TENHUNEN@finujo.bitnet (03/09/89)
bioconversion/composting #14, from ejtenhu, 5825 chars, Wed Mar 1 06:09:56 1989 -------------------------- **COPIED FROM: ========================== ocf/recycling #73, from robwith, 5644 chars, Tue Feb 21 09:49:53 1989 There is/are comment(s) on this message. -------------------------- Composting is an easy way to recycle house and garden vegetable waste to produce a useful additive that will improve the texture and fertility of most soils. If you follow some basic guidelines, there is no smell. Composting can be done in a heap, a home-made box or a commercially manufactured composter. A heap is the least desirable as it is difficult to construct neatly and must be turned regularly to ensure that the outside decomposes. Home-made containers are cheap and do a good job. Commercial composters are more expensive, but are efficient and good for using in situations where space may be limited such as apartment balconies. Your compost pile should be situated in a convenient, well-drained location protected from the coldest winds. You can aid drainage by digging up the site or by placing flat stones or patio slabs with spaces left between the slabs or stones for drainage. A container of about a cubic metre will be large enough for the average city family. The ideal dimensions are approx. 1 m by 1 m by 1 m. If you have a larger lot and garden intensively, you may wish to have a larger size. The container can take many forms and should be built from whatever is readily available. If solid material is used, approx. 3 cm dia. holes should be drilled about 15-20 cm apart. Cracks between logs or rough boards should provide enough air. The front of the container should be constructed in sections or hinged so that it can be opened or removed for ease of access. A sliding board will allow you to remove the decomposed material from the bottom of the pile. A single box is normally sufficient although a double box will allow you to use each side in turn. Serious composters are now using three containers, one for new materials, one in the process of composting and one containing the ready- to-use end product. Almost any plant material can be composted although it is recommended that diseased plants and weeds in seed are best disposed of in the garbage. Most kitchen wastes are easy to compost (including leaves, peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds and eggshells) but don't add meat and dairy products as they will attract unwanted visitors to your heap. You can also put in hair, vacuum cleaner contents, pet litter and floor sweepings. Garden refuse such as grass clippings (except the first two mowings after using a weed killer), weeds, spent flower heads and general garden refuse can be added. Place the material in the container in even layers. Do not make layers more than 5 cm thick of any material that packs down (ie - grass clippings) without putting more open material in to aid air circulation. Every 15-20 cm, sprinkle a little soil over the surface. This is akin to adding yeast to grape juice - it provides the microorganisms necessary for decomposition. If you have very poor soil, or wish to speed up the process, add a commercial compost accelerator. Continue to build the pile in layers taking care to spread the material evenly rather than mounding it in the centre. Water well during dry periods and about every 4 weeks during the growing season sprinkle on a couple of handfuls of high-nitrogen fertilizer such as lawn fertilizer (not a weed and feed formulation) or manure if available (in this case a couple of shovelfuls). This hastens the process by providing readily available nitrogen to the microorganisms. The compost is ready to use when you find a dark-brown to black material under the surface that looks like soil. In a commercial or home-made composter with sliding panels you can remove the ready-to-use compost from the base by raising the vertical panels. In other systems, lift off the top layer to use in starting the next pile and remove the composted material. It can be spread and incorporated into garden areas, used as a light topdressing on lawn areas or as a basis for a potting mix for container-grown plants. Leaves are often treated separately when composting because they are available all at once and can constitute a fair volume of material. The ideal container for composting leaves is a wood frame with wire netting. Pile the leaves inside and pack them down well. Every now and then add a few shovelfuls of soil to speed up decomposition. Cover the leaves with wire netting during the winter to prevent them from blowing away. In the spring when the snow has melted and the leaves are moist, sprinkle a couple of handfuls of a high-nitrogen fertilizer or shovelfuls of manure, and add a few shovelfuls of soil. Cover it with a sheet of thick polyethylene and weigh it down. Check the heap during the summer and water if required. The leaves should be broken down enough to add to the garden in the fall. If there is a high proportion of oak or chestnut leaves, it may take up to two years to decompose. All serious composters either own, or dream of owning, a shredder. With a shredder you can mince all of your wastes into fine particles that will break down rapidly. It can also be used to make your own mulch from pruning debris. They can be rented from most machinery rental locations. If you have a lot of composters or would-be composters in your neighborhood, perhaps it would be more economical to consider purchasing a shredder for community use. Enjoy your compost! (portions of this material extracted from the out-of-print Agriculture Canada Publication 1681 "Composting" by Trevor J. Cole) ========================== bioconversion/composting #16, from ejtenhu, 277 chars, Wed Mar 1 06:11:28 1989 -------------------------- **COPIED FROM: ========================== ocf/recycling #80, from robwith, 105 chars, Tue Feb 21 16:29:42 1989 This is a comment to message 79. -------------------------- the microbial action can be extended into the fall by heavily mulching your pile while it is still warm. ========================== bioconversion/composting #18, from ejtenhu, 439 chars, Wed Mar 1 06:16:07 1989 -------------------------- **COPIED FROM: ========================== ocf/recycling #86, from rauger, 227 chars, Thu Feb 23 12:22:15 1989 This is a comment to message 85. There is/are comment(s) on this message. -------------------------- Beware of composting grass clippings in June when the grass is in seed. I did this one year, put the resulting compost on the garden, and the garden developed a beautiful crop of grass. It took almost 2 years to get rid of it. ========================== bioconversion/composting #19, from ejtenhu, 427 chars, Wed Mar 1 06:16:52 1989 -------------------------- **COPIED FROM: ========================== ocf/recycling #87, from pjf, 173 chars, Fri Feb 24 12:06:08 1989 This is a comment to message 86. There is/are comment(s) on this message. There are additional comments to message 86. -------------------------- If you can get the temperature up high enough in the compost, you can put in weed and grass seeds with no problem. (IFF you can get your compost going that well - I can't) ========================== bioconversion/composting #23, from ejtenhu, 345 chars, Wed Mar 1 06:18:59 1989 -------------------------- **COPIED FROM: ========================== ocf/recycling #92, from ejtenhu, 173 chars, Wed Mar 1 06:15:47 1989 This is a comment to message 86. -------------------------- I am sure that your compost was too raw when you used it. If the compost gets heated enough, these problems are avoided. Juhani Tenhunen (University of Joensuu, FINLAND)