Basic Composting in Your Own Backyard

When I was young, my father taught me all about compost. I was able to see and taste for myself the difference between vegetables grown with compost and those grown without; the difference can be incredible. I'm going to explain the process we used to make compost.

Compost is the product of bacterial fermentation of organic materials from your kitchen. You can include vegetable litter, fruit peels, egg shells, and even weeds from your garden. Adding animal dung to the mix is a great way to add nutrients to your compost.

The first step you'll have to take is build or buy a compost silo. Ideally, the compost heap will be about 1-2 meter wide (3-6 feet) by 1 meter (3 feet) long by 1 meter deep (3 feet) at its deepest. The bottom 10 centimeters (4 inches) should be the "base layer". It is best to put 5 centimeters (2 inches) of bark mulch on top of 5 centimeters (2 inches) of bark mulch to fill out the base layer. You will want to have a lid on your compost too keep bears, dogs and other critters out, but be sure to allow some air flow through the system.

As you start to fill the silo up you should add a layer of wood ash and soil from your garden; it best to add a layer of soil every 30 centimeters (12 inches) of compost depth. Every 3-4 months you will have to turn the pile over.

You will find that some of your compost piles will only take 3-4 months to ferment completely and others may take up to 18 months. The fermentation time depends on the composition of the compost. So, if you're worried that it's not working, just be patient and give the bacteria and worms some time to work.

My father had 3 separate compost piles all right beside each other. The three piles represented different stages in fermentation. The first pile is freshly deposited material ready for composting, the second pile is compost that has been turned and is a few months old, the third pile contains the oldest compost and it's nearly ready to be used. When the time came, he would take the completely fermented compost out of the third pile and use it in the garden. Then he would turn the second pile over and it put it into the now empty third silo. He would the then turn the first pile over and put it into the second silo and into the first silo he would begin to add the new composting materials. Not everybody has the space, nor the desire, to have such a large composting set-up, but if you do have the space and the desire you could use that technique.

Compost that is ready to be used basically looks, feels and smells like nutrient-rich garden soil. When the compost is ready to be incorporated into your garden make sure that you loosen the soil first. Then add a layer of our compost (only a few centimeters thick) and work it into the soil with a garden hoe or a three-pronged rake. You're plants will love you for it.

The best place to put a compost box is somewhere in the shade. Having a compost box in the sun is asking for unbearable stench that will last all summer and well into the fall. I don't think anybody would enjoy that.

Henry