Compost is the end product of speeding up Mother Nature’s process of breaking down organic material waste. Compost is one of nature’s best mulches, it can be used instead of commercial fertilizer and will improve the soil structure, texture, and aeration and increases the soil's water-holding capacity. Compost also loosens clay soil, improves soil fertility and stimulates healthy roots. Compost contains organic matter, which is food for microorganisms, keeping the soil healthy and balanced. Best of all, the materials to make compost are not only free but would otherwise be in a landfill as garbage.
Although almost any organic material is suitable for a compost pile, the pile needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or "browns", like dried leaves, straw, and wood chips and nitrogen-rich materials, or "greens" such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps. Mixing the proportions of browns and greens can make a difference in the rate of decomposition. If there is too much carbon the pile will break down too slowly, while too much nitrogen will cause odor. You should try to ratio your compost pile 25 parts browns to 1 part greens for ideal decomposition.
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What not to use in your compost pile
Ashes from coal or charcoal
Dog, cat or bird droppings
Meat, fat, grease, oils, bones
Black walnut tree
Poison oak, poison ivy, and sumac
Weeds
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Find a spot in your yard that is level and allows water to drain to start your compost pile. If you live in a warm climate, make sure the pile is in a shadier spot so it doesn't dry out too quickly. Cooler climates slow down the decaying process so make sure to put the pile in a sunny spot to trap solar heat. If temperatures get really low during the winter you may need to get a compost bin to protect the pile from freezing. Since a compost pile may be unsightly for your yard you may want to consider an enclosure made of wood, wire, concrete blocks or buying a compost bin.
Now that you have a spot picked out you can literally just start a pile of the materials you are going to compost, add lawn and kitchen scraps every once in a while and have compost at the bottom of the pile in a year or two. This is referred to as “passive composting” because you are not interacting to speed up Mother Nature’s process.
Active participation in your compost pile is called “managed composting” and can produce usable compost in 4 weeks to 6 months, mattering how much time and energy you have to commitment. The four factors that determine how fast your pile decomposes are size of the material you use, temperature, moisture and air circulation.
The size of the material you use has a lot to do with the speed it decomposes. Shredded organic materials heat up rapidly and therefore decompose quickly. The decomposition rate increases with the size of the materials you use so if you want the pile to decay faster, chop up your materials finer.
If the temperature of the managed pile is warm or hot to the touch, you know the decomposition process is active. If it feels the same temperature as the outside air, the microbial activity has slowed down and you may need to add more nitrogen (green) materials (such as grass clippings, kitchen waste, or manure). To keep the pile operating at its peak, buy a compost thermometer available at garden shops and nurseries to measure the internal temperature. Decomposition occurs most efficiently when the temperature inside your compost pile is between 104 and 131 degrees F. Turning the pile when the temperature goes below 104 F or above 131 F will help maintain the internal temputure of the compost pile.
Moisture is also very important because being too wet or too dry will slow down the decaying process. Keep the pile as moist as a wrung-out sponge making sure to check the moisture level when you turn the pile.
Learn to make compost without bins, tumblers, odor or even turning HERE
