Red wiggler worms are a great option for vermicomposting, which utilizes the awesomeness of worms.
Add “greens” and “browns” in your compost recipe.
Compost creates nutrient-rich humus, balances pH, and increases water filtration and retention.
Red wiggler worms are a great option for vermicomposting, which utilizes the awesomeness of worms.
Add “greens” and “browns” in your compost recipe.
Compost creates nutrient-rich humus, balances pH, and increases water filtration and retention.
Midden, rot heap, dressing, leaf mold, wormery, windrow, smells like green spirit, muck, bokashi … all terms for the black gold that we know as compost. Compost creates nutrient-rich humus, balances pH, and increases water filtration and retention — making our gardens and farms crave compost — like we crave gravy on a biscuit. There are benefits beyond our gardens and farms, too! The EPA stated that 30% of landfill space is compostable material in “Composting At Home,” epa.gov. Reducing waste from our homes saves landfill space, which in turn lessens our carbon footprint and landfill methane emissions.
While composting happens naturally, purposeful composting speeds up the process with fungi, bacteria and decomposers. Composting requires a balance of fresh, nitrogen ingredients (greens) and dry, carbon ingredients (browns) with a splash of water and some air. Browns are food for decomposers while greens help decomposers grow and multiply, but if the balance is not correct the process slows, and we could get some gross results. Too much nitrogen love leads to slime and stink and too much carbon creates a dry, crispy compost that does not transform into humus.
Yes, you can leave the pile to slowly compost in a bin, trench or pile, but if you want the process to speed up, there are a few tips to keep in mind.
• Location: Find a dry, shady spot
Greens — equal to two to four times the amount of browns
Oxygen — alternate green and brown layer ingredients in small pieces
Water — the matter should feel like a wrung-out sponge
• Directions: Aerate the matter about once a week in the hot months and monthly in the winter by turning over with a pitchfork or using an aeration bin for composting. Temperatures should reach 130-140 degrees, which means decomposer babies and material breakdown are occurring as well as death of bacteria and weeds.
There is also vermicomposting, which utilizes the awesomeness of worms. This method is done indoors or outdoors, and it uses worm castings to finish compost matter quickly with nutrient rich properties. It requires good drainage, carbon-heavy “brown” material and food waste to feed worms. Red wiggler worms are a great option and temperatures need to be regulated between 55-75 degrees.
So, what are these greens and browns you can add to compost?
Greens: fresh, moist, natural ingredients
• Grass clippings and fresh plant waste
• Animal manure other than dog and cat
Browns: dry, natural material … some may be surprising!
• Dryer lint from natural cloth
• Pieces of natural fiber clothing
• Vacuum content with only biodegradable material
• Paper bills, junk mail, and ticket stubs
There are materials that need to be avoided, too! Stay clear of animal proteins, dairy, fats, limit citrus/garlic/onion (as they harm worms), synthetic coffee and tea bags, dog and cat poop, shiny/waxy paper and cardboard, sticky fruit labels, treated wood and weed seeds as well as diseased plants.
When is the compost complete? There should be:
How do you use that finished compost?
Enjoy the journey of your compost-creating adventures and spread that black gold gravy in your garden beds, reaping the rewards in harvest as well as reducing our landfill waste!
“I find that a real gardener is not a man who cultivates flowers; he is a man who cultivates the soil. He is a creature who digs himself into the earth and leaves the sight of what is on it to us gaping good-for-nothings. He lives buried in the ground. He builds his monument in a heap of compost. If he came into the Garden of Eden, he would sniff excitedly and say: ‘Good Lord, what humus!’”
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