Practical Composting

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BNBCF 30 August 2011 Practical Composting
There is too much misleading information written about home gardening composting, which has more to do with selling silly containers than practical composting.

Composting is a simple process. If the garden is any reasonable size there is a fair amount of vegetation that must be removed each year, and disposed of in some manner. It takes a large amount of vegetation to make any reasonable amount of compost. I get probably less then four cubic yards of compost from about 0.4 of an acre of home garden vegetation.

The main process is to chop all vegetation into small chunks. I use a chipper/shredder but a block and a machete can be used. It is just a matter of expenditure of labor. The larger the chunks the longer the composting takes. Layering is nonsense, since often the suggested material is simply not available. It is totally impracticable. I never put materiel, which is attractive to insects, and rodents in the compost pile. The kitchen waste goes in the garbage.

Leaves are special case and I never compost them, since they are too much trouble for the amount of material obtained. Leaves are better centrally composed where the pile can be manipulated using machinery. Grass clippings are always welcome and do compost well. I get a neighbor’s grass clipping, since mine are left where they are cut.

I build a lattice container system using metal fence posts and plastic ties. It is readily accessible. The pile is rototilled when it is considered appropriate. A a general rule do not mix a strongly working pile. It takes about eight months to get good compost using my simple non-intrusive method. I have a tarp to cover the pile if there is periods of too much rainfall.

The compost produced is insufficient for my needs, and each year I pick up about ten yards from the City each Spring.

[grahamhobbs]

What about worm composting, a lot of your kitchen scraps (not meat) could go in there to make a really rich compost. There is even more myths about worm composting but it is really very simple (see threads on the subject elsewhere in this forum).

[MKG]

I think I'd agree with Durgan's amount (but I think I get a little more as I'm not so choosy about what goes into it - ALL vegetable kitchen waste goes in there, plus the remnants of my winemaking activities). As well as the daleks, I have a corner in the orchard where everything gets chucked initially. When it gets to a decent depth, I simply run the lawnmower over it - nicely chopped stuff in a container which is then easy to turn into the dalek bins. Monty Don has been advocating this for a while, and I feel he copied from me .

But yes - there's a lot of nonsense spouted about a simple procedure. It always reminded me of the discussions on the correct way to make a cup of tea (and, before anyone jumps in, the correct way is how you like it). Put organic material in a big heap and it will produce compost. Everything else is nicety - you can adjust to taste, so to speak, but the process is still going to do what nature intended.

Mike

[greenorelse]

Rodents can be a problem in some cases though. I agree, otherwise, MKG, that virtually anything can go into a heap.

We got round the rodent problem by using 1" square mesh to create re-usable 'cages'. It's the sort of mesh sometimes used to reinforce concrete. It can be cut easily.

So far, so good - no rodents in the heap, despite some tasty morsels such as all kitchen waste and, once, a duck. Oh, and all our shit and piss.

It's neat, doesn't smell and 'thermophilically' composts.

[RuthG]

you can adjust to taste, so to speak, but the process is still going to do what nature intended.

Mike

I tend not to eat mine

[Flo]

Leaves are special case and I never compost them, since they are too much trouble for the amount of material obtained.

I do compost leaves because there's space on the allotment to do so and trees that overhang the roads local to that plot to provide a source. I'd rather be seen as a road sweeper than miss out on anything.

Thing is, I can never really make enough compost because it's an allotment and allotments get mistreated quite often. The soil on mine has been hammered over the years so leaves are welcome. Yes they take time but then so does everything in gardening. Along with old cotton clothing, newspapers, donations from the daughter's garden ......

[phil55494]

The other thing is almost all the information about composting tells you that you should be getting compost quickly and you speed it up at turning it. You may speed it up at turning it but that isn't the be all and end all to composting. You can just leave it all as MKG suggested. It takes longer, but without all that turning (it does my back bending over to do the weeding, I don't want another thing to do that).
We usually empty out the home composter every couple of years and that's it. Some is ready, some is not - it gets put back.
Leaves we collect do seperately. If you want a fine compost leave for 2 or more years. As a good soil conditioner it is ready after 1.