Can we talk..........compost?

The lifeblood of any good gardening situation is the soil. We have been blessed with abundant, fertile soil in which most things grow well with little intervention from us; just plant it and it will grow. This summer we had to do a bit more watering than usual, and I actually kept things mostly weeded. However, since I prefer to not add chemicals to my food, I use compost and some natural fertilizer to give the heavy feeders a little boost in their growth.

I have been composting in one form or another for over a decade, sometimes efficiently, sometimes...not so much. Once you start composting, you will never see a pile of leaves or vegetable scraps the same way, I have been know to ask my friends for their bags of grass clippings (thanks David), apple peels, Halloween pumpkins, watermelon rinds and so on. I don't ask for leaves because we have several oak trees that keep me well supplied.

One of our newer projects is a new compost bin. I had made one from some cinder blocks we had sitting around, but it only had one bin, was a little small and in a bad location. So we took some pallets and built a new two bin model. I love the pallets, even though I know that they will deteriorate in a few years, but they are free, abundant and perfectly designed for a compost bin.

 We lucked out because we had a very large pallet and the back wall is all one piece so it is more stable, but two nailed together would work just fine. As you can see we just added three "sides" to the back wall, leaving the front open for adding materials. The pallets are terrific because they have spaces, which creates some airflow, a very desirable thing in compost. With two bins I will have one side (in this picture the left) that has almost finished compost that just needs to cook a little longer, and the other side that I am actively adding materials to. If I find that I have a larger pile I may add a six inch board to the bottom to help keep things from spilling out. I keep a pitchfork by the bin so I can turn the materials easily and also pick up leaves to add to the pile when I add greens.

Which brings us to the question everyone asks: Doesn't it smell and attract rodents? I will say that I have never seen evidence of rat activity, I can't speak for the mice since they are so small, and even though we have possums and racoons, I haven't seen any signs they have bothered things. As far as the smell, if you do it right, it is not a problem, if you don't, it can be. Case in point, I received a lovely bag of leftovers from Renee when she made grape jelly, and in addition to that added the leftover mash from making apple juice. The result was too much nitrogen (greens) and not enough carbon (browns) and I had some flies and a lovely fermentation odor. However, it was easily fixed by turning the pile and adding some more leaves. Balance is the main thing with compost, and it is best to err on the side of caution and add too many leaves; they will still break down, but it will just take longer. Outdoor composting does attract insects, however they are not the kind that will live in your house, so you don't need to worry about them. When you add food scraps always cover them with a layer of leaves and you will have no problem with flies; they don't dig and if they can't just land on the food they leave it alone. I thought about taking a picture of all the critters on the apple/grape mash when I turned it, but thought it might freak folks out.

Last but not least, what do you do with the compost once it is finished? How do you know it is finished? Once you really can't tell what the compost was originally made of and it looks like really rich, dark brown dirt, it is finished. You may still have some big chunks, like sunflower stalks or eggshells, but the majority is dark and crumbly. Take any big pieces and toss them on the still cooking pile and you have some nice, beautiful compost, ready to use. One of my favorite uses, since I don't have lots of compost at a time is to use it like a mulch, especially for new plantings like broccoli or tomatoes, because it suppresses weeds and feeds my new plant! Of course I never am patient enough to let my compost finish completely and it doesn't get as hot as a pile with manure so the seeds aren't killed. I usually have to pull up a few cantaloupe plants or watermelons after a week or so. Also, if you have lots of compost, it is great to just turn it into your soil to improve either the nutrients or the amount of organic material. With clay soil the organic material is the more important feature, because without the leaves and "stuff" it just bakes in the sun and doesn't retain water very well.
Well kids, there it is, compost 101, a very simplified version of a fairly simple, yet important to the gardener, topic.