THREE EASY WAYS TO COMPOST

1. THE 'COLD PILE'
...To build a cold pile, accumulate a large amount of 'browns' such as Autumn leaves and moisten them to the consistency of a wrung-out sponge. Pile them up, and then slowly stir in your kitchen wastes ('greens') over the next year (using this method may take a full year to finish the compost).

It may all freeze during the winter - put a big piece of scrap cardboard or carpet on the pile to keep the snow off, and peel it back to stir in the peels, rinds, and coffee grounds.

In this type of composting, there are never enough high-nitrogen ingredients ('greens') to get the pile really hot. You may wish to add redworms to the pile, turning it into a sort of worm bin (see #3 below).

Turning the pile is almost optional - it will get turned some when you bury your kitchen scraps, but often benefits from one or two other turnings/rewettings.

Autumn leaves are especially prone to matting down; if you use them as your source of 'browns' it will help to turn them once or twice to break up the clumps.

If using this method, be sure you always have at least as much 'browns' as added 'greens' -- if you add too many 'greens' you'll get a slimy, stinky, anaerobic mess.

2. BURY IT!
...If you have the garden space, you can simply open a trench up in the soil and bury your kitchen scraps 6-8 inches deep under the soil. It will take perhaps 2-3 months during the warm season for things to break down (dig a hole and check on the decomposition progress if you like).
Crops shouldn't be planted in the soil until the kitchen stuff has decomposed.

3. LET WORMS EAT YOUR GARBAGE
...Last, but certainly not least, one can let worms do the work. Redworms are a kind of earthworm that are specifically adapted to eating rotting vegetable material. Other species won't work for this kind of composting.

To raise redworms, you basically have to provide a batch of moistened 'browns' (shredded newsprint works well) with a handful or two of soil mixed in, and bury your kitchen stuff in the moistened 'worm bedding.'

Be sure to have much more 'browns' than 'greens' -- the worms do the rest.

Most people find it convenient to build, buy, or scavenge a container for their worm bin. 5-gallon buckets with holes drilled for drainage are small but work well. Large Rubbermaid tubs are also good (drill holes). Scrap wood can be used for cheap wooden bins.

Whatever the size of your bin, it will be able to handle one pound of kitchen scraps every week, under ideal conditions, for each square foot of surface area on the top of the bin. This means when you have an ideal (large) population of worms, which may take a few months to build up. Also, cool temperatures reduce the amount of stuff you can add.

Winter temperatures make worm bins nearly inactive in the winter outdoors, but many people do bring them indoors. Tuck an old sheet around yours to prevent fruit fly problems if you bring it indoors. As long as the temperature is 50-60 degrees, the bin will be active, so many people put their bins in a basement or garage for the winter. They can even be neatly kept in a bedroom!

If you have a large (bigger than a cubic yard) outdoor 'cold pile' you can overwinter worms fairly reliably outdoors. The redworms will burrow to the bottom of the pile and hang out where the temperature is above freezing. In the Spring, they'll move back up as the pile thaws, and go to work on the ingredients. The combination of a big outdoor pile (using scavenged Autumn leaves moistened to the consistency of a wrung-out sponge) with redworms may be the ideal way to compost kitchen scraps.

................Materials

Materials that are excellent for composting are kitchen waste, like coffee grounds, egg shells, canning wastes, things you might throw down the garbage disposal. 

Also, garden waste: small twigs, shredded leaves, grass clippings, cow manure, horse manure, rabbit droppings, alfalfa. 

Other waste such as: fish scraps, cotton or felt wastes, hair, shredded newspapers, sawdust, pine needles and cones, seaweed, Spanish moss, straw, hay, water hyacinth, wood chips. 

Any or all in moderation. Toss like a salad. Try to prevent thick layers that will create matting.

The "compostables" for your compost will be either a greenie or a brownie.

"Greenies" are materials that are moist and have a high nutrient value.

"Brownies" are brown and will be dry and high in carbon. You should have equal amounts of each for successful compost.

..........."GREENIES"
Coffee Grounds
Cover Crops
Seaweed
Vegetable scraps
Egg shells
Fish
Fish scraps
Fruit
Weeds
Grass clippings

..........."BROWNIES"
Hay
Leaves
Straw
Nutshells
Shredded paper
Pine needles
Saw dust
Garden stalks

However, remember that diseased plant materials should be kept out of the compost pile. Also do not use human wastes, meat, bones, fatty foods, pet wastes, and all dairy products. Do not compost with any material such as grass clippings that have been treated by a herbicide.

[ 04-16-2002, 06:26 PM: Message edited by: Pinhead ]