Compost has recently held a fascination for me. During this past summer (2018) the Rodale Institute held an “Organic Field Day”. There were several educational stations, one of which was about compost. Therefore, I spent a lot of time at this station. Here, I learned about different recipes for making compost and I would like to share those with you. For many home gardeners, compost is more of an art than science.
Compost is organic matter that can be used to grow healthy plants and improve the quality of the soil. It is made by the decomposition of materials such as leaves, grass clippings and vegetable scraps. The end result is a soil amendment that is rich in nutrients. Compost saves on the cost of having to use fertilizer and also reduces the amount of waste going to landfills. It is also a rewarding process when you see the end result that is applied to your garden, often referred to as ‘black gold’.
Besides the recipes below, the basic recipe for compost should be ~three parts carbon (brown materials) to ~one part nitrogen (green materials). It is important to remember that once you have built your pile, you need to stop adding ingredients and let the composting activity take place. Depending upon the ingredients in the pile, the composting process can take anywhere from 2 months to 12 months. For this reason, having multiple compost piles can be beneficial. For me, I have two piles. One pile I will let “cook” over the winter while I build up the second pile.
Carbon (brown)
- Leaves
- Straw
- Wood chips
- Saw dust
- Shredded newsprint and cardboard
- Branches and twigs
Nitrogen (green)
- Grass clippings
- Vegetable scraps
- Coffee grounds
- Cow manure
- Fruit rinds and cores
- Lint from your dryer
Keep out of compost pile
- Pet waste
- Dairy products
- Meat
- Fish
- Oils
Besides nitrogen and carbon, compost piles also need water and air. A couple of other points to remember about managing your pile:
- Water: The pile needs to be damp for the decomposition to take place. Water should be added to keep the pile feeling like a damp sponge.
- Air: To get adequate air into the pile, the pile should be turned after the composition of the pile is complete and until the pile reaches an internal temperature of 120-160 degrees Fahrenheit
Below is a picture of our two bin compost system. Relatively simple enclosure leveraging plastic 3/4 inch poultry netting and green steel fence posts. Each bin has the following dimensions: 3 feet wide by 4 feet deep by 3 feet high.
Let’s explore different recipes from the Rodale Institute. In the pictures below, there are three key pieces of information: pile number, age (how long it took the composting process) and contents of compost pile (the percentages indicate the composition of the materials within the pile). Happy composting!
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