Need tips on composting

[MrFebtober]

Now that I'm brewing all-grain, I've started a compost pile in the yard (as far from all houses as possible). This may sound silly, but is there anything special I need to do to ensure stuff breaks down effectively? Right now I basically have a pile with a split-open garbage bag secured over it. Someone told me that covering the pile was important, and besides that I don't want to encourage deer into the yard (they are a big problem here, and I could actually be fined if it looked like I was intentionally feeding them).

Is there anything else I need to do? Should the pile be ventilated?

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

Ventalation is good, it will speed up the decompisition process. The quick and easy compost pile that I have used before was drive 3-4 t-posts and wrap chicken wire around it. THis will help keep critters out, but if you make the inside area small enough, your pile will start building up instead of spreading out, and the wire will allow for better ventalation.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Here is my cobbled solution;

The boxes measure 5 foot by 5 foot by 4 foot, thereabouts.

The keys to quick effective breakdown of material is aeration and moisture.

The pile needs air and moisture to attract, grow, and support all the microbes and insects it needs to help breakdown all that material. The heat generated by the pile is a good indicator of compost pile health. I forget what the optimum temp is but do rember that the internal temp should be in the 100's. Basically, if the pile gets hot then you have found that compost happy place.

My bins get everything from grass clippings, to twigs, to kitchen/house waste (coffee grinds, food waste [all plant], eggshells, fireplace wood ash), to my shredded postal waste. It helpos to layer as you build up the pile.

I keep a cat sand bucket near the back door. We use this to collect the waste from the house and once it's full it gets dumped into the started pile.

I have one pile that is in process in the one side and the other side I use to collect all the fresh/new material. Once a week I rotate the active pile to aerate and moisturize. I rotate the top of the pile from the first bin to the bottom of the second (using the pitch fork shown).

Using this method, I can get useable compost in as little as 4 months. However, I let my piles go for the entire year for use in the following fall/spring.

 

[vfinch]

I generally layer dry grass or leaves on top of my compost additions. You can also get compost additive at your local nursery, which can speed break down a bit (but you shouldn't need it if you have a good temperature like Gila says). You can even do worm composting which is fast and produces great results, though it's normally done on a smaller scale so I'm not sure how it would work with a backyard composter.

 

[zoebisch01]

It all depends on if you want it fast (which requires work and provides a less beneficial product) or if you want it slow (which takes a much longer time but produces a much better product). I am referring to 'hot' composting and 'cold' composting.

The key in both situations is to have the proper amount of moisture. It should be like a wrung out sponge, in terms of moisture content. That is pretty much where the similarities end.

In hot composting you need to build the pile pretty much all at once (as they say, but this is sort of misleading as you can 'hold' your ingredients until you are ready and then mix them) and you need roughly a cubic yard of material to generate critical mass for proper meso and thermophilic bacterial environments. The mixture should roughly be roughly 25:1 brown:green material, although this can vary greatly and still give you good results. You mix it up, making sure the water is right, cover with a tarp (to prevent leaching and water logging) and then turn it regularly (a few times in the first week, then periodically less after that) to provide aeration and regulate the temperature. You don't need a thermometer, but if you want to get really serious about it, one is not a bad idea. The finer the ingredients, the more surface area and as a result the more rapid break down of the material. Grass clipping composts mixed with shredded leaves can be finished in two weeks under proper conditions.

If you smell ammonia, the nitrogen is too high...turn the pile frequently. If it stinks, it may be too high in water....turn the pile and let it dry a bit. It should smell sweet and earthy, that is the best indicator. Hot composting can destroy weed seeds with prolonged high temperature, and can eliminate pathogens.

With Cold composting you let it sit, turning whenever you feel like it until the compost it broken down. Weed seeds, disease and pathogens are not mitigated in this approach.

Household pet waste, Meats, Fats/Oils and Salt should be avoided in the compost pile as they can contain pathogens, etc.

 

[Donasay]

get one of those compost tumblers, we have one at the community garden near me, and it works great.

 

[MrFebtober]

Thanks for the info. I'm not a big gardener (mostly just hops, currently), and am doing this as much for minimizing my landfill contribution as I am for getting free compost, so it's sounding like i'll be taking the cold-composting route for now (also I'm lazy and don't own a pitchfork ). I will, however, build a three sided structure around it from stakes and chicken wire to allow the pile to grow up instead of out yet keep it ventilated, as you all suggest.

I'll be composting kitchen waste and some lawn/garden waste too (hadn't even considered junk mail paper), but currently, the majority of the pile is spent grain. Does that mean I have more "brown" than "green" or am I misinterpretting what those terms relate to?

also, it's good to know it doesn't inherently have to be too stinky, as I have a small yard and no real way of hiding this pile.

 

[eriktlupus]

if your going to let it sit you need to layer the items ie, spent grains, grass clippings,spent grains, household veggies, raked leaves, grass clippings etc, again if you have pets don't mix waste from their areas into compost being used on human consumables (veggie garden) but they will break down fine in a hot pile for use in flower beds.