Homemade Compost Heap
Compost enriches the soil and improves its texture, helping plants to grow better, aerating clay and firming up sandy ground. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends compost not only to eliminate the need for chemical fertilizer but also to help prevent plant diseases and pests, to protect plants from toxic pollution, and to raise farm yields. Creating this valuable soil amendment also helps the environment by keeping food and yard wastes out of the solid waste stream. You can compost with a few simple tools plus grass, leaves, vegetable scraps, and even coffee grounds and newspaper. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Flat-edge shovel
- Yard waste
- Food scraps (no meat or dairy)
- Other compostable materials
- Hose or watering can
- Pitchfork
- Tarp (optional)
Instructions
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Remove the turf from an area about three feet square, exposing bare soil. A flat-edged shovel, inserted at an angle, is the most efficient tool for stripping away turfgrass. The turf you remove can later be placed onto the pile.
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Spread a layer of "brown" material such as twigs or chopped brush over the area about four inches thick. "Brown" waste -- twigs, dry leaves, pine straw, nut shells, sawdust, wood chips, fruit peels, paper and brush -- is material that is high in carbon. A coarse bottom layer of this allows airflow through the heap and encourages decomposition.
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Spread a layer of "green" material on top of the brown layer, six to eight inches thick. Green material is high in nitrogen and includes vegetable scraps, grass clippings, turf, hay, manure, weeds and houseplants.
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Water the compost heap to add moisture, unless it is already damp, and continue to water as needed every few days. The compost heap should not be permitted to dry out completely.
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Continue layering "brown" and "green" materials on the heap as you acquire them until the heap is at least three feet, six inches high. Water lightly between layers as needed to keep it damp. Carbon-rich "brown" waste provides the fuel for decomposition, while nitrogen-rich "green" waste provides protein as a food source for the microbes that decompose the waste. Both types work together for efficient decomposition without creating a rotten smell.
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Turn the pile over with the pitchfork after three or four weeks, watering as necessary. You can turn it in place or you can prepare an area of bare soil to turn it onto, and start a new pile on the old spot.
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Turn the pile every three or four weeks until the individual scraps have turned black or dark brown and resemble coarse soil. It is ready to use.
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Tips & Warnings
Compostable materials include most yard waste and vegetable food wastes including eggshells, coffee grounds and teabags. You can also compost animal manure, clean paper, sawdust, wool rags, dryer lint and hair or fur.
If your climate is very dry consider covering your compost heap with a heavy tarp to keep it moist without the need for extensive watering. If the heap dries out the material will not break down sufficiently to produce compost.
Enclosure is not necessary but it can prevent the heap from being disturbed by wind or animals. Options include wire fencing bent into a circle or square or dry-stacked cinder blocks. Simpler structures are better for the beginning composter; if you find that you have a lot of waste or want it to break down more quickly try a more sophisticated enclosure.
Not everything can be composted. If you put dairy or meat products on your heap you may attract pests and create very unpleasant "rotten" smells. Some materials, such as black walnut and charcoal, contain substances that can harm your plants later when you use the compost; the same is true for pesticide-treated weeds. Never compost human excrement or that of your cats and dogs, as these may contain harmful parasites and germs.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Kompost-Schale image by Roland Marz from Fotolia.com
