the edges by about four inches with the seam on the ground. Using my foot to hold the cloth in place, I secured zip ties every 8 inches or so. Once the seam is secure, you can cut the excess on the zip ties and turn the hardware cloth upright. Make the resulting cylinder as round as possible.

To begin your hot compost pile in the bin, start with a layer of woodier debris that will allow good airflow. Then, layer your green and brown compost materials. Each layer can be about 4 deep. The compost materials should be kept moist but not soggy. The bin should not have a bad odor. Higher amounts of nitrogen-rich material and too much moisture can result in a bad-smelling compost pile. A well balanced pile will allow the nitrogen rich materials to cook the pile, actually making the interior hot which facilitates the breaking down of the compost.

To speed up the compost process even more, you can turn your piles. You can do this one of two ways. If you build three bins, you can flip a partially composted pile into the next empty bin and then continue putting fresh material in the first bin. The third bin will be for finishing off compost that is nearly done. Alternately, you can empty a single bin and refill it, putting the top materials at the bottom.

When your compost is done, it will appear to be dark, rich dirt. Gardeners call this black gold. There isn't much you could add to your garden that has more benefit than compost. If you have any questions, please contact me at ParkerPondFarm.com using our contact form.

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Posted in Organic Products Post Date 03/08/2017


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