Building Your Own Garden Compost Pile

Essential Ingredients:

Carbon-rich "Brown" material:

These include the fall leaves in your yard...your neighbor will probably be more than happy to give you his as well. Dead flowers and straw. Shredded newspaper is also an excellent souce of brown material for your compost pile. Save them and shred them periodically, keeping them in bags until you need them.

Nitrogen-rich "Green" material:

All the clippings from both your flower and vegetable gardens, shrubs, trees. You should leave the grass clippings on your lawn as they will decompose and save you the space and time of composting them seperately.

All plant based kithen waste, be sure to separate out any meat or animal by-products...the only exception to this are egg shells, which are an excellent source of calcium. Crush them before adding to your compost pile. Farm animal waste (manure) can also be used, but not pet droppings as these have too much nitric acid and can burn your plants.

You will also need some garden soil, either form your own garden or a few bags of inexpensive top-soil from your local garden supply.

Here's how we do it:

Start by spreading a layer of coarse, dry brown stuff, like straw or cornstalks or leaves that is several inches thick where you want to your pile to be (at least one meter or three feet by one meter or three feet). Do not build the pile in a space where it will get direct sun all day long.

This may dry out your pile too much, and you will have to use more water to keep it at the moisture content necessary for the microbes to do their work.

Add several inches of green material. Try to not overly compact the layers, you need plenty of air in your pile as the composting is an aerobic (with oxygen) process. There is an anerobic type of composting, but it is not recommended for home composting.

Add another layer of the brown material and then moisten all three layers, Do not oversoak the pile, you just want the water to moisten all of the ingredients you have added.

Continue this layering process until the pile is one meter, or three feet high.  Add the materials a three parts brown to one part green ratio. If you do not have enough material to make this large a pile, don't worry, just add ingredients as you get them...be sure to keep the same ratio of ingredients.

After your pile has been 'cooking' for a couple of weeks use a garden fork or shovel to turn the pile over. Rotate the center of the pile to the edges and the edges to the center as you work the pile. Add enough water to keep the pile damp...be sure it is not soggy. If you see any steam coming from the pile when you turn it...congratulations...your microbe helpers are happy and doing their job.

Continue this turning process every couple of weeks and soon you will see earthworms throughout the pile...another good sign that your pile is working properly. Soon the center of the pile will begin to turn into a rich, black, sweet smelling soil.

When most of the pile has turned into this soil you can begin to spread it around your garden...your plants will love it! Use the matrial that has not completely composted in your next pile. It will give it a boost of microbes that are acclimated to your conditions.

You do not have to buy a compost bin, or other type of commercial composter, just make sure your pile is at least three feet by three feet and three feet high. It takes that much material to support enough microbes to generate the heat necessary for decomposition to happen.

Commercial composters do have an advantage of keeping your composting neat and tidy. Some products also are designed to make the turning much easier and also protect your compost from drenching rains. We offer links to suppliers of these products.

Composting is a very satisfying experience. It not only helps your flowers, vegetables, or anything you grow to be healthier and more productive, it also will give you the personal satisfaction that you are materially helping the planet we all live on. Happy gardening.