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How to Start a Compost Pile |
20 Comments |
| By Aaron Newton in Green Living | April 4, 2007 | ||
Here we are cruising into April which means many parts of the country are experiencing the first warm days of spring. Also arriving is the annual spring cleaning of yards across America as people deal with the remaining fallen leaves of last autumn and mow down their lawns for the first time this year.
Of course we here at Groovy Green advocate strongly for turning those Lawns into Gardens and if you must retain some turf try a manual reel mower. They’re cheap, use no fuel (other than that of your muscles), have no emissions, and are relatively easy to sharpen.
But if you or your neighbors do bag up all those leaves and grass clippings, consider this a prime time to start a compost pile. There’s a more in-depth article on why and how to compost here, but if you’re looking for a more simple explanation of how you can recycle your yard waste and create some great compost for your garden, here are some simple directions.
Step One: Gather leaves and grass clippings. You may have some from your own yard or you might notice neighbors hauling them out to the curb. I went a step further and found a pickup truck load of bagged leaves and grass clippings within a mile of my home last Sunday afternoon.
Step Two: Pile up your material, alternating between layers of leaves and layers of grass clippings. A good ratio of leaves to grass is about 25:1 so you’ll want to add more leaves. You’re hoping for a pile about 3′ X 3′ X 3′.
Step Three: Add water. This is best accomplished as you layer your pile. You want enough water to saturate your material but not so much that you pile is sopping wet. That will keep out oxygen, killing the beneficial bacteria ready to work for you.
Step Four: Wait. Your pile will heat up over the next few days. As it cools down (anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks) turn the pile, which just means mixing it up to add more oxygen. This isn’t absolutely necessary but it will speed up the process.
That’s it. The pile will take more time still to completely break down into compost. How long will vary depending on the makeup of your pile and whether or not you turn it again. Be sure to add water if regular rain doesn’t.
Feel good about keeping your yard waste out of the landfill and look forward to having compost to use in your summer and fall gardens.
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Blue Sky Mining » Blog Archive » TH Blog Love – Our Favourite Greens Of The Week said,
[...] Groovy Green: How To Start A Compost Pile by Aaron Newton “Here we are cruising into April which means many parts of the country are experiencing the first warm days of spring. Also arriving is the annual spring cleaning of yards across America as people deal with the remaining fallen leaves of last autumn and mow down their lawns for the first time this year.” [...]
Mike D said,
I have an outdoor fireplace that I use to keep warm on the deck sometimes.. is it ok to put wood ashes in compost? I doubt it’d have much in the way of nutriants so I’m geussing now but what should i do with it?
aaron said,
Wood ash has trace elements that are good for plants. A small amount added to a large compost pile is probably fine. The danger though is that concentrated doses of wood ash can raise the pH beyond the happy point for most plants, especially acid loving plants like blueberries. Such doses can also contribute to the build up of salts in the soil- not a good thing. A better idea would be to spread the wood ash directly in a thin layer on the soil of your garden a month or so before you plant. This would ensure you get the trace elements returned to the soil without the possible negative side effects of a concentrated dose.
Also my friend the chemist says not to use ash around the time you use organic nitrogen fertilizers. The two mix and the nitrogen escapes as ammonia. I’m not a chemist, but applying wood ash in late winter and urea or another nitrogen fertilizer during the growing season is pretty easy to schedule.
Blue Sky Mining » TH Blog Love – Our Favourite Greens Of The Week said,
[...] Groovy Green: How To Start A Compost Pile by Aaron Newton “Here we are cruising into April which means many parts of the country are experiencing the first warm days of spring. Also arriving is the annual spring cleaning of yards across America as people deal with the remaining fallen leaves of last autumn and mow down their lawns for the first time this year.” [...]
Anna Hackman said,
Aaron-I am a compost flunkie. I have twice tried to be careful in not putting too much green in my compost. I have one of the bins from garden supply. I have old straw and leaves and food in mine. I try and lift it but it is hard. Organic gardening did a nice piece on what type of composter are you. Of course, I was not listed as the compost challenged person. See http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-3-79-896,00.html about the strangest things people found in their compost piles. Can I shoot you a pic and diagnois my compost ailments???
