IN. OUR natural world, all organic material decomposes into humus over time. To become 21 expert composter it is essential to understand this natural process. By Roy Jonsson Contributing Writer Dead plants, the basic raw ma- terial for back-yard composting, contain the clement carbon, which is one of the main building blocks found in all living things. in addition to carbon,. plants also contain varying amounts of nitrogen. As a general rule, green plants contain more nitrogen and brown plants have more carbon, Mixing these two organic mate- rials in a carbon-nitrogen ratio of _ One to 20 will produce the best _ fate of decay in a compost box, The deray of organic material is caused bya whole host of dif- ferent creatures. The farger ones usually begin the process by breaking the mate- rial down into smeiler particles. This allows the smaller ones a greater surface area to work on, gracually reducing the organic material into carbon dioxide, water and plant nutrients. Earthworms eat. their way through organic material, grinding ithe food in their tiny gizrards and expelling the waste as worm - castings or manure. This is why it is important to regularly add a small amount of coil to. the compost. ie ~- “St ane You domt wa. Your, helpers becoming constipated and taning time off to go in search of grit. ’. One shovelful of soil for every “four to six inches of loose fill is pleaty. If you add more, you - might ‘smother the pile and stop the exchange of gasses. Bacteria do the bulk of the” “. work in'a compost pile, but not all types of bacteria are desirable. -The aerobic: or beneficial ones “. need oxygen, water and heat to function properly, as well as a ' steady supply of nitrogen to help’ ‘them’ break down the complex WONDERTREE SCHOOL students (including Meghan Carter, left, and Jessamyn Forrest) have initi- ated their own program of coliecting and composting waste from Edgemont Village businesses. For details see page 17. plant molecules. Keeping the pile aerated allows the bacteria to breathe. Using a sharpened broom han- dle or stick to punch about nine vertical holes in each square yard of compost should eliminate the need for laborious turning, pro- viding the side wails of the com- post box are also vented. Once the bacteria start their work they generate their own heat, setting up a natural pasturizing process if the temperature exceeds ecog7 Jee. . tennen if the pile Ponty appr... or mass is large enough to genes: ate sufficient bacterial heat. A cubic yard (3’X 3’'X 3°) is the op- timum size for aerating and heating. : Solar heat is helpful but not essential. Adding water to the pile during periods of rapid heating or in the summer may be necessary. Too much water from heavy winter. rainfalls will cool. the pile, drive out essential air, leach out _valuabie nutrients and drown the bacteria. A waterproof cover is best used from November to March. Keeping a warm, semi-moist compost pile during the coldest part of the winter can make the pile very attractive to rodents, who appreciate the built-in central heating. Using a wire-covered or rodent-proof box is the easiest solution to the problem. {f you suspect there are rats in your compost box, watch for en- trance holes at the back and set up a simple trap if necessary. ~ waste is Kitchen woo” source of nitrogen- sien and will add 150 to 260 gallons of material per year. Most cooked foods are softer than raw vegetables and therefore disintegrate much more quickly, leaving fittle to attract rats. Large cabbage cores, whole Oranges, onions, etc. should be chopped te speed their breakdown. maieyiat (YEAR OLD) Join us for coffee & cookies all day Saturday — See our expanded line of birdfeeders and nature gifts - Save on in-store specials - Enter the draws — Allow us to say thank you for making it all happen. iFREE BIRDFEEDER: dohn & Wendy FREE Just for dropping in a valuable . Friday, November 5, 1993 ~ North Shore News - NEWS photo ike Wakefield Eegshells are beneficial but make the garden icok like it has been covered with confetti. Both tea bags and coffee filters break down rapidly. The only kitchen wastes to avoid in your compost box are Meat, fat, grease, oil, bones, and other animal products. Compost bacteria cannot break these materials down under nor- mal conditions. , Pet feces also fall into this cate- gory because the food they eat is 43 combined with hair. All garden waste can be used with the exception of infected plants, pernicious weeds, ripe seeds, woody stems, branches, large volumes of lawn moss and some hard leaves such as oak, laurel and rhododendron. Head leaves and other coarse material like fern fronds can be mulched with a power mower and then added to the pile. One trick to successful com- posting is creating as many layers of material as possible. Never put in more than four to six inches of any one material, even if it means stockpiling mate- rial for a week or more. I stockpile many of my fall leaves to add to the kitchen wastes in the compost box over the winter. A trouble-free compost box To avoid difficulties with your compost, here are a few simple tules to follow. . If the pile smells, there is too little air, so poke some holes in the pile. If the pile dries out, it could be too much air or the pile is very hot, so add water. If the pile is too wet, the hacteria will drown, so cover the pile. if the pile is slow to decay or reduce in volume, it could be any of the above or the bacteria aré being starved for lack of nitrogen, so add a few. tiancfuls of high- nitrogen fertilizer to speed things up. Roy Jonsson is a horticultural consultant and gardening instruc- tor on the North Shore. 1 1 ! (VALUE $4.95) 1 Hourly draws | ! 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