Put your garden on a healthy diet that is rich in nutrients, conditions soil, retains moisture, naturally fertilizes, reduces plant diseases, and acts as a natural pesticide. Compost is the most important soil additive you can feed your plants! And it's good for the planet too. In addition to providing an alternative to chemical fertilizers, composting recycles food scraps and green waste that would otherwise end up in landfills turning into methane (a harmful greenhouse gas). Whether you're growing a few plants in a bucket on your balcony or are cultivating a large plot for commercial use, composting provides a natural, organic, and inexpensive way to maintain healthy plants and nourish the Earth.
Before we jump into the world of compost and you begin thinking that maybe this is too much for your tiny apartment... think again. In today's world people are considering everything, including indoor composting. There are a number of compost systems that you can buy or make yourself, designed for indoor living, providing benefits of space saving and odor elimination. Although our main set up is outside, keep in mind that this all applies to a cozy indoor set up too. You can easily compost for your window herbs, porch veggies, and hanging house plants.
Dirt is not dead!
Let's start by understanding exactly what compost is. Technically, all soil is compost or at least starts out as such. Simply put, compost is organic material that has decomposed into smaller components. Living things - plant, animal, insect, etc. - die and their bodies break down through metabolic biodegradation, chemical processes, and physical means. Basically, everything living turns into Earth after death. It's all part of the natural cycle of life.
As materials break down, all of the nutrients in those bodies are then present in the soil. The more nutrient dense the decayed matter the higher the nutritional value of the soil. Dirt that hasn't had fresh material added to it in a long time won't have as much nutritional value, while soil that's maintained regularly will be teaming with life-supporting goodness. It's just like the food we animals consume. Empty-calorie junk food offers little to our bodies while high-nutrient foods nourish every cell. This is also an important factor for plants to thrive. Remember, composting is an on-going process. As plants consume and deplete the nutrients from the soil those nutrients need to be replaced regularly. As a gardener, composting is part of my lifestyle: collecting, turning, and distributing.
When composting, green waste and food scraps are broken down into a material called humus (not to be confused with the tasty chickpea condiment: hummus). Micro-organisms help accelerate the process and include protozoa (single-celled organisms), bacteria, and fungi. There's no need to add these micro-organisms (they're already there), but adding worms can offer a lot of benefits to your humus (keep a look out for my upcoming vermiculture article). Depending on your set up and how often you tend to your compost, the process can take weeks or months to complete.
Types of composting:
Composting set ups come in all shapes and sizes. Before choosing a set up that works for your needs, let's get an understanding of the two types of composting: aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen). Both processes involve different microbes that decompose the waste. Aerobic organisms require air to be present in the compost, while anaerobic organisms do not. To help you decide which method is best for your lifestyle and living situation, let's compare the benefits and drawbacks of each.
Aerobic (with oxygen):
-quicker decomposition (within weeks)
-needs more attention to maintain
-produces Carbon Dioxide (C02)
-should have a pleasant Earthy odor
-creates more heat which kills unwanted pathogens and weed seeds
Anaerobic (without oxygen):
-slower decomposition (up to months)
-doesn't need any attention to maintain
-produces Methane (more harmful to the atmosphere than C02)
-may have a slightly offensive odor
-creates very little heat
Aerobic is the most common method used both in residential and industrial settings, but anaerobic may be a better choice based on your needs. It's important to note that if not properly maintained, an aerobic environment will turn into an anaerobic one. Personally, I've used both methods over the years. Currently, we have a 2-bin aerobic compost setup going and this winter I've been lasagna composting (a combination of the two methods) directly in my garden beds. I'll be covering all these types of composting in detail in upcoming articles.
What goes into compost?
There are three basic ingredients needed to make compost: carbon-rich material, nitrogen-rich material, and water. A balance of carbon to nitrogen materials form the basic composition of compost. In general, a good rule of thumb, is that there should always be more carbon materials than nitrogen.
Carbon-rich ingredients (browns)
These materials are called "browns" because they tend to be drier. Browns include: leaves and pine needles, shrub and tree clippings, straw and hay, saw dust and wood chips, corn cobs, hard wood ash (not coal or charcoal), white or kraft paper (not glossy or colored), cardboard, and dryer lint.
Nitrogen-rich ingredients (greens)
These materials are called "greens" because they tend to be fresher and wetter. Greens include: fruit and vegetable scraps, lawn and flower clippings, seaweed, coffee grounds, tea bags, and manure.
Seriously though, let's talk poop.
