Composting Resources

Composting is as much art as science. With a little experience, education and a lot of work you can make great piles of the rich black "gold." If you don't want great piles however, composting can be easy. You're harnessing a biological system which already exists all around us. The system is like a very slow fire in that microbes using oxygen convert the energy in organic stuff (they use a bit of the energy to live and grow) and generate water, carbon dioxide and heat. To be successful microbes need a source of sugar, the backbone of which is Carbon (C) for energy. They get this energy by breaking down cellulose (which is actually a chain of sugar molecules) using Oxygen (O) and Water (H2O). They also need Nitrogen (N) to manufacture proteins, the building blocks of all life. Some bacteria can fix N out of the atmosphere, but this is a slow process. A quicker way to get N is to digest existing proteins as we do through the food we eat. So the science of composting requires 4 basic ingredients, C, N, O, and H2O.

The art is in getting the right mix. Not enough O will make the pile smell. Not enough N and the pile will take a long time to break down. Not enough H2O and nothing will happen. Too much H2O and O can't get into the pile (again it smells). Not enough C and the pile will remain wet and O can't get in (smells). The pile will break down but it will smell and ooze away. Most people have problems with odor, so make sure to adjust the carbon measure to counteract the effect. The pile must be damp but not soaking. You need 3-4 parts cellulose for 1 part food waste. The pile must be loose but not too loose since it will lose heat quickly.

10-20% of household trash is food waste. Most homeowners can easily compost food waste and save money on their trash bills. It starts with a container in the kitchen like a stainless steel stock pot to collect scraps (N). Although many people compost meat, dairy or fat, most "experts" recommend leaving them out.

Next you'll need a supply of organic material (C) like leaves, grass clippings, sawdust, corn silage gone bad and shredded paper works well if you can get it. A bagger for your lawnmower can supply most of this needed material and allows you to clean your garden before grubbing out the roots and putting it to bed in the fall. Yard waste can be composted in a pile and if you're not worried about attracting animals, food waste can be mixed into the pile.

To keep animals out, the best option is to use a bin. There are several makes of compost bins with covers that work well. The District sells quite a few every year at just above cost. They keep animals out, the cover keeps the snow out and the environment inside is warm and moist. If you don't want to buy a bin you can do well with a 10'X 3' section of welded wire fence. Bind the ends together to get a hoop about 3' across. These bins work well down to about 2' in diameter, after that it loses heat and moisture too quickly. Put it into the ground a couple of inches to keep animals from burrowing under and there's your bin. Bins can also be made of old pallets or lumber. Basically you want something that can hold 2-3 cubic yards of material. The only other tool you'll need is a manure fork.

Now for the mix. The Carbon source decomposes faster if it's chopped up. If you use something like old hay chop it with the mower first (keep your mower sharpened). Leaves or sawdust (sawdust has very little N, so use less) work well as is. Fork in 4-6" of your C source in the bottom of your bin. Then in goes the food waste. 1-2" is enough, then another layer of C, then food and so on. With a large bin it will take you most of a summer to fill it and even then you may not, since that "slow fire" keeps consuming what you put in. Most people pull off the bin and turn the pile before winter since the cold will stop all activity in the pile. Most animals will not be interested in the stuff you put in after its been "cooking" awhile so just turn the contents of the bin into a nice compact pile. Replace the bin, place a layer of C on the bottom and your ready for winter. Don't bother with the C during the winter. In the spring punch through the accumulation of food with your fork and shake it down into the lower layer. You want to break the layer up and aerate it. Place a layer of C on top of this and just keep on going. It's a good idea to turn last fall's pile one more time. It will be ready to spread in your garden or wherever in another month. There won't be much left. Natural processes will consume 3/4 of the original bulk of the material. That's really all there is to it!

If you bag grass clipping, you can see a speeded up version of the composting process. Green grass has a good ratio of N to C as is. Just pile it in a compact form. In a day or two the pile will heat up a lot. Put your hand in and see. In a week the pile will be half the original size. Turn it at two weeks to get the outside to the center. It will heat up again. Turn it again at two weeks. The compost should be ready to spread in a month or two. If you garden, this is a good way to accumulate fair quantities of compost.

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If you don't have much room or live in an apartment click go to the Cornell page and look at the composting in schools.
The following links lead to various composting sites where you can learn more about this important topic.
- The Environmental Protection Agency
- Cornell University