Compost | Healing | Health | Food | Garden | Compost | The Greener Seed

Why Compost

TheGreenerSeed — Wed, 06 May 2020 17:45:45 +0000

Compost is decomposed organic material. Compost is made with materials such as leaves, shredded twigs, plant cuttings and kitchen scraps from produce. Using compost mimics what happens in nature. When plants die, they decompose and nutrients become accessible to support new growth.

Compost is a great material for garden soil. Compost has many benefits in the garden over chemical fertilizers. Not only does it maintain soil quality and fertility, it renders chemical fertilizer unnecessary. Using compost allows slow natural release of valuable nutrients, thereby preventing plant burn that you may experience with chemical fertilizers. In addition, composting is more cost effective. Other than a little water, the organic materials you provide are items you have simply redirected from the landfill into your garden amendment.

Plants grow faster, healther, and are more fruitful when compost is used. The fast rate of growth often outpaces the damage a pest can do to the plant. In my experience, when we grew tomatoes with and without compost, the hornworm completely devastated the plant without compost, but because the compost-fed tomato plant had grown so quickly, we had time to find the little pests before they were able to wipe it out. The tomato plant was able to recover pretty quickly and fed our family for a season. I’ve also read some studies that have suggested that healthy plants seem to attract less pests than struggling plants. Compost helps provide organic matter and nutrients that improve plant quality and growth. I would venture to say, when a plant is grown with compost, that even the parts of the plant you eat are healthier for you.

In the bigger picture, when you compost, you help the earth. Compost is nutrient-rich soil and it introduces valuable microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, protozoa) to your soil. You want your soil to be “alive” to support your plants optimally. Your kitchen and yard waste recycles back into the earth instead of sitting in a landfill with metals, plastics, and other harmful chemicals that leaches harmful methane into our environment. The landfills are not a sustainable solution for waste. One day they will fill up, and they will have to look for another place in nature to hollow out, cement up, and dispose of unwanted waste. Composting recycles and gives back to our planet; this solution is 100% sustainable.

Soil

TheGreenerSeed — Wed, 06 May 2020 17:42:04 +0000

Soil and compost is key to growing healthy plants. Soil is the top layer of the land that supports plant growth. Most soils are composed of a combination of different proportions of sand, silt, and clay.

In general, plants thrive best in rich, sandy loam. Of course, there are specific needs for some plants. For example, some may require a greater percentage of sand for effective drainage. Generally, I have found that if I consider where the plant grows natively, and mimic their natural environment as much as possible, the plant will do well.

The best thing you can do for any soil is amend it with compost. Compost consists of broken down plant matter and provides the nutrients for the next cycle of life.

I am a big fan of Dr Earth products. If you are unsure of your soil, you can opt to purchase a bag of Dr Earth all-purpose soil to get started. It also already contains worm compost.

Browns and Greens

TheGreenerSeed — Wed, 06 May 2020 17:39:56 +0000

The terms are generally descriptive. Browns are brown plant material, and greens are green plant material. Some examples include the following:

Greens:

Kitchen scraps (watermelon rinds, carrot ends and peels, banana peels, rotten avocados, cucumbers, lettuce ends, apple peels and core, artichoke petals and stems, mango skins, avocado skins, strawberry tops and leaves, celery ends)
Coffee grounds
Tea leaves
Rice, raw and cooked (can attract pests)
Bread, stale or moldy (can attract pests)
Grass clippings
Fresh pine needles
Fresh plant cuttings
Fresh leaves
Horse, chicken, rabbit, cow manure (without medications)

Browns:

Brush
Twigs
Hay
Straw
Pine needles
Dried grass clippings
Dried pine needles
Dried plant cuttings
Dried leaves
Cardboard
Non-glossy shredded paper
Paper tea bags
Paper grocery bags
Paper towels

Note that while any of the above items are compostable, if you add pesticide-contaminated items to the compost, it may not only kill needed microorganisms, it will end up in the food you grow using that compost.

Methods of Composting

TheGreenerSeed — Wed, 06 May 2020 17:37:36 +0000

Composting falls into 3 main categories: hot, cold, and worm (not warm). The most important factors for any type of composting are air, water and a mix of green and brown material. However each method of composting carries different benefits and requirements. I’ve highlighted the key components to each type and then discuss each method in more detail.

HOT

Results in finished compost in as short as 1 month
Kills undesirable seeds in pile
Requires specific size and space (3-4 feet cubic square)
Pile starts with layering
Keep aeration and moisture at consistent and proper level
Odor may be an issue if not maintained properly (too wet)
Turn the compost 3-4 days
Takes the most amount of care and maintenance

A hot compost pile requires a three to four foot cube to build heat and function. The pile is built outdoors layering a half a foot of larger brown items (for aeration), then alternating smaller browns, soil, and greens until the pile is three to four feet high. The ideal ratio of browns to green is about 30 to 1.

