garden:cultivate:tasks:compost:make
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garden:cultivate:tasks:compost:make [2017/05/02 12:04] – davidbac | garden:cultivate:tasks:compost:make [2020/04/03 20:52] (current) – [Composting rules] davidbac | ||
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+ | ===== Making compost ===== | ||
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+ | Like a lot of topics in gardening different gardeners have very different ways of composting organic material. | ||
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+ | I recommend Steve Solomon' | ||
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+ | ==== Two classes of compost ==== | ||
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+ | {{ : | ||
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+ | * Quality: selected green (fresh) and brown (dry) matter that decomposes in less than one year | ||
+ | * Slow: (whatever takes longer than a year to decompose) | ||
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+ | The quality compost I cure in bins. The slow I keep in piles covered with tarps. This year I have enough of each so that when I apply the quality compost to my garden I take some year-old slow compost and mix it with fresh greens and browns from the garden. | ||
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+ | I used to call this junk compost but my experience composting corn stalks, leaves and husks has shown that if I turn the pile and keep a good mixture of browns and greens, the within a year the " | ||
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+ | ==== A short course ==== | ||
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+ | Briefly, my procedure for good compost is to: | ||
+ | - Chop everything into small pieces | ||
+ | - Combine green and brown material in layers | ||
+ | - Ensure just enough (and not too much) moisture | ||
+ | - Regularly turn the compost | ||
+ | - Check and adjust moisture content regularly | ||
+ | - Turn the compost (yes, again) | ||
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+ | < | ||
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+ | <note tip>I doubt I manage to dice things really finely, but a very good reason to chop compostable material into small pieces is that this makes it possible to turn the compost from time to time. If I toss vines into the pile without dicing they make for a stringy mass that cannot be turned easily with a fork. So, chop, chop!</ | ||
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+ | Good compost requires attention and care, just as growing vegetables does. The process is slower but important for having rich, cured humus for the next season. | ||
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+ | {{ : | ||
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+ | ==== Compost booster ==== | ||
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+ | I use this [[https:// | ||
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+ | ==== Composting rules ==== | ||
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+ | Things I **don' | ||
+ | - No wood products (twigs, etc.) except leaves, and these only sparingly (I have only maple leaves and they take 18 months to decompose) | ||
+ | - No perennial weeds, such as perslane or sheep sorrel | ||
+ | - No rhizomatious weeds (some shoots and rhizomes appear to survive composting) | ||
+ | - No weeds with mature seed heads | ||
+ | - No tomato or potato clippings (these can perpetuate bad fungi) | ||
+ | - No forgetting it's cooking! I maintain a balance of moisture for the duration. | ||