Compost Ingredients What To Put Inside A Compost Pile

I have mentioned in my earlier article about a basic idea on the term Composting. Now to dig a little deeper this article gives an idea about various ingredients of a Compost. There are main three factors of preparing a good compost pile viz. Air, Water and Food. While managing Air and water can be relatively easier, the main struggle people seems to feel with the food, i.e, what to provide in the compost pile. This blog focuses on that part of the compost.

Experts say you can literally put anything(which can be decomposed) into the compost pile. Though there is no right or wrong way of composting, it is better to know some basic points which will create a very high quality compost.  One of the such important point is to make a note on the Carbon Nitrogen ratio(C/N ratio) while you prepare the compost pile.

Depending on the amount of carbon and Nitrogen the ingredients of a compost can be classified into two categories Brown and Green.

Brown items includes dry leaves, straw or hey, eggshells, wood, pine needles, saw dust etc. These materials contains higher amount of carbon and lesser amount of Nitrogen. Green items includes kitchen scraps, grass clippings, fresh manure, vegetable peelings etc. Green materials contains a higher amount of Nitrogen than than brown materials.

The success of preparing a good compost depends on the proper ratio of green and brown materials. It heats up faster, decomposes quickly, does not smell and easy to maintain. Followings are some of the ingredients which you can use to prepare your compost:

Leaves:

These are one of the most commonly used composting ingredient. Be sure which type(dry or green) of leaves you are choosing. Dry leaves can add to your brown elements where as green leaves are more of a green element. Autumn leaves are very good source of carbon. For better compost make the leaves shredded. It will help to decompose faster. The C/N ratio of leaves can vary from 60-80:1.

Straw/Hay:

In case you are having a heavy clay type soil, adding straw or hay into the compost can be very helpful. Straw/Hay decomposes very slowly, so the particles can actually help in opening soil pores. These ingredients contain very low amount of nitrogen but the carbon content is very high.

Eggshells:

As we all know eggshells contain high deposits of calcium. Adding those into your pile can definitely add the nutrients to the compost. Just don’t forget to crush those shells before adding it to the compost and never add whole eggs to the compost only the shells.

Wood ash:

It is a very good source of calcium and potassium besides carbon. It is very alkaline in nature so you can use it to increase the pH of your soil.

Pine needles:

These are very high in carbon content but very slow to decompose. Add only few in the compost. You can use the rest of them into the preparing mulch.

Beside those brown ingredients newspapers can also be used as composting ingredient. Just avoid glossy and colorful papers as these contains chemical which will hamper your organic gardening benefits.

Kitchen Scraps/vegetable peelings:

It is the most preferred green ingredient. It can be found in abundance in every house. Fruits and vegetable peels and other wastes which can be found in the kitchen. Just avoid cooked ones. The oil used in cooking slows down the decomposition. It also attracts different pest such as rodents.

Grass Clippings:

It is a great source for nitrogen. While applying the clippings make sure to use it in very thin layers between the brown materials. A thick layer of clipping can prevent the air flow into the compost pile. It will result in excess nitrogen and smell of ammonia.

Manure:

You can add manure from cows, horse, chickens, bats(guano) etc. but don’t add human feces, or droppings from dogs, cats or pigs. These contains parasites which will result in diseases in your family. Fresh manure is a very good source of Nitrogen.

You can also add coffee grounds or seaweeds depending on the availability. The nitrogen content is higher in green ingredients compared to the brown ones. Nitrogen helps in forming amino acids and protein. So these are a vital food source for the microbes which decomposes the ingredients and make compost for you.

I hope the next time you go to prepare the compost for your garden you will definitely keep those points in mind which are discussed above. Share your thoughts and past experiences of composting with us.

Read more

Increase The Fertility Of your soil By Adding These Organic Ingredients

Creating a healthy and nutrient rich soil is a key to the success of your gardening Endeavor. Many of our gardening friends are complaining about the quality of their garden soil. Your soil may not be of very high quality or of ideal pH range but it is not very difficult to make an ideal gardening soil by adding some ingredients to the soil.

We have already discussed about soil conditioners like coconut coir which can increase the water retention capacity of the soil quite a fold. As an organic gardener we always want to promote different organic options rather than to adapt any quick fix chemical options. In this article we will discuss some organic elements which will increase the nutrient part of your soil. I have not mentioned any amount as it depends on the quality of your soil. It is best to test your existing soil before applying any of these ingredients.

Some of the elements which you can add to the soil are as follows.  

Lime:

Limes are generally added to the soil to increase the elements like Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur etc. These are basically three type of lime available in the market which you can add to the soil. They are Agricultural lime (this is actually Calcium carbonate), Gypsum (Calcium sulfate) and Dolomite (this is usually a mixture of Calcium carbonate and Magnesium carbonate). So depending on the condition of your soil you add the type best suits for your soil. Sometimes you use a particular type of lime whereas in many cases you need to mix the three. Apart from adding nutrients to the soil, adding lime can also control the acidity of the soil. Read Soil pH: A Basic Idea for more information.

Seed meal:

These are the byproducts of different oil seeds such as soybeans, sunflower, Mustard or cotton seed. Though these are primarily used to feed animals, you can use this as fertilizers. Depending on the part of the world you are living and the availability you can use any type of seed meal. This seed meal are very good source of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) for the plants. These are easy to store as they generally do not degenerate very easily if kept in airtight condition.

Bone meal:

Bone meals are used to increase the phosphate content of the soil. As per alternative to bone meal you can also use Phosphate rocks or bat guano, though the last two are relatively harder to find.

Kelp:

Using kelp can be a little expensive. But the best part of using kelp is that it provides the supply of trace elements, which are very hard to get from other elements. It also provides vitamins for plants and power of resistance from different stresses such as cold. Many people use different rock dust as a replacement of kelp, but it is best if you can afford kelp.

These ingredients along with compost from time to time will produce excellent results. Is there any other ingredient which you use? Share with us here.

Read more