COMPOSTING!

​  I love to compost! Making beautiful dirt from “garbage,” it’s amazing. It’s also one of the easiest ways of adding value to your soil. 

Lets Start with the Basics:

      With composting, you need a special mix of "greens" and "browns". Greens and browns are just an easy way of telling what adds mostly nitrogen and what adds mostly carbon. Typically you want a 30:1 carbon:nitrogen, or brown:green, ratio. Any more greens and your compost will start to smell, or attract pests; any more browns and it will decompose slowly.  So what is consider green and what brown?
​Here’s a quick list: 

GREENS (NITROGEN)

• Fruit and Veggie Scraps
• Grass clippings
• Coffee Grounds
• Seaweed
• Live plants or plant cuttings
• Cow, Sheep, Poultry, Rabbit or Horse Manure (NEVER add pet waste as they can contain harmful bacteria) 

BROWNS (CARBON)

• Fall leaves
• Paper or cardboard
• Hay or straw
• Sticks or branches
• Eggshells
• Teabags
• Wood ashes
• Sawdust (Do not use sawdust from pressure treated wood, they contain harmful chemicals) 

BIG NO-NO’S

• As mentioned- Pet Waste
• Oils- Cooking oil, bacon grease, body oil
• Meats- Raw or cooked. (Fish is OK)
• Dairy- Milk, butter, cheese, cream 

​There are a multitude of ways to compost. Here’s the low-down on some of the most popular.

Indoor Composting:
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Compost made using a small store bought, or homemade, container. This one of the types of compost I use, mostly in the winter because here in New England, everything freezes. Here's how I made mine. 

​PROS:

• They are great for apartment dwellers. With their variable size, they can easily fit under the sink, or in a closet.
• They are relatively easy to make and can be quite inexpensive, too.
• They are transportable. You don’t have to decide where you're going to use the finished product right away.
• Also, makes for easy garden fertilizing. Everything is right there in your bucket. 

​CONS:

• Keeping your compost inside can become smelly, especially for those new to the process.
• You do need to find a space to keep it. Be prepared to keep it for a while. Smaller composts take longer to decompose, anywhere from 6 months to 1 year.
• Compost needs oxygen to break down and getting it into a bucket can create difficulties. 

Vermicomposting:
​
 This method uses special worms, called red wrigglers. These beauties munch on your kitchen scraps and turn them into, what some people refer to as “Black Gold”.  If you decide to use vermicomposting, you’ll need to create a home for your new livestock. Check out this site here for a tutorial. 

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​PROS:

• The worms do well in a variety of environments, and make another good way to compost in an apartment.
• Their habitat can be just as easy to make as an indoor compost.
• In good conditions, they multiply easily. 

​CONS:

• Unless you have an “in” with someone who already uses these critters, you will have to purchase them. Locally, they are at about $28/lb.
• The amount of kitchen waste they can consume is much less than other composting methods.
• They can die if not taken care of properly.  Ask me how I know.... 

Outdoor Piles:
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This is the simplest, and probably least effective type of compost. Basically, you just throw everything into a pile in the corner of your yard and let it be. As a kid we had one of these. I honestly don't think we ever actually used any compost from it. 

​PROS:

• These are super easy to start. Just pick a place you don’t mind using, and go for it.
• No building materials needed. 

​CONS:

• For this type of pile to be effective, you need to turn it regularly.
• Of course, without a container, animals can, and probably will, get into it. (Raccoons, skunks, neighborhood dogs, ect.)
• All of the rich, beautiful compost is at the bottom of the pile, meaning you’ll have to move it to get the goods. 

Trench Composting:
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Essentially, you dig a 12”-18” deep trench or hole, and deposit you organic material there. This method is typically utilized in existing, or soon to be, garden beds. I have been known to do this in the warmer months. 

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​PROS:

• No unsightly piles, or stink
• It gives the garden full access to the nutrients as they become available.
• One of the cheapest ways to compost

t​CONS:

• If you don’t cover your waste well enough, animals will be digging in your garden
• You risk the possibility of injuring your plants’ roots.
• Smaller gardens run out of new places to put material quickly.
• Not feasible when the ground freezes

Three Bin System
This is the system I hope to have someday. I keep trying to get Caveman to bring me some pallets home so I can make one for myself. With this method, you build 3 connected containers, like the image here. Then, you start by filling the first bin. When that’s full, you turn it over to the second bin. There it’ll sit until the first bin is full again, at which time you move bin two’s contents to bin 3, and bin one to bin 2. According to the design, by the time you fill bin 1 up again, your compost should be complete, and ready to use in bin 3.  

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​PROS:

• Most effective compost design
• You never have to worry about when to turn

​CONS:

• If your bins are too small, you may fill up too quickly
• Stationary. Once you place it, you won’t want to dismantle it.
• You do have to turn the compost
• Building materials can* become expensive

    There you have it. So, which system or method do you use, or want to try, and why? Let me know!