Composting Soil 101 with Kathleen deMacarty

One of my followers on Instagram asked me to make a post using kitchen scraps for the compost.

What is Composting soil? Is it easy to do?

Composting soil is a balanced fertilizer that is created by combining different types of natural materials such as kitchen scraps, leaves, grass clippings or anything green or brown.  This matter decomposes and it is the gardener’s best friend. Think of it as a form of recycling.

The basic rules of composting are:

• The area should be large enough for the temperature and bacteria to make it ideal for decomposition.

•  There are four basic methods:

• Composting in a pile - in a concentrated area (min 3 x 3 x 3) with cinderblocks, wire, palates or a wooden structure around the pile. I once had 3 compartments made the palates and I even had a gate.  This requires more work.  You must turn the pile and make sure that it has enough moisture & air.

• Commercially bought composters – the ones that roll either on a stand (my favorite and what I have now) or the ones that you roll on the ground or just a cube ( my least favorite).  These type of large cube are less efficient.  It is difficult to turn what you put into it and you have to wait till the materials turns to compost at the bottom.  
  

  

  • Trench method – dig a long trench in the soil and put the kitchen scraps, grass clippings, etc in the trench and then cover with soil.  These are usually placed near the planting row.  The trench method can also be a hole and plant your seedlings next to it.
    

  • The Tower Method – Take chicken wire and make a tube not more than 12 to18 inches in diameter.  Put your kitchen scraps, leaves and or grass clippings in the cadge and plant your seedlings around it.  As the material decomposes, it will feed the plants that are planted close to it.
    

Moisture for the Composting Soil

The compost pile should have moisture.  It is easier for contained composters because the pile is not exposed to the sun.

1. There should be green and brown material.  Green is high in Nitrogen and is grass, weeds, kitchen scraps and animal manures.  The Brown is high in Carbon and is leaves, saw dust, straw and newspapers.   That will save you a trip to the recycling depot!  In case you live in an area that does not have a lot of fallen leaves, don’t worry, it will still compost, but it may take longer.  Here is a link that will help you understand the Carbon-Nitrogen ratio.  C101CrbN

2. And the final rule is that you should not put any meat or meat, fat or bones into the compost pile.

3. People in the North have it easier because the leaves die off in the Fall and can be used in the composter or just pile the leaves and it can create what we call “leaf mold”. The Gulf states are at a disadvantage because they do not have as many deciduous trees to collect for leaf mold.
   

   

   When you have kitchen scraps, they should be cut up into small pieces.  This increases the cubic inches of the piece that is exposed to the bacteria that will break down the vegetables faster and make this golden concoction.  

   What is also nice about composting is that you feel less guilty if you find that forgotten rotten vegetables in the fridge.  At least it has some use.  
   

   Besides cutting your kitchen scraps into smaller pieces, you can also put them in a powerful blender with water and make a slurry.  This can be poured into the hole just before planting your seedlings or around the stem. This also works well for egg shells.
   

   

   Coffee Grounds for your Organic Soil Compost

   Another thing that I like to do is to recycle my coffee grounds.  I use Keurig and Nespresso pods.  I remove the coffee from the pods and put the pods into the recycle bin then I put the coffee in a bowl.  You can also use brewed tea leaves or tea bags minus the staple and the tab.  I also put ground up eggshells  (cook 1 min in the microwave).  This makes the shells more brittle and are easier to pulverize. I do this on a weekly basis.
   

4. Eggshells don’t decompose easily in the compost bin.  I recently removed compost from my bin and there were a lot of large pieces of eggshells.  This is before I started to ground up the eggshells in a mortar and pestle.  
   

   

   
   

   

   Need more help? Buy my Organic Gardening Tips book from Amazon, today!