Aerate the pile well. Water the pile. The moisture level should be kept like that of a wrung-out sponge. Add browns to soak up excess water. A drenched pile can create an unpleasant odor. In that vein, covering a compost pile could trap too much moisture and cause anaerobic conditions, and result in a smelly situation.

A hot compost pile can reach temperatures of 120-170 degrees Fahrenheit in just a few days. The heat in the center of the pile breaks down the materials and kills unwanted seeds. Once the pile starts cooling down, turning the pile will result in increasing the heat. The rule of thumb for turning a compost tumbler is every three to four days, and an outdoor pile every three to seven days. The time in which the pile needs turning depends on factors such as the size of the pile, the ratio of greens to browns, and the moisture level. If you optimize the conditions for the pile, you can compost your organic matter in about one month.

The compost pile can be stored in the sun or the shade, although using the sun to increase the temperature can help the bacteria and fungi process the materials faster. However, the sun will dry out the pile more quickly, and requires watering more frequently.

Undoubtedly, hot composting requires attention and care to maintain the right levels of moisture, aeration, size and temperature. However, if you put in the time, this is the fastest method of producing compost, and there is the added benefit of killing undesirable seeds and pest larva.

COLD

Takes 4-12 months but can be longer (faster in a tumbler)
Can be done in any pot or space available
Low effort
Can add to the pile as it’s composting
Keep aeration and moisture at consistent and proper level
Odor may be an issue if not maintained properly (too wet)
Undesirable seeds can sprout when compost is used

Cold composting requires much less effort than hot composting. In fact, it is also referred to as passive composting. Essentially you pile up your greens and browns as you accumulate them and allow them to sit until they break down. The pile should also be kept adequately aerated and moist like a wrung-out sponge. There are no size requirements for a cold compost pile; it can be large or small.

For our family of 4, this process takes about a year, sometimes longer. Our pile is located in a big planter on wheels. We only use it for materials that we cannot compost using worms, or to avoid overfeeding the worm bins. The pile does not heat up enough although we continually add to its volume. We eventually get finished compost although it is much slower in the making than hot composting or vermi-composting (using worms).

Please note there are a few factors that speed up cold composting. If you cold compost in a bin that spins, or a tumbler, the turning of the compost can speed up the decomposition process. If you compost without a bin, on the soil, composting may happen quicker if earthworms find their way into your pile. Adding some soil into your compost mixture may also help the process since the soil may contain worm eggs and bacteria to aid in the decomposition process.

WORM

Results in finished compost in as short as 1 month
Takes the least amount of care and maintenance
Variety of sizes, bins, indoors and outdoors
Odor not usually an issue (unless extremely overfed)
Keep aeration and moisture at consistent and proper level
Undesirable seeds can sprout when compost is used
Pineapple, citrus, and tomatoes cannot be added

Worm composting, as the name suggests, uses worms to eat food scraps and other organic material and then excrete them into worm compost, aka vermicompost. In passing through the worm’s body, the organic material is digested and finally exits the worm’s tail end as nutritious amendments for your garden or any plants.

Captive worms live in an aerated moist environment in brown bedding and are usually fed green kitchen scraps in a percentage that does not exceed the browns in the bin. Therefore if you add greens, you add the same amount of browns. The pile should remain odorless as long as you err on the side of underfeeding. Worms can eat half their body weight in 24 hours.

Red wigglers are the most tolerant in captivity and commonly used for worm bins of various sizes around or inside the home. Earthworms do not survive well in captivity. There are ways to use earthworms to compost but it must be done by moving the bin outside and underground so that the earthworm has the freedom to move in and out of the bin.

The compost bin contents should be moist like a wrung-out sponge. If the contents are too dry, the worms can die; and if too wet, the worms can drown. When adding bedding, it is best to shred the browns. For example, we shred cardboard delivery boxes after removing all plastic and glossy stickers. Shredding increases the surface area for the microbes and worms to work on and provides a more even distribution of air and moisture among the materials.
The worm bin is easy to set up and simple to use. As long as you continually add to its content, the worms have moisture and food. The environment stays properly moist with regular addition of kitchen scraps (with the exception of acidic foods like pineapple, citrus and tomatoes) and pre-soaked cardboard.

What to Compost

TheGreenerSeed — Wed, 06 May 2020 17:34:39 +0000

Vegetable peels, cores, and ends, fruit waste, paper tea bags, plant prunings and grass cuttings break down quickly and provide important nitrogen as well as moisture. However, these items are usually composted with materials such as shredded cardboard boxes, paper and dried grass or leaves. When composting, you always want a combination of greens to brown. The ratio depends on the method of composting you choose.

