How to Compost Sunflower Stalks
Unlike many other types of garden refuse that should be chopped before adding to the compost pile, sunflower stalks can be added to the pile whole. Sunflower stalks are thick and woody types of plants that can grow very tall. A sunflower stalk's soft inner layers rot away first, leaving a straw-like structure behind. This hollow structure acts as a shaft, bringing air to the center of a compost pile. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 4 wooden pallets
- Wire
- Grass clippings
- Manure
- Kitchen scraps
- Dead leaves
- Sawdust
- Wood chips
- Sunflower stalks
- Vegetable chopper
- Wood chipper
- Garden loppers
- Lawn mower
- Garden hose
- Tarp
- Pitchfork
Instructions
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1
Select a location for a temporary compost bin in direct sunlight, away from your house structure and on soil. If water runs out of the compost pile, it should be able to soak into the ground and return nutrients to the earth.
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2
Assemble wooden pallets into a box-shape and wire the corners together for a temporary compost bin that is open at the top and bottom.
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3
Collect nitrogen-rich organic greens such as lawn clippings, garden scraps, manure and kitchen scraps. Also collect carbon-filled organic brown material such as hay, sawdust, wood chips, dead leaves and sunflower stalks.
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4
Set aside four to six sunflower stalks. Chop all your organic material into 1-inch pieces. Cut smaller kitchen scraps with a vegetable chopper. Reduce the size of larger material such as hay or grass clippings with a lawn mower. Shred woody items such as sunflower stalks with a wood chipper or a pair of loppers.
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5
Place your whole sunflower stalks in the bin vertically, like a straw in a glass. Pile your organic materials into the compost bin around the stalks in 6-inch-thick layers. Alternate green and brown layers. The sunflower stalks act as a natural air shaft to help the microbes in the pile decompose faster.
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6
Wet the contents of the bin to the consistency of a damp sponge with a garden hose. Cover with a tarp and allow it to sit and decompose.
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7
Turn your compost bin by dissembling the bin and re-erecting it next to the pile. Move the whole sunflower stalks and shovel the pile into the new bin with your pitchfork.
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