"Over The Garden Fence
with Daisy Mae" Today looks into the benefits of
home Composting, and turning your common household
wastes into valuable fertilizer and soil enhancer for your
garden by using the organic matter that home composting
produces. Home composting can save you many £/$'s
and is far more beneficial to your soil, over the longer
period than any chemical based fertilizers.
Home composting your
garden and household waste material is both safe and extremely
environmentally useful way of making organically produced
fertilizer/compost, rich in essential nutrients for your
plants continued healthy growth each year, plus basically
it’s FREE…
Composting and your garden
..
All organic matter eventually
decomposes. Composting speeds the process by providing
an ideal environment for bacteria and other decomposing
micro organisms. The final product, humus or compost, looks
and feels like fertile garden soil. This dark, crumbly,
earthy smelling stuff works wonders on all kinds of soil
and provides vital nutrients to help plants grow and look
better. Decomposing organisms consist of bacteria, fungi,
and larger organisms such as worms, sow bugs, nematodes,
and numerous others.
Decomposing organisms need
four key elements to thrive: nitrogen, carbon, moisture,
and oxygen….
For best results, mix materials
high in nitrogen (such as clover, fresh grass clippings,
and livestock manure) and those high in carbon (such as
dried leaves and twigs). If there is not a good supply of
nitrogen-rich material, a handful of general lawn fertilizer
will help the nitrogen-carbon ratio. Moisture is provided
by rain, but you may need to water or cover the pile to
keep it damp. Be careful not to saturate the pile. Turning
or mixing the pile provides oxygen….
Getting started with your
home composting…
Many materials can be added
to a compost pile, including Old compost from last years
plant pots, leaves, grass clippings, weeds (take off seed
heads and flowers first), straw, woody brush, vegetable
and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, livestock manure, sawdust,
and shredded paper. Do not use diseased plants, meat scraps
that may attract animals such as rats, or dog or cat manure
which can carry disease. Composting can be as simple or
as involved as you would like, and depends on how much yard
waste you have, how fast you want results, and the effort
you are willing to invest.
Autumn or fall is the best
time to gather those russet coloured leaves, they make wonderful
garden compost. the leaf mould produced is very beneficial
to all plants and vegetables…
Cold or slow composting
With cold or slow composting,
you can just pile grass clippings and dry leaves on the
ground or in a bin. This method requires no maintenance,
but it will take several months to a year or more for the
pile to decompose. Cold composting works well if you don't
have time to tend the compost pile at least every other
day, have little yard waste, or are not in a hurry to use
the compost. Keep weeds and diseased plants out of the mix
since the temperatures reached with cold composting may
not be high enough to kill the weed seeds or disease-causing
organisms. Add yard waste as it accumulates. Shredding or
chopping speeds up the process. To easily shred material,
run your lawn mower over small piles of weeds and trimmings.
Cold composting has been shown to be better at suppressing
soil-borne diseases than hot composting. Cold composting
also leaves more under composted bits of material, which
can be screened out if desired…
Hot composting…
Hot composting requires more
work, but with a few minutes a day and the right ingredients
you can have finished compost in a few weeks depending on
weather conditions. The composting season coincides be with
the growing season. When conditions are favourable for plant
growth, those same conditions work well for biological activity
in the compost pile. However, since compost generates heat,
the process may continue later into the fall or winter.
Hot piles do best when high-carbon material and high-nitrogen
material are mixed in a 1 to 1 ratio….
A pile with the minimum dimensions
of 3' x 3' x 3' is needed for efficient heating. For best
heating, make a heap that is 4 or 5 feet in each dimension.
As decomposition occurs, the pile will shrink. If you don't
have this amount at one time, simply stockpile your materials
until a sufficient quantity is available for proper mixing.
Hot piles reach 110 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, killing most
weed seeds and plant diseases. Studies have shown that compost
produced at these temperatures has less ability to suppress
diseases in the soil since these temperatures may kill some
of the beneficial bacteria necessary to suppress disease….
Basic Steps for hot composting…:
1/. Choose a level,
well-drained site, preferably near your garden….
2/.There are numerous
styles of compost bins available depending on your needs.
These may be as simple as a moveable bin formed by wire
mesh or a more substantial structure consisting of several
compartments. There are many commercially available bins.
While a bin will help contain the pile, it is not absolutely
necessary. You can build your pile directly on the ground.
To help with aeration, you may want to place some woody
material on the ground where you will build your pile….