In hot and cold composting, you can compost onions, however whole onions may regrow in your compost as they are rotting. It is advisable to cut up the onion into smaller pieces to avoid unwanted regrowth. We have found worms generally do not like to eat onions so they are slow to be processed; we keep it out of our worm bins.

Potatoes also have a tendency to regrow, however they can be composted. Potato peels work well in worm bins, but whole potatoes compost better using other methods.

Eggshells is a great addition to any type of compost. They add calcium to the final product, and ultimately helps plants build cell walls. They allow other nutrients to be absorbed more effectively into the plant. We gather our eggshells in a small container tucked into a corner of our sink. When the container is full, we blend the eggshells to make it easier for the worms to consume as well as for breakdown in hot or cold composting bins. Eggshells can also be added directly to your soil. We often encircle plants with eggshells to prevent slugs and snails from crossing over and eating the plants.

Tea and paper tea bags, along with coffee and paper coffee filters all provide nitrogen to the compost. They can be added into your compost, or directly dug in around plants.

Contrary to the color, coffee grounds are green compost material and will need to be balanced with the addition of brown compost material.

Stale and cooked rice, like stale bread or moldy bread, can be added to compost piles. Rice and bread are considered green compost materials since they are a source of nitrogen. We generally do not compost rice and bread because we do not want to risk attracting unwanted pests and rodents to our compost. Also, we do not usually have any leftover rice or bread to compost since we have a hungry preteen that devours everything in sight. If you choose to compost either carbohydrate, you may try to bury the rice or bread deep into the center of the compost pile. Tearing up the bread will also speed up the composting process.

What about shredded cardboard? The browns that we most commonly compost are shredded cardboard boxes, newsprint, or non-glossy paper junkmail with minimal color.

Colored and glossy paper may contain toxic heavy metals. We have even used newspapers and cardboard as weed barriers underneath raised beds or pots on the soil. If added to the compost, shredding the material is the key to more quickly processing these browns.

Paper towels may be composted if they were not previously used to wipe grease or chemicals. If paper towels contain water, dirt, or plant-based food, they can be added to your compost pile. They tend to decompose quickly in a compost bin.

Moldy food may be added to a compost pile, but for all methods, it would be best to add it to the center of the pile surrounded by browns. For hot composting, the center of the pile heats up more quickly so the moldy food will decompose more quickly. For worm composting, the center of the pile will prevent any possible odors and is the shortest distance for the worms to travel from all parts of the bin to consume it.

Worms don’t like citrus, tomatoes, pineapple or anything acidic. Fresh pineapple can damage the skin of the worms and kill them. But in traditional compost piles, orange, lemon, lime, yuzu, tomatoes and pineapples bring nutrients. Citrus peels bring phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. To speed up decomposition of these items, break them up into smaller pieces before adding to your compost.

Horse, rabbit, chicken and cow manure are great additions to your compost pile. They are considered green. Please make sure there are no deworming or other medications fed to the animals. They will pass through into your compost, and can kill the worms and microoganisms.

What should you not put in your compost pile?

Salt
Oil
Processed foods
Dog, cat, human excrements
Plastic tea/coffee filters
Meat or fish
Dairy
Glossy, colored, or coated paper
Sticky labels on produce
Coal ash
Treated wood or sawdust
Baking soda (Baking soda is one of the best fungicides there is. If you put it in your compost, you will essentially kill the pile.)

Vermicomposting

TheGreenerSeed — Wed, 06 May 2020 17:30:08 +0000

Vermicomposting is simply composting with worms. For our family, it takes minimal effort to maintain and results in compost very quickly. We use red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) to eat our kitchen scraps and shredded cardboard delivery boxes. They live in a few bins in the garage where it is shaded, and the temperature stays relatively consistent here in southern California. If you have temperature extremes, you may consider keeping your bin indoors under your kitchen sink perhaps.

We use 3 bins filled with probably 10,000 worms each. We cook and eat at home daily and add to the compost often. However, you can start with a small bin. When choosing an appropriate size container in which to compost with worms, consider the amount of food scraps you wish to compost. Additionally, the location in which you keep your bin may require specific dimensions. The containers do not need to be deep; about 12 inches is an easy height to feed and harvest finished compost. No matter what size you choose, the worms will yield pounds of rich compost, also known as worm castings. The worms compost the kitchen scraps quickly and their movement inside the bin helps to aerate the organic material. When they digest and decompose the food, the finished compost is enhanced with nutrients and enzymes from their digestive tracts.

