compost

We're implementing a new compost arrangement:  three bins instead of two.  In the past, we used two -- a square wire frame, and a cylindrical black plastic.  However, with being able to keep the compost pile over-winter, as well as the huge amount of winter rye at the beginning of the year going into the compost this spring, we exceeded our capacity.

So I decided to have us use three cylindrical plastic ones, because they are deformable, and so can be squeezed into the space allocated for composting.  Three bins will facilitate turning.  With just two bins, we were forced to turn one into the other even while adding new matter, or else not turning to keep new matter separate from more decomposed matter.

With three bins, one bin will be emtpy, and we can alternate turning one of the other compost piles into the empty bin, or even turn both.  New matter will go into one of the piles, so that the older pile can more completely mature into good compost.  When the older pile is ready for compost extraction, the newer pile will then become the older pile, and we will start a newer pile.

Today I turned our two compost piles.  Unfortunately, the piles were cold.  I had hoped to show the visitors -- we had about eight, mostly adults -- steam from the center.  But evidently I waited too long; next year, I'll try a December turning.  Cold piles means that the decomposing bacteria have run out of fuel (carbon matter) near them, and have depleted the oxygen.  Composting is like a slow fire, and needs oxygen to breathe.  Turning both mixes up stuff, so that bacteria are relocated next to fuel, and refreshes the supply of air.

Both piles had reduced since November, when they were overflowing, showing that some decomposition had happened.  The top halves of each pile had the least decomposition, so I set those aside.  I then combined the bottom portions of the two piles into a new pile.  There was significant dirt in those bottom portions, so I'm hoping we can get some garden-usable compost out of them by late April.  I then combined the set-aside halves into a new pile, which is really going to need summer heat to decompose.  And the thick sunflower stalk pieces may just take too long for us.

Very little was frozen, except at the bottom on the north side of the wire mesh bin.  Comparing the two bins, I'd say the black bin had somewhat more decomposed matter than the wire bin.  This may be due to the black plastic keeping the pile somewhat warmer, by absorbing more sunlight.  Or due to less exposure to the cold winter air and winds.  Or maybe I just preferentially put the better stuff (less stalks) in that bin in November.

Next turning sometime in March!

Vermicomposting, (the "official" name for using worms to do your composting), is a great alternative to outdoor composting, especially during the colder, winter months.  Using red worms in an indoor compost bin, you simply layer any plant-based scraps with some shredded paper (e.g., newspaper, but avoiding glossy paper and colored inks), wet with some water that has been allowed to sit uncovered over night (to off-gas any chlorine), and then cover the bin and let the little red wigglers do their thing.  I've been composting all of our kitchen scraps and indoor plant trimmings this way for over three years now, and it's very easy & low maintenance, especially with one of the commercially available bins. 

Vermicomposting produces "castings" (aka, worm manure) which is great for both outdoor AND indoor plants.  Vermicompost has NO smell, offers great organic matter to improve soil texture, contains excellent, readily-available plant nutrients, and contains beneficial microbes that should be a part of any healthy soil.  There are some great web sites that explain how to get started.  (Google "worm composting")

While listening to Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma", we were reminded of the contributions of Sir Albert Howard, the "father of composting", and a pioneer of organic gardening methods:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Howard

His 1940 book "An Agricultural Testament" on soil conditioning and particularly composting is online here:
http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/howardAT/ATtoc.html

"From the point of view of farming the towns have become parasites. They will last under the present system only as long as the earth's fertility lasts. Then the whole fabric of our civilization must collapse."
 

Because we are returning the garden back to the Park for the winter, the remaining compost was bagged to be taken away.  But first I sifted it to extract usable soil, and got nearly a wheelbarrow full!  This from two months, the second of which I turned it naught, and it suffered from low night temperatures (which slow decomposition).

The sifted compost was spread over the empty garden and raked in.  The remainder filled over a bag, which then had to be divided amongst several bags because of its heaviness.

Saturday we sifted the compost for the second time, extracting about half a wheelbarrow-full.  I was impressed with the quantity, given that most came from garden waste (including grass clippings from the borders).  The rest of the compost is decomposing well, except for the bamboo twigs (waste from setting up the bamboo trellis).

To gardeners, wealth is in the ground.  And rich soil is made richer by adding lushly black compost.  The last Saturday in June, we harvested our first batch of compost, much earlier than I expected.  The top was wet and slimy -- the result of adding clippings of grass from the fence edge.  The sliminess results from suffocation, and therefore simply remedied by turning.  A suffocating compost pile will give off an ammonia-smell from the anerobic bacteria.  But in our case, there was little smell, because below the layer of grass was nicely composted soil.  I was a bit worried about the straw added the previous week, as I feel it decomposes slowly, but it may have provided some aeration to the lower mass.

We sifted the compost as we extracted it, using a rectangular frame with a wire mesh about 1/4-inch fine.  The plastic tray we used to sift into cracked, so next time we'll bring a wheelbarrow to sift into.  Sifting allows earlier use of ready compost, as different materials decompose at different rates, and were put into the compost pile at different times.  The apple cores and banana peels of April were completely decomposed, but the straw of the previous week was quite present.  I had been keeping the compost moist by covering it, since hydration speeds decomposition.  Compost should be kept about as wet as a damp-to-wet sponge, to give room for air, which soaking wet does not.  The downside is that wet compost is harder to sift, but we managed.

 
Saturday the compost pile received its first turn, from the wire-mesh bin to the black plastic bin.
 
I'm hoping the black plastic will "cook" it faster; though I was impressed how much was already dirt.
 
I didn't see any of the apple cores we had put in; although I did see some of the banana peels.
 
I capped it with the cone cover, so the bin could also be used for storage.

Last Saturday I gave the compost its first stir.  There's not enough yet to give it a real turn.  So far we have put in a bit of turf, cores of apples we've eaten on-site, banana peels I kept in my freezer for some time, and the first thinnings from the garden.  I am hoping for more donations, as plant matter from the garden won't produce much compost this year.  The first significant plant matter from the garden will be the pea plants say late June.  But the bulk of the compostables from the garden are generated near the end of the growing season, when the temperatures are falling.  Normally one year's plant refuse becomes next year's compost.

Also, because this is a one-year pilot, some things which are compostable are being kept out, because they decompose slowly.  This includes crushed egg-shells, peanut shells, twigs and other woody material, and possibly citrus, which some people have better success composting than others.

We have two compost bins for comparison:  one square with wire-mesh panels, the other a cylinder of black plastic with holes and a lid.  Each has its potential advantages.  The wire-mesh breathes better, but the black plastic ought to keep the compost warmer.  Once we have at least a few cubic feet of plant matter to work with, it will be interesting to see which works better.