3/.To build your pile,
either use alternating layers of high-carbon and high-nitrogen
material or mix the two together and then heap into a pile.
If you alternate layers, make each layer 2 to 4 inches thick.
Some composters’ find that mixing the two together
is more effective than layering. Use approximately equal
amounts of each. If you are low on high-nitrogen material,
you can add a small amount of commercial fertilizer containing
nitrogen. Apply at a rate of 1/2 cup of fertilizer for each
10-inch layer of material. Adding a few shovels of soil
will also help get the pile off to a good start; soil adds
commonly found decomposing organisms
4/ Water periodically.
The pile should be moist but not saturated. If conditions
are too wet, anaerobic micro organisms (those that can live
without oxygen) will continue the process. These are not
as effective or as desirable as the aerobic organisms. Bad
odours are also more likely if the pile is saturated…
5/. Punch holes in the
sides of the pile for aeration….
6/.The pile will heat
up and then begin to cool. Start turning when the pile's
internal temperature peaks at about 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can track this with a compost thermometer, or reach
into the pile to determine if it is uncomfortably hot to
the touch….
7/. During the composting
season, check your bin regularly to assure optimum moisture
and aeration are present in the material being composted….
8/. Move materials from
the centre to the outside and vice versa. Turn every day
or two and you should get compost in less than 4 weeks.
Turning every other week will make compost in 1 to 3 months.
Finished compost will smell sweet and be cool and crumbly
to the touch….
Common problems…
Composting is not an exact
science. Experience will tell you what works best for you.
If you notice that nothing is happening, you may need to
add more nitrogen, water, or air. If things are too hot,
you probably have too much nitrogen. Add some more carbon
materials to reduce the heating. A bad smell may also indicate
too much nitrogen. Cold composting often proceeds faster
in warmer climates than in cooler areas. Cold piles may
take a year or more to decompose depending on the materials
in the pile and the conditions. Adding kitchen wastes to
compost may attract flies and insects. To prevent this problem,
make a hole in the centre of your pile and bury the waste.
Do not compost meat scraps, dead animals, pet manure, diseased
plant material, or noxious weeds. Check on any local or
state regulations for composting in urban areas- some communities
may require rodent-proof bins…
Vermi-composting…
Vermi-composting uses worms
to compost. This takes up very little space and can be done
year-round in a basement or garage. It is an excellent way
to dispose of kitchen wastes…. Steps for vermi-composting:…
1/.You need a plastic
storage bin. One 1' x 2' x 3.5' will be enough to meet needs
of a family of 6…
2/. Drill 8 to 10 holes,
approximately 1/4" in diameter, in the bottom of the
bin for drainage…
3/. Line the bottom
of the bin with fine nylon mesh to keep the worms from escaping….
4/. Put a tray underneath
to catch the drainage…
5/. Shredded newspaper
works well as bedding. Rip into pieces and water well so
that it is thoroughly moist. Place on one side of your bin.
Do not let it dry out….
6/. Add worms to your
bin. Red worms are recommended for best composting, but
other species can be used. Red worms are the common small
worms found in most gardens and lawns. You can collect them
from under a pile of mulch or order them from a garden catalogue….
7/. Provide worms with
food wastes such as vegetable peelings. Do not add fat or
meat products. Limit feed- too much at once may cause the
material to rot….
8/. Keep the bin in
a dark location away from extreme temperatures….
9/. In about 3 months
the worms should have changed the bedding and food wastes
into compost. At this time add fresh bedding and more food
to the other side of the bin. The worms should migrate to
the new food supply….
10/.After a couple of
weeks, open your bin in a bright light. The worms will burrow
into the bedding. Scoop out the finished compost and apply
to your plants or save for use in the spring….
Using compost…
Compost can be used for all
your planting needs. Compost is an excellent source of organic
matter to add to your garden or potted plants. It helps
improve soil structure which contributes to good aeration
and moisture-holding capacity. Compost is a source of plant
nutrients. Composts can also be used as a mulch material.
Studies have shown that compost used as a mulch, or mixed
with the top one-inch layer of soil, can help prevent some
plant diseases, including some of those that cause damping
of seedlings….
I hope you've enjoyed this
article; it's off to the potting shed for me, as there is
always plenty to do no matter what time of year it is, an
amateur gardener's work is never done. Do look out for any
of our other articles, but most of all........
"HAPPY GARDENING until
we all meet again Over the Garden Fence with Daisy Mae"
our resident green fingered amateur gardener
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