Compost Made Easy
(Page 2 of 7)
October/November 2006, Issue #218
By Barbara Pleasant
2. Good compost can be either hot or cold. Most people who carefully manage their compost piles for a balance of ingredients are trying to produce hot compost, which heats up or “cooks” as the materials decompose. Hot compost is the fastest type of compost to produce, but it’s not necessarily better than compost that rots slowly without heating up.
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High temperatures in the compost heap are generated by bacteria as they work high-nitrogen materials, so hot compost that’s protected from leaching may be a superior source of this essential nutrient. But there’s a trade-off: Intensively worked hot compost that’s produced in only three to four weeks ranks pretty low in terms of microbial diversity.
If you want the best compost, you want cured compost. This is mature compost that is set aside in a covered place where it can age for at least a couple of months. Microorganisms continue to work as the compost cures, including a special group of bacteria that produce compounds thought to “prime” plants to do a superior job of defending themselves from pests and diseases.
I often use the last weeks of mild fall weather to finish off a really nice batch of compost, which I sift through half-inch mesh plastic hardware cloth and put into plastic bags or storage bins to cure. In spring, I have the perfect base for making potting soil for the next season’s plants.
3. Small or large — any size pile will work just fine. Compost manuals frequently promise that if you build a nicely balanced heap of well-moistened materials at least 3 feet high and wide, it will heat up and start cooking within days.
You can be absolutely sure that your compost will eventually rot, but super-sizing a heap offers little insurance that it will get off to a smoking start. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by simply piling stuff together until the heap is big enough to merit some attention. Then, one day, when you’re in a composting mood, pick up a digging fork and spend some time setting the heap to rights by mixing the materials in the pile and adding water to keep it moist.
4. Turning compost is optional. Many books warn that heaps will not get enough oxygen unless they are turned. This may be true of a heap that’s kept too wet, but most compost heaps aerate themselves as they shrink. Better reasons to turn compost include achieving a good mix of materials, discovering dry pockets in need of moisture, and satisfying your curiosity as to what’s happening in your heap. And, as the composting process advances and the materials become more fragile, turning and mixing breaks them into smaller pieces, which helps push almost-done compost to full maturity.
5. You can gauge the moisture level of your compost pile by its fragrance. When you dig around in a heap and don’t smell the desired earthy fragrance, lack of moisture is usually the reason. Dryness is a big challenge in the fall, when most gardeners make new compost piles from leaves. Shredding the leaves before composting them will help them break down faster, but they’ll need time and an amazing amount of water before they start breaking down.
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