Appalachia--Science in the Public Interest

Composting for Gardens

Composting, the natural decomposing of organic waste
materials, goes on all around us. While nature composts over a
fairly long span of time, through proper handling the composting
process can be accelerated and the compost rendered usable in a
few short months, depending on season and weather conditions.
The natural composting process is assisted by allowing air,
water, bacteria, and other helpful organisms to work with the
proper nitrogen/carbon ratio. Compost is a dark, friable product
found in untilled soil is a necessary component of garden soil.
Kitchen and garden wastes (generally ten to twenty percent of our
waste stream) can be easily converted into valuable compost and
should be.

1. Why Compost?

Perhaps a better question would be, why not? Composting is
one of the most valuable individual environmental activities in
which we can participate -- and doing it makes us aware of our
own need to save the Earth.

Composting:

Promotes responsibility for wastes in our own backyard;
Saves landfill space and preserves the home environment
in one single step;
Preserves and encourages natural cycles of living
matter;
Saves resources required for hauling and disposing
wastes;
Encourages good sanitation practice by getting waste out
of the house immediately and back into the soil;
Saves money by cutting our gardening bills (omits
purchase of peat moss or commercial humus materials);
Provides good nutrient source for low-priced mulching
around plants.
Furnishes a model of good ecology for neighbors;
Promotes greater self-reliance;
Helps us become synchronized with the spiritual rhythms
of the land and seasons;
Replaces chemical fertilizers known to retard the growth
of beneficial microorganisms and pollute waterways;
Aerates soil, holds moisture and nutrients and releases
these slowly while decomposition proceeds. Soil becomes a sponge
and allows the drainage of excess moisture from around the roots.
It helps control pH of soil keeping it in a desired growing range
of 6.5 to 7.5. Ideally soil should have a ratio of about 5%
organic matter.

2. What Can Be Composted?

Food scraps except greasy materials and meat scraps (feed
these to pets).
Garden and yard wastes (weeds, clippings, straw,
trimmings).
Household wastes (dust, lint, charcoal residue).
Forest wastes (sawdust, wood chips, bark).
Certain paper wastes (kitchen and hand towels).

3. How to Compost

Composting is easy. The important question is how quickly
we want to reuse our organic wastes. We may dig waste right back
into the soil or place it in a pit, designated composting bin or
pile for efficient action and maximum aeration. Protective
netting or fencing may be required to keep animals from picking
through or burrowing into the compost area. A screen to keep out
rats and other rodents may be necessary.

The major tasks in any composting operation include the
preparation of basic materials, mixing of proper ingredients, and
spreading the product in the growing area.

Preparation

Wastes need to be of fine composition to allow for good
bacterial action. Many types of choppers and mixers can be
ordered from garden supply catalogs. To save money, refrain
buying fancy prefabricated composters and do it yourself.
Generally leaves will decompose relatively fast if each leaf is
brought in contact with soil. Unfortunately, moist leaves pack
down and, if covered with a heavy clay dirt, decompose very
little in the first year.

Proper air and moisture and the right bacteria will make
wastes decompose into humus more rapidly. The bacterial action
is quite complex. Where decomposition is relatively rapid, a
compost pile will heat to temperatures of about 140 degrees F at
the center. Weed seeds and harmful organisms are killed at these
temperatures, but survive along the cooler edges of the pile.
Nitrogen in the form of manure or other sources may have to be
added to retain a good carbon/nitrogen balance.

BioActivator is a commercial product sold by Necessary
Trading Company [(800) 447-5354 ] which contains beneficial
microbes that speed decomposition or organic materials into
fertile humus. These natural occurring soil organisms stimulate
compost activation at about one-half pound per ton, inoculate the
soil with beneficial bacteria, stabilize humus applied to fields,
and tend to reduce odor. It is the most concentrated compost
activator available. Some gardeners may need to add mineral
supplements either at the start or during the composting process.

Mixing

The layers required for the beginning process will work well
at first but more moisture and especially air are required for
the process to continue at the desired rate. Mixing by hand
gives one a sense of accomplishment and it is good exercise as
well. The earthy smell and the effort taken involves us in a
special union with our Earth. Why buy automatic tumblers which
use energy and have to be cleaned and stored with greater care
than with turning forks? Many suggest turning about once a
month, but some do this operation more often, especially during
the hotter months. Having empty bins available into which one
can toss the incomplete material saves time. Use a good turning
fork.

