Composting Tips part 1

Ok everyone this subject is very big SO I am going to post this in a couple of sections so you can ready at you own pace.

Why should you compost you ask? The Average home could save 35% of the waste in the lanfill if they recycled. Also the key to happy healthy plants is happy soil.

When building a good compost pile you want stuff to break down at different times. This allows for stable food and decaying material for the beneficail microorganisms and worms.

Compost that is completely broke down is still benefical to the garden it becomes stable humus. Which means it no longer breaks down fast, becasue all the organic matter has broke down. This process takes between 6 months to a year.

A good compost mixture should contain Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and micronutrients like: Boron, iodine, magnese, copper, zinc, and iron. The more of these things you have in your compost the better your plants will do.

Adding compost or "humus" to the soil increases water retension up to 200% of its dry weight compaired to 20% without it.

Compost bonds with certain toxins like cadmium and lead and does not let it get absorbed by the plants.

You need 4 things for Microorganisms to live and work in a compost pile:
1. Carbon 2. Nitrogen 3. Oxygen 4. Moisture

Examples of Carbon are Leaves, straw, sawdust, and corn stalks

Nitrogen is basically your activator in your compost pile "they get things cooking" Examples of Nitrogen are: Manure, Grass clippings, Kelp, Green Vegetation, Bloodmeal

Nitrogen needs to be added in smaller quantities then Carbon. To much Nitrogen releases a amonia gas smell were to little makes the pile breakdown take to long.

Oxygen is required by almost all microorganisms. If you do not have oxygen in the pile decompistion slows 90%.

Moisture is needed for Microorganisms and other soil creatures like worms to do thier work. Optimal moisture content is 45% to 50%.

Heat is a byproduct of an baterial organism, but plays no actual part in breaking down of organic matter. The reason people tryaand heat there compost piles are to kill disease causing organisms and weed seeds.

Earth Worms are an awesome addition to compost piles. They ingest and digest organic matter at a rate of 1 time there body weight a day . The worms break down organic matter making it available faster to the benifical bateria and fungus.

You want to make sure you do not add to much of one thing to your garden ata time. Example: Putting a lot of hay in the pile at one time will create to much carbonaceius matterial and not enough nitrogen. Or to much grass clipping will make a slimy mess.

WHen you gather a large quantity of stuff leave it off to the side of the big pile and add stuff to the pile a little at a time.

The more variety of stuff you add to your pile the more microorganisms you will ahve. For beginners your mixture should losely fit this formula: 2 parts vegetal matter (grass, leaves, straw) 1 part animal manure.

A Great list of stuff to add to your pile are:
Alfalfa meal and hay, algae (pond weeds), Apple Pomace (cider press waste), Ashes (wood not coal), Buckwheat, cat litter (unused), citrus waste, coffe waste and grounds, corn stals and husk, cotton seed, dog food (nitrogen activator), dolomite, earthworms, egg shell (grind or crush), flowers, peels, granite dust, dried grass clippings, green sand, hay, hedge clippings (chopped up), Brewery waste, kelp, leaves, peanut shells, peat moss, phosphate rock, ground oster shells or clams, sphanum moss, weeds, wheat straw.