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Re: Compost question

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html



>
>Hi all,
>
>I'm sure this is a dumb question, but it's something that I've been
wondering
>about for a while...do you have more than one compost pile going at a
time??
>I have a pile that has some pretty good looking stuff in it, but if I keep
>adding stuff to it and mixing it all in when do I get to the point that I
can
>use it?  Should I start another and leave the first alone until I'm ready
to
>use it?  I told you it was dumb!!  :o)


Perfectly reasonable question, Juliana.

According to proponents of a 'batch' system of composting, you should at
some point stop making additions, let it sit for a couple of months, and go
ahead and use it.

If you like, you can sift the compost for a more re-fined material; email me
for instructions on making the Cantopper compost sifter, a riddle that sits
snugly on a trash can so you can shake, rattle and roll it to help the
sifting along....it is a dandy design!

Sifting will remove any large chunks of undecomposed organic matter (and
stones, little bits of plastic, that pair of needle nose pliers you lost two
years ago, etc....and an occasional june bug larvae....:-) Sifting to 1/2
inch is good, 1/4 inch even better....more likely to be well decomposed
material....and 1/8 inch is pretty fanatical, but worth it if you are
bagging up worm castings for sale....

The other method of composting is continuous flow. In this concept, you add
new materials at one end and get finished compost at the other, typically
the first end being 'on top' and the second 'out the bottom'.

In theory the black box composters work this way, with the little doors you
open for harvesting. Examples would include the Soil Saver, the Earth
Machine, and some others. In practice these work best when kept moist and
with worms added, but you still likely will need to sift, as it is hard to
avoid some dry spots where decomposition will be slowed.....

Other composters specifically designed for worms also use this flow through
design. See for example the Eliminators at www.happydranch.com  or the Earth
Factory at www.wormfarm.com ; the idea can be scaled up, for example, see
www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~compost, or even further up, see www.vermico.com  and
look at the large scale stuff.

If you need really well aged compost as for example, a component of a seed
starting mix, you should sift it out to 1/4 inch and let it age for about a
month. If weed seeds are a concern you can put the compost into flats, keep
it watered, and let them sprout, removing them by handpicking, cultivation,
or re-sifting as need be.

Otherwise, not so finished compost is still very useful as a mulch (or to be
more technically accurate, a topdressing), especially for plants like corn
and squash, or for your lawn.

The more you are planting fine seeds, the more you should be sure that your
compost is well aged and weed free.

Hope this helps,

Frank Teuton----who has six worm bins in the garage, and eight pallet
palaces out along the fence line, for a total composting capacity of more
than 800 cubic feet....am I ready for the 12 step program, er wot? :-)


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