Animal manure (horse, goat, chicken, etc.) is rich in nitrogen and can make a great addition to your humus, but it takes a little more care than with plant-based materials. There's a lot of controversy about using cat, dog, or human feces because they can contain parasites and other harmful pathogens. Personally, I use rabbit poop. Don't just throw fresh poop into your compost bin though! Fresh manure can actually burn plant roots and should be cured first. This just means drying it out or baking it in the sun. Depending on the type of animal and the time of year, it could take weeks to be ready. For bun poo, I lay a tarp down and evenly spread on the manure (along with any bedding material such as sawdust or hay) so it can get the most sun exposure. I usually give it 1-2 weeks in the heat of summer and 3-4 weeks in the chill of spring or autumn. I never cure manure during the rainy season. You'll know it's ready when the manure is completely dry and crumbles easily between your fingers. If you have a small animal that produces a small amount of poop, you can add the cured manure directly into the compost mixture after curing. If you do, I highly recommend using the aerobic (with oxygen) method to generate the most heat, killing unwanted pathogens. Another option, especially if you have large animals producing a lot of poop, is to have a separate pile or bin for cured manure. Growing up in farm country, we had horses. Their manure was was always collected into a huge pile that cured year round. In the winter the pile would be covered with tarps and in the spring people would draw from the cured manure to feed their gardens. Be aware: one downside of using manure is that it tends to attract a lot of flies.
A note on other animal additives: I do add egg shells and some seafood bits (think fish meal) to my compost for calcium and protein. However, other types of meat and dairy are not compost friendly and create strong rotting odors that attract critters. I don't recommend including them.
Water
Moisture levels are important in both aerobic and anaerobic environments. Compost should be moist but not soaking. A damp environment facilitates the process but a flooded one will drown micro-organisms. On the other hand, overly dry compost takes a lot longer to breakdown. From spring until autumn, check your compost once a week or so: stick a finger in it, if it feels dry, give it a spray. During the wet or snowy season, be sure to keep your compost covered so it doesn't drown. My compost bins have lids which make it easy. If your set up doesn't, throw a tarp over it.
Collecting materials is easy.
We have a 5-gallon bucket with screw-top lid in our kitchen. Whatever compostable scraps we collect go into that bucket. The screw-top lid really makes it easy to get into the bucket and keeps odors from stinking up our home. When the bucket is full, we just take it outside and dump it in the outdoor set up. After a quick rinse with the hose, it comes back into the house for more collecting. Some people keep a ceramic canister on the counter or a steel bucket under the sink – whatever works for you and your family. Regardless of the type of container, choose something with a lid so that flies and smells don't become an issue. For those of you composting indoors, one or two 5-gallon buckets with lids can be an ideal complete set up.
Flow with the seasons. Autumn is a perfect time to collect materials. As annual plants die off, a torrent of leaves fall from the trees, and fresh food scraps from the harvests bounty is all in abundance – save it up! Leaves and yard waste can be collected in a separate pile next to your compost bin and layered in over the course of winter as the carbon component. During the rainy winter season, our compost tends to go into anaerobic (without oxygen) mode because I don't like working out in the wet. I just go out long enough to dump the kitchen collection bucket, pile on some leaves and twigs, then run back into the warm house. Once spring arrives the compost stores are ready to be used. After building my soil with the winters' humus before planting, I start a fresh batch of aerobic (with oxygen) compost. Summer brings it's own rewards because we tend to barbecue a lot. Corn cobs, paper plates, and hard wood ashes from the grill all go into the mix.
The health of your compost will directly effect the health of your plants. Here are some important tips:
- Never add materials from diseased plants or the compost could spread the disease to other plants. Always dispose of ill plants separately.
- Although the pH balance of your compost practically maintains itself, avoid adding too many citrus peels or your soil could become overly acidic.
- The smaller the material is going into the bin, the quicker it'll break down. Chop, shred, puree... these will help speed up the decomposing process.
Compost doesn't need to stink up the neighborhood.
Especially if you live in a densely populated area, you may be concerned about the smell. A healthy aerobic compost heap should smell Earthy and rich, while an anaerobic set up can smell rotten and offensive. Keep odors in check with these tips:
- Make sure not to include meat products (other than seafood).
- After adding nitrogen-rich kitchen scraps (greens) always add a layer of carbon-rich materials (browns) to the top – such as leaves, straw, or sawdust.
- If the stench is still a problem, sprinkle lime or calcium powder on it to neutralize odors.
When the humus looks pretty much like soil, it's ready for use. Commonly, humus is mixed with soil, sand, wood chips, or other Earthy material as a nutrient-boosting additive. It's rarely used alone. In the ground and my raised garden beds, I till it into the existing soil. For most potted plants, I blend it with some potting mix, unless it's for succulents or cacti, then I mix it with sand and perlite for an airy growing environment. When transplanting, I add a handful or two of compost the hole. You can also fertilize your lawn naturally by layering on about 1/2-inch of compost once or twice a year.
Next up, I'll get into the nitty gritty of aerobic (with oxygen) composting.
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