Composting 101 is best taught in three parts. Part 1 – Composting Defined: Understanding the Basics; Part 2 – Getting Started: the Beginners’ Compost Bin; and Part 3 – Composting Wholisticly: Maintaining the Integrity of the Whole.
Part 1 – Composting Defined: Understanding the Basics.
Composting is an art of rebirth that anyone can witness on a daily and spiritual basis, through the direct transformation of manure to humus – death to life.
Composting is the basis of life. It’s easy to learn, takes very little time or attention, and is the most neglected topic in education. Unfortunately, due to misinformation, there are common misconceptions that composting is dirty, smelly, tiring, and hard. When properly understood, the art of composting is very easy.
So that we may communicate effectively, I’ll begin by defining a few key terms.
Compost: “A mixture of decaying organic matter, as from leaves and manure, used to improve soil structure and provide nutrients” (Source: The American Heritage Dictionary).
Composting: “The biological decomposition and stabilization of organic substrates, under conditions that allow development of thermophilic temperatures as a result of biologically produced heat, to produce a final product that is stable, free of pathogens and plant seeds, and can be beneficially applied to land” (Source: The Practical Handbook of Compost Engineering).
Composter: An individual who purposefully layers organic, biodegradable refuse for microorganism consumption. There are two types of composters:
- The Kitchen Composter: Composting all organic, biodegradable kitchen scraps; also known as the Beginner Composter.
- The Wholistic Composter: Composting all organic, biodegradable refuse for the Integrity of the Whole.
Methods of Composting:
- Batch Composting: Composting a large quantity of organic, biodegradable matter at once, in four sequential stages. Typically utilized on large, industrial farms where tractors are used in turning and hauling the organic matter. Batch Composting is used when composting is desired swiftly, due to time being a factor in creating a product for sale. Batch Composting is the most widely known and taught method of composting.
- Continuous Composting: Composting small amounts of organic, biodegradable matter on a continual basis, where the four stages of composting occur concurrently. This method is used for small scale, backyard composting by the individual or family, and requires no turning or hauling of large amounts of organic matter.
For the beginner, Kitchen Composting can be easily implemented into a daily routine, and is where we’ll begin. Where most beginners trip up, and what makes the art of composting a smelly, hard task; is by not knowing there are two methods of composting to choose from.
Have you ever been instructed to turn your compost heap? This confusion arises from instructing the individual – the backyard, small scale Kitchen Composter – to use Batch Composting, when Continuous Composting is more appropriate and desired.
To recognize why Continuous Composting is the desired method for the individual, it’s important to understand the Four Stages of Compost as defined by Joseph Jenkins in The Humanure Handbook.
- The Mesophilic Phase: When a pile of organic refuse begins to undergo the composting process, mesophiles – medium heat microorganisms (68-114ºF) – proliferate, raising the temperature of the composting mass to approximately 111ºF.
- The Thermophilic Phase: When thermophilic microorganisims are very active and produce a lot of heat (113-130ºF), killing all pathogens and seeds, while consuming and breaking down the composting mass. This heating takes place rather quickly, and may last only for a few days, weeks, or months. It tends to remain localized in the upper portion of a backyard compost bin where the fresh material is being added.
- The Cooling Phase begins after the thermophilic heating period has been completed, and when the readily available nutrients in the organic material have been digested. When the cooling phase takes place, the microorganisms that were chased away by the thermophiles – the mesophiles – migrate back into the compost and get to work digesting the more resistant and courser organic materials.
- The Curing Phase: The final stage is a critically important stage of the compost-making process. It’s when fungi and macroorganisms, such as earthworms and sowbugs, breakdown the coarser elements into humus. A long curing period, such as a year after the thermophilic stage, adds a safety net for pathogen destruction. Pathogens only have a limited period of viability in the soil, and the longer they are subjected to the microbiological competition of the compost pile, the more swiftly they are eradicated.
The key to creating the four stages, is layering the proper materials – the food for micro and macro-organisms – onto your compost pile. There are four necessities (ingredients) for good, backyard compost. They include: moisture, oxygen, temperature, and a balanced diet of carbon and nitrogen.
The Four Ingredients
- Moisture. Compost must be kept moist. Microorganisms require moisture to breakdown the materials, and cause the compost pile to become a living, breathing, biological mass that absorbs moisture like a sponge. For the Kitchen Composter, the needed moisture will be provided by food scraps, juices, and rain. If you live in a very dry area, you may need to water your compost weekly to maintain the consistency of a rung out sponge.
- Oxygen. Backyard composting requires aerobic, oxygen loving, bacteria to ensure thermophilic decomposition without producing any offensive odors. This is done by adding bulky materials to the compost pile to trap little pockets of air. Good covering materials include weeds, straw, hay, and leaves. Covering the fresh kitchen scraps with a clean layer of covering material is the secret to odor prevention and staying free of flies.
- Temperature. A minimum temperature is needed to compost. If a compost pile freezes, it will not work. However, an adequately sized compost bin can be added to throughout the winter; and in the spring, the microbes will thaw out and begin to eat again. You’ll notice when your compost pile “wakes up” by its sudden reduction in size.
- Balanced Diet. The compost microbes must have a balanced diet of carbon and nitrogen. The desired ratio is 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen (30:1), but can range from 20-35:1. Since most of the materials commonly added to a backyard compost bin are high in carbon, a source of nitrogen must be added. For the Kitchen Composter, the main nitrogen source is fresh grass clippings and food scraps.
Now that you have a basic understanding of what composting is, how it works, and the essentials necessary; it’s time to create your compost pile.