Easy Compost Making
Simple Rules Recipes and Suggestions for Organic Humus
Making good compost is an art and a science but by following some straight-forward suggestions, it becomes a simple process to make organic garden fertilizer at home.
The following sets out simple rules and suggestion from making excellent compost and covers the following: (1) site selection, (2) size of heap, (3)containers, (4) materials, (5) water, and (6) garden use.
1) Site selection.
a) The heap is best situated on soil to allow micro-organisms to move up into the heap. Larger fauna are able to invade and then retreat if it becomes too hot. The heap should be placed in partial shad so as not to let it dry out.
2) Size of heap.
a) Generally a metre cube is the smallest a compost heap should be and larger than 2 meters cubed can be difficult to manage. A heap about 1.5 metres is a good household size.
3) Containers.
a) Compost makers often simply make a pile or heap on the soil under the drip line of a suitable tree. A bin made of wood slats, pieces of old roofing iron, bricks or similar hold the heap together. If cold winds blow, the bins may help keep the compost warm, there is also less surface area to dry out.
4) Materials.
a) Use a wide variety of materials.
i) At least three different materials and no material should be more than one third of the total.
ii) The flora and fauna in the heap require trace elements as will the plants on which you put the compost. Using materials from many sources help ensure that the nutritional needs are met.
b) Make the particles as small as possible.
c) Shred twiggy material as small as you can.
d) Use a shredder / mulcher, or run the lawn mower over it a few times, or chop by hand.
i) The small the particle size the faster and more efficiently the heap will work.
e) Some nitrogenous material (manure, blood and bone) is needed to bring the C/N ratio somewhere to between 20:1 and 30:1.
i) Don’t try to measure this exactly: if the compost heap becomes smelly, you have too much; if it seems to be working too slowly, not enough.
f) Lime. In most compost heaps lime is unnecessary and wasteful as the lime is often lost. If your soil requires liming, add it directly either as agricultural lime or as dolomite.
g) Wood ash. If you have a wood fire, some of the minerals in the ash can be recycled via the compost heap. Do not overdo it.
h) Coal ash. Do not use coal ash.
5) Water
a) Water management is an important issue.
b) The heap should be damp not wet.
i) Too wet and the oxygen so necessary for heating will be forced out
ii) Too dry and the heap will stop working.
c) Finished compost is a damp spongy material that although damp will not run water when squeezed.
d) Made compost can be squeezed into a ball in the hand and then break apart into crumbs.
6) Garden use.
a) Compost is a very valuable resource for the garden, its colloidal properties help the plants gain nutrients from the soil as well as the compost.
b) The finished compost should be simple put on top of the soil or, at the very most, lightly incorporated into the very top of the top soil.
c) Earth worms and other ground fauna will pull the compost down, aerating the soil and incorporating it slowly.
d) Compost is a good mulch but to stop it drying out it is good practice to cover it with a mulch.
e) For a quick feed, or to spread the value of a small batch of compost, it can be soaked and the compost water sprinkled onto the garden.
Gather your materials while ye may old time is still a flying – those old rosebuds and stems will be perfect
