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Making Your Yard and Kitchen Waste Into Plant Food

Compost Happens

It's easy to cook up your own compost. Just layer grass clippings with a dash of leaves and twigs to create a concoction that turns into humus -- the best plant food. Feed your compost pile spent blossoms, twigs, and grass clippings.

There are two types of composting: cold and hot. Cold composting is as simple as piling up your yard waste or taking out the organic materials in your trash (such as fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds and egg shells) and then piling them in your yard. Over the course of a year or so, the material will decompose. If you would rather not generate a pile, accumulate a small amount and bury it in your garden. If the material is high in browns (see next paragraph), add a small handful of fertilizer.

Hot composting is for the more serious gardener, and you get compost in one to three months during warm weather. Four ingredients are required for fast-cooking hot compost: nitrogen, carbon, air, and water. Together, these items feed microorganisms, which speed up the process of decay. To create your own organic hot-compost heap, wait until you have enough material to make a pile at least 3 feet deep. Then, to ensure an even composition, create alternating 4- to 8-inch layers of green and brown materials. Green materials -- such as vegetable scraps, grass clippings, and plant trimmings -- create nitrogen. Brown materials -- such as leaves, shredded newspaper, and twigs -- create carbon.

Sprinkle water over the pile regularly so it has the consistency of a damp sponge. Don't add too much water or the microorganisms will become waterlogged and won't heat the pile properly. You can check the temperature of the pile with a thermometer or simply reach into the middle of the pile with your hand.

During the growing season, you should provide the pile with oxygen by turning it once a week with a pitchfork. The best time to turn the compost is when the center of the pile feels warm or the thermometer reads between 130 and 150 degrees. Stirring up the pile helps it cook faster and prevents material from becoming matted down and developing a bad odor. At this point, the layers have served their purpose of creating equal amounts of green and brown materials throughout the pile, so stir thoroughly.

When the compost no longer gives off heat and becomes dry, brown and crumbly, it's fully cooked and ready to feed to the garden.

There's one more method to reuse your wastes but it isn't strictly composting. It's called vermiculture and uses a huge army of redworms to turn your waste into rich soil food.

Build Your Own Compost Bin

Make a simple bin with fencing wire. A bin helps contain your compost pile and makes it more attractive. While you can buy a commercial plastic container from a garden center, it's easy to build your own. A simple circular or square structure can be made from fencing wire. The bin should be at least 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep to provide enough space for materials to heat up. Use untreated wood or metal fence posts for the corners and wrap wire fencing around them.

The fence mesh should be small enough that materials won't fall out. When the compost is ready, unwind the wire and scoop the compost from the bottom of the pile. Then re-pile the not-yet-decomposed materials and wrap the wire back around the heap.

Build a Compost Condominium

While one compost pile is good, many hard-core gardeners feel three is better. By building a trio of bins, you can compost in stages: one bin will be ready, one will be brewing, and one will just be starting. Installing a cover, such as a plastic tarp or a piece of wood, helps to cut odor, control moisture, and keep out critters.

What to Sow, What to Throw

The ingredients for compost can come from everyday waste in the kitchen and yard. But avoid items that can ruin your compost. Here are some suggestions:

The City of Fortuna is selling Earth Machine compost bins at the subsidized rate of $38 to Fortuna residents. Order them at City Hall, call 725-7600 for more information.