SMELL of SUCCESS:

Learn to build, manage your own compost pile

January 19, 2018



Gardeners are blessed people. We can work (play) in the dirt (soil) like we did as children with no fear of being considered immature.

All civilizations since the beginning of time have cultivated the soil for food, medicinal items and flowers. Today's gardeners' work is productive, creating vegetables, fruits, lawns and trees as well as beautiful and useful flowers.

Compost is useful soil amendment

We can also work with nature to produce a rich soil amendment called compost.

• Valuable nutrients added to soil

Using kitchen vegetable scraps, leaves, grass clippings and other organic materials, we can add valuable nutrients to our garden soil. Everything that is living will decompose, and that decomposition is truly spectacular in the soil recycling process.

Backyard composting is an acceleration of the same process nature uses. Nature makes the compost; we provide the area and the work to help make it happen.

• Elements to be considered when choosing site

Consider sun, wind and rain exposure as well as convenient access when choosing the site. The pile must be kept moist but not soaked, warm but not sun-scorched and protected from excess wind and rodents, raccoons, opossums, cats, dogs and the like. Warm, moist conditions are helpful to living organisms, fungi, bacteria and earthworms, which carry out the process of decomposition. Sometimes the corner of your yard where nothing grows is a good site.

• Type of bin or pile

The bin should be a wooden, plastic or stone structure suitable for one cubic yard of material. The bin should have openings for air movement. If you use an open pile, it is difficult to control exposure to sun, wind and moisture, and the pile will not decompose as quickly.

Building the compost materials

• Composition

Start with a bulky material on the ground. Brush trimmings or wood chips can be used. Next, add a 6-inch layer of high-carbon material such as leaves, straw, hay - or a mixture of them. Water the pile until it is moist. Add a nitrogen layer using grass clippings; kitchen vegetable scraps; and chicken, cow or horse manure, but be conscious of potential odors near your neighbors.

• Alternate carbon and nitrogen layers

You may add ammonium nitrate or a high-nitrogen fertilizer, 8-8-8 or 10-10-10. (Do not use weed and feed.) Continue alternating carbon and nitrogen layers. Water after each layer. The basic mixing ratio for carbon to nitrogen is 30-1. Do not pack down tightly. Air circulation is important as all life needs water and air to function, as does your compost pile.

• Turn pile at 10-15 days

The pile should be turned with a pitchfork or potato spade after decomposition has been working usually about 10 to 15 days.

When you add kitchen vegetables to the existing material, make a hole in the compost to bury the fresh greens. This will continue the carbon-nitrogen interaction to keep the decomposition working.

• Monitor moisture and temperature

Monitor moisture and temperature regularly. The compost should be wet to the touch but not dripping moisture when you squeeze a handful. The interior of the pile should be very warm - 135 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal, but not any warmer.

Start small

A good way to learn composting without a huge effort is to start small. Find a corner of the yard or a place near your house that is somewhat shaded and not in a low, water-soaked area. Begin with some coffee grounds, shredded newspaper, green vegetable scraps from the kitchen and any other vegetable or leaf material available. Remember, small pieces are best. Water it lightly and wait.

Add vegetable and coffee grounds or leaves every few days. Turn the pile after 10 to 15 days. Soil will begin to appear, and you are on your way to having a pile of "black gold" to add to your garden, landscaping or potted plants.

As you work with the small pile and achieve results, you may be ready to put up a real bin and enlarge your program. If you really get into it, consider building three successive boxes as shown in the accompanying photos to allow various stages of composting to be ongoing at one time. One section can be the one you are filling; the next can be in the decomposition stage, followed by one with compost that can be used, allowing nearly an ongoing supply of compost.

Nature makes compost, but you have the joy of providing the area and work to help make it happen.

The Gardeners' Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension - Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com.

PHOTO BY CHARLA BORCHERS LEON/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER

Composting can be as simple as purchasing and using a commercial home composter like the black one shown to the left or building a small box-like container from wood and mesh wire. For more intense composting, a number of years ago, Victoria County Master Gardeners constructed three successive bins at Victoria Educational Gardens like these allowing various stages of composting to be ongoing at one time.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Turn a compost pile weekly during the summer and monthly during the winter to increase the rate of decomposition. Dr. Joe Masabni, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension horticulturist, suggests making more than one pile, like shown here, if you have room, so you will have various stages with one ready to use and one being filled up and then tilled in the process of decomposition. About 90 to 120 days are required to prepare good compost with layers of material.