The average time it takes to complete the vermicomposting process depends on the conditions of your bin. It needs to be aerated but moist like a wrung-out sponge. Red worms (Eisenia fetida) do best in temperatures between 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit, but can survive from 40-80 degrees F. The more worms you have, the quicker the materials are consumed, however the population of worms will not outgrow the container. Specifically, it takes 1 pound of worms 24 hours to compost a half pound of waste. To ensure the success of your bin, do not overfeed. The most common mistake is dumping more than the worms can process all at once, and thereby creating a situation where the organic materials sit, the bin becomes too acidic, and the worms slow down.

The best type of earthworms for vermicomposting in captivity are red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) and redworms (Lumbricus rubellus). These two species make great worms for the compost bin because they prefer a compost environment to plain soil, and they are very easy to keep. In nature, they thrive in decomposing organic matter such as old manure piles, leaf piles and compost heaps. They are smaller than earthworms you might see in your yard, and are reddish brown in color.

If you are more experienced, you may want to experience with African Nightcrawlers (Eudrilus Eugeniae) in your bin. They have a large appetite, and can eat up to 150% of their body weight in 24 hours! In other words, one pound of African Nightcrawlers can eat one and a half pounds of waste in a day if they are in the correct environment. They produce worm castings 2-3 times faster than red wigglers, however they are more finicky to temperature fluctuations, especially in captivity. If they are not comfortable, they will try to escape the bin. They cannot tolerate cold conditions (below 60 degrees) well since they are tropical worms, and will begin to die if they are too cold. Despite the challenges, these worms may be fun for the kids. They are a greyish purple color and can grow to almost a foot long!

How to Vermicompost

TheGreenerSeed — Wed, 06 May 2020 17:08:06 +0000

How do you start a worm compost bin?

If you are making your own bin, you may want to start on a small scale. A shallow container equivalent in volume to 3 shoe boxes may be a good size. Drill ventilation holes on the lid of the bin. Tape a piece of screen material underneath so that flies cannot go in to lay their eggs.

Once you have prepared your bin for aeration, fill the bin with bedding materials. Start with moist bedding material such as leaves, shredded cardboard or paper, coconut coir, straw, hay, untreated wood dust, etc. The bedding should be the consistency of a wrung out sponge.

Finally, add the worms with the bedding and compost from their original environment. This kick starts the development of beneficial microbes for the new bin. The worms will need time to adjust to their new home. The food may also be different than what they were eating in their previous environment.

Do not stir the worm bins once you’ve added the worms. Allow them to do their work undisturbed. They will also reproduce to fill the bin to capacity. Each cocoon will hatch 2-3 worms. Worms can double in population about every 60-90 days.

How much do you feed the worms in the bin?

While you will need to keep a steady supply of food for the worms, many beginners will give the worms too much food too fast. The food ends up rotting and fermenting, creating an unpleasant odor. As a rule of thumb, if you have purchased one pound of worms, you can feed them half a pound of food scraps per day. That being said, always check that the food is being consumed before adding more materials. The amount of browns in your bin should always be at least equal or more than the greens.

Where in the bin do you put the food?

Always bury the food. Add your greens and cover it with browns. Worms will come to the food but they do not appreciate light. They also like to stay deeper inside the bin where it is more wet. Burying food also prevents odors and fruit flies from finding it.

What do you feed your worms?

Believe it or not, worms have “favorite” foods. Squash, watermelon, and strawberries are consumed quickly. However, almost any organic scrap can be added. As in any compost pile, avoid meats and dairy, fats and oils, canned or processed food, and salt. Worms have a high sensitivity to salt; salt forces the water out of the worms and causes damage to their skin so they cannot breathe. Worms additionally do not do well with tomatoes, citrus (lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit), onions, garlic, spicy foods, and especially pineapples. Pineapples contain an enzyme that can kill the worms. If your produce contains too much pesticide, the worms may also die.

Since worms have no teeth, ground up eggshells and coffee provide a gritty substance that helps them grind down foods.

How do you harvest the compost?

One method to harvest your compost is to feed on one side of the bin until the food runs out on the other side. Most of your worms will migrate to the side with food. You can remove the compost, and then add food and browns to the empty side.

Can you vermicompost with earthworms from your garden?

If you choose not to compost with worms in captivity, there are always ways to compost with earthworms in the ground. The earthworms that live in your yard do not usually survive in captivity, but you can bring the bin to them. You may choose to drill holes in a bin that you bury underground in your bed or near your garden. The bin should have a lid (and perhaps a lock) so you can keep the scraps from rodents or other small animals. Add the foods, and cover with browns. The earthworms will find the organic pile and travel nearby to deposit the compost as they tunnel through the garden. Over time, there will also be a pile of compost at the bottom of your bin.

Additionally, when you attract earthworms to your garden, they provide several benefits for vegetable gardens. Worms aerate the soil, add nutrients through the castings, improve the soil’s capacity to hold moisture, and provide a breeding ground for good bacteria.