By the way, I just found a mouse in mine. Yuck. Is that a problem with mouse poop?? anna at http://www.green-talk.com
Anna Hackman said,
Oh, I forgot. Are any of you compost junkies? I eye everyone’s leaf during the summer looking for brown material. (Just make sure before you take -with permission–that they do not spray their trees.) anna
aaron said,
Hello Anna,
Sure, send over pictures and I’ll try to help as best I can.
Matt Mayer said,
Anna–
I trust you are new to this site or you would have heard about our leaf challenge from this past fall. Aaron and I are compost material hounds.
Check it out here.
http://groovygreen.com/groove/?p=1078
Were you asking for advice Anna? If so I’m not sure what kind of issue you have had that makes you a “flunkie”. I just pile the stuff up and leave it alone. Maybe turn it once or twice. Maybe. By the next spring it’s usually ready to go.
trying to garden said,
Are most kitchen scraps good for composting.I am trying to start a new pile right now and curious how much good it will do
Ernie Martin said,
My two brothers and I have built a large leaf vacuum unit mounted on a 14 foot long trailer with 8 foot high sides. When this is full it has one ton of leaves in it. We now have over
>>> 8 TONS
Georgianna said,
I think I remember Mom using coffee grounds and egg shells on her plants when we were growing up. Are those some of the things you can put into your compost pile? As you can tell, I am pretty new to this and I have heard some horror stories about some of the things people have put in their compost pile. Just wanted to get some idea of what is good or not…
aaron said,
a reasonable amount of coffee grounds will work just fine in your compost pile. egg shells are great. break them up. stay away from meat and dairy food waste and you probably can’t go wrong. this isn’t the stuff of Stephen King novels.
Dee said,
I have lots of leaves, but no grass clippings. Is there something else that I can use instead of grass? This will be my first foray into starting a compost pile and want to try to get it right the first time…..
)
Tasha said,
Hello! Ok my problemo is I have no leaves or dry stuff. I have a lot of grass clippings , should I let them dry befor I pile them? I have heard to much grass is bad. Is this true? Thanks any advise is welcome I am brand new at this.
aaron said,
sasha,
for every 1 unit of nitrogen-rich material (like grass clippings) you want 25 to 30 units of carbon rich material (like fallen leaves). too much grass will usually mean too little oxygen and your pile will small bad. try to spread out the grass clippings. challenge yourself to find a good source of leaves.
doggiefun said,
Hey I was wondering I have two dogs and they poop quite a bit can i use some of that in my compost pile or is that a a bad idea.
elaine said,
Are ash leaves good for garden compost?
Thank You,
nichole said,
could i put fruit and vegi peels coffee grinds, eggshells and stuff like that in the compost pile?
mary said,
i am planning on composting this year and i wanted to know if i have to have one of those compost bins that you can turn or can i just make a pile in a offset area of my yard. also does it have to be in the sun or shade or does it matter. one last thing-i have a lot of pots left from last year with potting soil and old plants in them-can i dump that into the pile as well? thanks much.
Michael said,
Hey Mary, You can use one of the purchased bins if you have limited space or find it easier than turning a pile of compost on the ground. If you have the space and energy I would do a pile in the offset area. Sun or shade-I make my site in the far corner of my yard near the shed. Composting correctly generates it’s own heat and never had a problem with shade, although keep it moist.I have three piles- one leaves and dead plants-I’d toss in those dead plants and potting soil too, one working at least 3×3x3 (One or more) pile and one finished pile. I also have a spot for top soil that I add to the middle pile when I add more leaves, along with some of the third, finished pile to speed things up. Generally bag my lawn clippings as opposed to my normal mulching once a month for green (nitrogen) matter. Also put all our veggie scraps, a sprinkle of soot from the fire, and my wife’s coffee grinds and my tea bags into the first pile. Generally I compost EVERYTHING I can. You can’t go wrong and Mother Nature has the ability, in time, of reclaiming everything we can throw at her. Good Luck!!