When it comes to creating the perfect compost pile that heats up quickly and turns all of your garden and kitchen scraps into amazing compost in short order – 5 simple secrets can make all the difference!
If there is one thing that many gardeners struggle with – it’s getting their compost pile to actually heat up and create compost in months instead of years. While it’s true that all compost piles will eventually break down into usable compost, getting your pile to heat up and break down quickly has a long list of benefits.
Compost piles that heat up fast not only break down quicker, the heat also helps to kill of weed seeds and harmful bacteria. Even better, when a pile heats up and decomposes correctly, it also eliminates odors coming from the pile too!
But here’s the good news, making and maintaining a great compost pile doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. Nor does it have to involve knowing all kinds of crazy formulas for nutrient levels. In fact, all it really takes is putting the following 5 tips into practice!
5 Simple Secrets To Creating The Perfect Compost Pile
1) Always Start With Small Ingredients!
One of the biggest and most underrated keys to a fast-working compost pile is to chop up your ingredients before tossing them in.
As a rule, the smaller the item going in, the quicker it decomposes. The more finely a material is cut up, the more surface area it has exposed to break down. And as the surface area comes into contact with bacteria and organisms at a higher rate, it breaks down more quickly.
If you put large limbs, branches or plant material into your pile – it will indeed take many months or even years to break down. Instead, always make sure you are chopping and shredding everything going in as much as possible!
But don’t think you need to run out and purchase a fancy shredder. If you have one, by all means, use it. But you can also use your push or riding mower to easily shred ingredients if needed. And as you are saving those kitchen scraps, just be sure to give them a few more chops before tossing them into the pile.
2) The Size Of Your Pile Matters – 5 Simple Secrets To Creating The Perfect Compost Pile
Another big mistake to avoid when creating your pile is to create one that is too small to work efficiently, or too big to manage.
If a pile is too small, the materials never “heat up” enough to decompose quickly. But if it gets too big, it can become difficult to turn and mix. And as you will see later in the article, turning and mixing can be a big part of creating a successful pile.
So what is the best size? For best results, a pile or compost bin between 3′ x 3′ x 3′high, to 5′ x 5′ x 3′ high works best. It allows for a pile big enough to have thermal heat, but not so big that it’s hard to turn. The 3′ x 3′ formula has worked really well for us in our home bins, allowing for plenty of heat, but easy for both of us to turn with ease.
There are some good options available for purchase, but you create a great looking compost bin or bins right at home with ordinary lumber. We created our single and double bins above from 2x construction lumber. Not only have they lasted for years, they actually look quite attractive too. See : Our DIY Compost Bin Plans
#3 Getting The Right Mix Of Materials – 5 Simple Secrets To Creating The Perfect Compost Pile
To get the most from a compost pile, it takes a proper balance of Brown (Carbon) and Green (Nitrogen) materials. It can all sound intimidating, but it’s actually quite simple.
Brown materials consist of leaves, straw, wood shavings, dead grass, small twigs, etc. Greens on the other hand are materials like vegetable peels, coffee grounds, green grass, and plant clippings. Greens can also be animal by-products such as chicken and rabbit manures. In fact, they are one “hot fuel” that gets a pile really cooking!
So what is the perfect ratio of browns to greens for a great compost pile? A good rule of thumb is for every 3 to 4 parts of brown material, add in 1 part green. For instance, if you add in 4 buckets of shredded leaves, then a bucket of vegetable peels or fresh green grass needs to go in at some point to balance it out.
And don’t fret about being exact or putting materials in at the same time. Add materials as you get them. Just try to stay as close to the ratios as you can over time to make the pile work at maximum efficiency.
Listen In To Our Podcast Below On Making Great Compost!
4) Give Your Pile Oxygen – 5 Simple Secrets To Creating The Perfect Compost Pile
Just as chopping your ingredients up will speed up decomposition, so will turning your pile often. Like all living creatures, the organisms that help to break down a compost pile need oxygen.
Turning your pile frequently (with a spade or pitchfork) helps to add oxygen to the center core where it is needed most. A compost pile’s hottest area will always be the center. And because of that, it burns through oxygen quickly.
But by turning and mixing your pile at least once or twice a week, you resupply oxygen to the core. In addition, the brown and green materials become mixed more thoroughly as well, helping to speed decomposition even faster.
Turning a pile at least a few times a week will speed up the decomposition process greatly. But ideally, if you can turn your pile once a day, you will achieve maximum efficiency. It is just one more reason keeping your pile close to where you work (or near the garden) is always a great idea. The old saying out of sight out of mind certainly applies to compost piles!
5) Watering Your Pile – 5 Simple Secrets To Creating The Perfect Compost Pile
In addition to oxygen, compost needs water to keep it cooking as well. And that is why having moisture present in your pile is a must. The moisture and oxygen work together to create the hot temperatures needed to break it all down quickly.
Keep your pile moist by adding water if it begins to dry out. A good compost pile should feel like a well wrung, slightly damp sponge. If you live in areas with extreme heat or a lot of rain, covering your pile might be a good idea.
It not only helps keeps moisture and heat in, but can keep soaking rains from deluging it. As much as a dry pile can slow decomposition, a water-logged pile can stop it in it’s tracks too. You can cover with a tarp or roof, or make a swinging lid if needed.
Finally, it is also extremely important to know what not to put in your pile. Meat is a big no-no. It attracts rats, mice, raccoons and other unwanted animals. Even worse, it can lead to foul smelling piles that are anything but pleasing.
In addition, always refrain from using dog or cat manure as it can contaminate your pile, as well as the plants and vegetables you use the compost on. Here is to creating and making the perfect compost pile in your backyard this year! Happy Gardening – Jim & Mary.
Old World Garden Farms
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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