Application

Final application to the garden can occur anytime during or
preceding the growing season. The turning fork can serve as a
spreader as well, minimizing investment in tools. Some gardeners
prefer to screen compost materials (one inch wire mesh screen) so
that only the fine substance is applied to the soil while
incompletely composted materials are returned to the composting
bin. Apply in shallow trenches and cover with one inch of dirt
to conserve all nutrients. Where beds are required for celery
and other crops, deeper trenches and layers of soil may be
fashioned.

4. Spreading the Word

Most people know very little about the virtues of composting
and yet are willing to learn. You can make a difference by
submitting articles in the local newspaper, speaking in civic
groups, churches and schools, encouraging K-12 school and scout
projects on composting, enlisting garden clubs in composting
displays and demonstrations, and getting the municipal government
to mandate or at least speak in favor of composting.

Get people to start small and to make a composting operation
attractive and neat. Provide an opportunity for cold weather
composting. Protect the bins or piles from rodents and varmints,
turn frequently, and use the end product well around flowers,
trees and other plants.

5. Earthworms

Earthworms are a composter's best friends. They produce
more compost in a shorter time and at lower expense than any
other methods. Furthermore, their compost contains mineral
nutrients in soluble form, and their castings assist in soil
improvement. Earthworms aerate the soil and a natural increase
in their numbers assures us that the balance of air, water,
bacterial agents and organic matter is intact.

While the number of Earthworm species is quite large, some
of these varieties cannot stand hot temperatures of the compost
heap and prefer soil. Obtain the right worm for the right
purpose and use native worms where possible. For composting, the
common Red Wriggler (Eisna foetida) is a popular choice. This
type of worm is easily obtained and thrives very well in the
compost environment. One may wish to use the Indore method of
compost formation.

[Diagram 1 Indore Composting Pit]

6. Constructing Composting Bins

The more standard composting bin in this country is the
above ground and composed of open ended compartments running side
by side. See Diagram 2. Use whatever siding material is most
available, but keep it open and porous for better aeration.
Sometimes unused siding is discarded and is excellent, though it
should be painted. Dig a trench around the bins to allow for
drainage and a single trench of several inches through the middle
of the bin area for aeration.

7. Added Suggestions for Good Composting

If available use manure for layering in compost piles.
Use chicken manure more sparingly due to its "heat" and intense
fertilizing effect. Usually one to two inches of manure is
sufficient for each layer.
Use materials as soon as possible after completion of the
composting process to avoid nitrogen loss through leaching or
volatilization.
Compost piles should be moistened occasionally but not
soaked. During dry weather, moisten about once a week. A pile
could be covered during excessively wet periods or dry times when
more moisture will be lost by evaporation.
It is recommended that compost be pasteurized or
sterilized before use indoors as a plant starter in the spring.
The USDA recommends placing the moist compost in an oven
preheated to about 200 degrees F. Allow the center to reach a
temperature of 160 degrees and hold at that temperature for 30
minutes. A probing oven thermometer will help determine when the
center is properly heated. Excessive temperatures may be
detrimental.
Locate the composting pile in a convenient place, near
enough to allow frequent visiting. Bins should be located at
some distance trees so they do not rob the compost pile of
nutrients.
Maximum-sized compost piles should be about 5 by 5 by 5
feet to allow for proper heating and decomposition. Having three
bins is ideal, with one for finished materials, one for medium
development and one for beginning organic wastes.
When space is too limited to permit more than one bin or
pile, add new materials to the top and remove finished materials
from the bottom, making sure to turn the pile occasionally.
There are several reasons why a compost pile may fail to
heat. These include: too small a pile; too much moisture; too
little air; too little nitrogen.
Ideally, the compost bin should be placed with convenient
to areas where wasted is generated. Additionally, it should be
shaded, accessible to water, on a hillside for throwing compost
in from above, and clearly visible, so other may observe and
imitate.

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REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

Appelhof, Mary. Worms Eat My Garbage. Kalamazoo, MI: Flower
Press, 1982. (10332 Shaver Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49002).

Campbell, Stu. Let it Rot. Pownal, VT: Garden Way Publishing,
(Schoolhouse Road, Pownal, VT 05261).

Dindal, Daniel L. Ecology of Compost. Syracuse, NY: State
University of New York, College of Environmental Science and
Forestry. ( Syracuse, NY 13210).

Glaese, Susas. "Compost." Mother Earth News, 101 ( Sept./Oct
1986): 46-53.

The Rodale Guide to Composting. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press (33
E. Minor St., Emmaus, PA 18049)

Siegchrist, Charles. Fertilizers for Free. Garden Way Bulletin
A-44, Pownal, VT: Garden Way Publishing, 1980.