The Neat and Clean Way to Make Compost
The most basic form of a compost pile is exactly that, a pile of vegetation, garbage and scrap items such as leaves and grass, which then may be surrounded by a fence or a cage. This system works very well, but requires a fairly long period of time and a certain amount of maintenance to ensure a good final product.
Finished compost should appear like fine loam with a sweet earthy aroma and should not be a wet glob of muck. An in order to achieve this quality. the pile needs to be turned over quite often in order to mix and aerate it and let oxygen enter in to create aerobes, which are the microbes which hasten the breaking down of your pile into good compost.
The disadvantages of a pile are obvious. They are rather unsightly, they will attract vermin and small animals such as raccoons, dogs and rats, they may have an unpleasant odor, and they will also probably irritate your neighbors if you live in a fairly well populated area. As a matter of interest, many towns and cities now ban open compost piles because of the above reasons. One great advantage of a pile is that it is fairly easy to turn with a pitchfork it in order aerate the raw compost, plus larger amounts of compost can be processed at any one particular time.
Compost bins are much more suitable to the home gardener. They should be vermin and child proof, be odor free (that is if you provide the correct proportions of carbon and nitrogen in loading the bin) and visually more pleasing. A bin can be problematic when you aerate the compost because it is usually difficult to turn the compost over efficiently without special tools. Another drawback is the emptying of the bin if it does not have an access door at the bottom. Consider if the bin is designed as a ball which has to be rolled in order along to mix the contents,and it sits directly on rough, sloped or uneven ground,that system mixing operation could be extremely difficult. Aerating need to be done regularly, so the easier, the better.
A compost tumbler is probably the best system. Tumbling the contents provides aeration without the use of tools and also speed up the decomposition time. Do not believe the claims of "compost in just a couple of weeks'. This sounds good but Mother Nature works at her own pace and we can speed her up just so much. The great advantage of a tumbler is the ease of turning and aerating the compost, which should provide a finished product in about 10 weeks.
Features to look for:
Sturdy dark colored containers which will not reflect the suns heat, especially important in cooler climes.
Solidly built stands or legs, a full composter can weigh over 150 pounds or more.
Can you easily relocate the unit if necessary, in order to be closer to the garden area worked currently being worked on.
There should be a method of collecting the compost tea which collects at the bottom and if utilized, is a fantastic product to pour on your planting beds or directly on the plants as a fertilizer
Other items to consider:
If you need a large amount of compost, will one composter be enough? New material can always be added to your composter, but the process is quicker if one load is processed at a time.
Stash a kitchen composter pail in a handy location to toss your daily scraps into.
About the Author
Dick Murray is a retired urbanite who has kept his love ofgardening alive with the creation of informational web sites such as backyard compost tumbler More and more households are beginning to grow their own fruits and vegetables due to their increased concern regarding the quality, price and safety of our food supplies.
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