Composting Methods
There are several different ways in which to compost the materials below.
-
Grasscycling - By grasscycling, you will be leaving the freshly mowed clippings on your lawn, as it falls it will create a mulch to help with moisture retention. As the clippings begin to decompose, they will provide nutrients to the grass, reducing the amount of fertilizer needed for a healthy lawn. The method requires more frequent mowing, but the return is less time bagging and dumping the grass clippings. The smaller the grass trimming, the faster it will breakdown. Mulching mowers are designed for this purpose because after they cut, the clipping is further cut into even smaller pieces, then it is blown down into the grass, so it doesn’t sit on top of the lawn. Mulching mowers are great, but not necessary for grasscycling.
-
Mulching - Compost can be created easily by using organic materials as mulch. When laid on the surface of the ground the mulch will slowly breakdown and release some nutrients into the soil. This process takes a longer period of time, but the benefits of moisture retention and lack of effort it takes, make it one of the more simple and easy methods of composting. Materials need to be of organic nature such as leaves, grass clippings, shredded bark, and even shredded newspaper.
-
Burying - You can always bury your organic material. Common methods are trenching, hole, and post hole. This method takes a longer period of time to breakdown, but it enriches the soil directly and nutrients are not lost by gassing off into the atmosphere when the material is left on top of the soil. You’ll want to bury the material about a foot deep to discourage insects and other pests. The depth of the hole will also determine how deep you want to place the nutrients for future gardening. Trenching is when you dig a trench, and back fill it with kitchen scraps. The hole and posthole method are about the same with the exception that with the posthole you can make your holes on a daily basis.
-
Bin or Pile - Bin and pile composting is simple and effective. The key to this method is the size of the pile. You’ll want a heap about 3x3x3 or one square yard. This gives you a volume of material that creates the proper environment for maximum production in the pile.
Assemble the pile using green and brown material. Start with equal parts, an easy way to mix and measure at the same time is to layer the organics in 1" to 2" alternating layers adding water in between. After assembling, water well and cover the pile with a tarp, carpet, or an opaque plastic sheet. This will help hold heat and moisture. You can keep adding materials to the pile, but this will slow the process. The center will reach temperatures of 120 to 160 degrees when the micro organisms are working. These temperatures do the ‘cooking’ to kill bacteria that are harmful and prevent the germination of seeds when the compost is used. You’ll keep the temperature up as long as there is material to be broken down and you are actively mixing the material. Turn the pile weekly, until it has a dark rich look like chocolate cake and the things you put in don’t look like their original form.
After it appears that the compost is done, let it rest for one to two weeks to make sure it is completely done and the nitrogen has a chance to stabilize. If the compost is used too soon it could rob nutrients from the surrounding plants. After resting, it is ready to sift through a ½" hardware cloth strainer to remove the large chunks or simply rake through and pick out the big pieces that need more time to break down (use these in the next pile for a quick start because they already have the bacteria and fungi on them). Larvae, insects, and grubs should also be removed before you incorporate the compost into your soil.
-
Vermicompost - (This information to be added soon.)
