Compost

The why and how to make your own free fertilizer and soil conditioner.

Click to reach these sub-headings:
Material to use or not	Aeration
Container size & types	Problems
Location	Links

WHY COMPOST?
compost is a natural soil conditioner, fertilizer, and it breaks up clay compost adds humus and nutrients to the soil making compost reduces our garbage and landfill. (30% of our waste is organic) some cities are starting to charge home owners for garbage volume it's free!

INCLUDE THESE:	DO NOT INCLUDE THESE:
any vegetable matter (not too woody) kitchen scraps (not greasy) egg shells hair, feathers, dust from vacuum cleaner dead heads, weeds, grass clippings, flower stems, shredded leaves rhubarb leaves shredded paper including newspaper and coffee filters sawdust, wood shavings, wood ashes (in small quantities) coffee grounds including the paper filter earth (this provides the microorganisms and earthworms which do the work, and on top discourages flies and evaporation) keep a bag of shredded leaves beside your pile to add as you build with wetter kitchen scraps	Grease, fat, cheese, milk, bones diseased plants (not always killed by heat) morning glory, ivy, sheep sorrel (these re-sprout) weed seeds dog and cat feces sawdust from pressure treated wood pine needles do not rot quickly and are acidic oak leaves do not rot quickly; they should be shredded and used sparingly lime slows the process
To rot, everything in your pile must be moist; damp like a squeezed sponge. Add water in dry weather especially around the edges.
Shredded or chopped material decomposes faster
Add material in small quantities (green, brown and earth), no more than 4 or 5 inches thick. This is what most guides mean when they say to layer your pile. Layers disappear when you turn (aerate) your pile.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:
Semi-shade; you don't want it to dry out in strong sun Not too far from the house if you want to add to it in winter Close to your garden where you will be generating the most raw material On level ground (easier to push your wheelbarrow) Not too far from a source of water

CONTAINER	NO CONTAINER
Black plastic container from the city or hardware store	Dig a trench in your vegetable garden, fill it with your plant material, water it and cover with soil
Make your own. Size depends on: how much plant material do you have? height: must be easy to fill, empty and turn width: more than 3 feet (you need space to dig it out) depth (front to back): greater than 4 feet will be difficult to dig out or turn without climbing in	Dig a depression in the ground in an inconspicuous place and throw your compost materials into it
Make your container from: wood (not pressure treated). Leave spaces between boards for air chicken wire held up with wooden or metal stakes a plastic garbage pail with holes in the sides for air used wooden pallets snow fence three-sided concrete block enclosure with spaces for air. lid can be a sheet of plastic or tarpaulin, or a sheet of wood even the leaves you collected in the fall in bags can be moistened and left to rot
Design: Bottom can be open for earthworms to move freely back into the soil Lid is necessary to keep moisture in or too much rain or snow or, as in my case, pine needles, out an opening in the front to dig out compost. This can be a door or removable slats
Multiple containers? a single container may be added to continuously and the compost removed from the bottom two containers, not necessarily side by side, allow the first to decompose while the second receives fresh material three containers: the third is a smaller holding area for the raw materials like leaves, earth to add to the active pile

PROBLEM	SOLUTION
Ingredients are not rotting	Too dry, add water.
It stinks	Not enough oxygen-- toss to aerate too wet-- add dry material like shredded leaves Too compacted--toss with a pitch fork or compost aerator(See link below)
It doesn't heat up (Your compost will rot without heating up but heat helps destroy weed seeds and accelerates the process)	Outside temperature too cold not enough oxygen not enough green material like grass, clippings weeds not enough water
squirrels are too interested	bury your kitchen scraps near the center of the pile

USEFUL LINKS
Composting	Compost guide Composting Council of Canada Composting in the Home Garden
Compost Aerator	Lee Valley