While the weather remains to be cool and wet and it's too soon to till the garden beds, it is a good time to begin a compost pile to create a good soil.
Have you ever composted for quality soil? This helps emmensely to nourish the soil, and hence, the plants reap the benefits. I started two heaps last year and hope to get enough rich soil to use this season from the one first started. They both are doing very well, although, they would make soil quicker if I turned them more often. This I plan to do when the weather is more permitting.
Compost contains a variety of the basic nutrients that plants require for healthy growth. In addition to the main three; nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, of special importance are micronutrients such as manganese, copper, iron, and zinc. They’re only needed in small amounts, like vitamins in our diet, but play an important role in the plant's ability to extract nutrients from other foods. These micronutrients are usually missing from commercial fertilizers.
The ph level, the measure of acidity vs. alkalinity, of the soil also benefits with the addition of compost. Finished compost has a neutral ph, and organic matter also has a high capacity to fix various toxins in the soil. The breakdown of this organic material usually provides 25% of its nitrogen the first year, 10% the second and third year, and declines to 5% the fourth and fifth year. Cover the garden or bed area with screened compost to a depth of one to two inches.
Materials to create a compost heap:
On a soil patch, not asphalt or concrete, place a few woody plant stems or small twigs on the bottom first as this will improve the air circulation and drainage. Be sure that wood scraps are of the untreated kind. An old pallet could also prove useful as the bottom. Mix in some straw, and woody prunings to create air spaces.
Layer the materials thinly and uniformly when beginning the heap. Add materials later by either burying them into the center, or incorporate them when turning the pile...weed the garden, mow the lawn, empty the kitchen bucket!
1st layer - organic materials such as vegetable wastes, sod, grass clippings, leaves, hay, straw, chopped corncobs, corn stalks, untreated sawdust, thin twigs and garden debris. The bulky materials of organic nature do best in this ground level layer. These will create air spaces as the pile settles.
2nd layer - starters serve as activators that accelerate the initial heating within the pile. They provide a nitrogen source for the microbial community with some providing proteins and enzymes as well.
3rd layer - plain garden soil, avoiding soil that has recently been treated with insecticides and sterile potting soils which lack these necessary microbes; a 1 to 2 inch layer.
Within two weeks, a properly made compost pile will reach about 110 to 150 degrees in it's core. At this time you will notice your pile settling which is a good sign that the pile is working properly. Monitoring the temperature and turning whenever the pile cools to below 110°F keeps it active at the highest level, with the quickest breakdown. This means turning the pile more often, from the outside prameter to the center, such as once every seven to ten days. Turning a large compost heap can be strenuous work that requires a sturdy shovel and pitchfork. The compost pile can be turned in general, once every three to five weeks.
The organic material should feel slightly damp having only a drop or two expelled when squeezed tightly in the hand.
The compost should be ready to use three to four months later, for example, a pile started in April should be ready by mid-August to September of the same year. You can obtain a nice soil quicker by separating out a few smaller piles of a good mixture and allow them to decompose without adding any more material. Turning too often will disturb the activity of the microbes and interfere with the core's temperature. Leave the small piles to work in decomposing for about eight to twelve days before turning. How fast it will be ready depends on several variables such as the materials used and weather conditions.
The contents sinks as it decomposes, therefore, when you decide it's enough and you're needing the soil, stop adding to it leaving the heap to finish. Large heaps could take up to a year to complete. The lower layers can be applied to the garden if it's composted enough. Mix everything else together well being sure to water it whenever it gets too dry or to add dry material when too soggy. Compost is ready to use when it is dark, brown, and crumbly with an earthy odor. It should neither be moldy nor rotten. Crumbly compost will be sort of fluffy, doesn't need to be of a powdery form. When it appears about ready, allow it to set for two to three weeks and stabilize.
Compost heaps can be left to shut down through the winter then reactivated again in the spring.
sageymania
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