How to Grow More Vegetables : And Fruits, Nuts ... - Shroomery

ehydrate the dry material until it is added to the compost pile.
Each layer should be watered well as it is created. This 1 ⁄ 3 to 1 ⁄ 3
to 1 ⁄ 3 recipe will give you a carbon-nitrogen ratio in your built
compost pile of about 30 to 1, and will produce compost with a
significant amount of higher quality, short-term humified
carbon. The result will be a hotter (thermophilic: 113° to
149°F) pile with faster-releasing cured compost that generally
releases nutrients over a 3-month to 2-year period. A lot of the
carbon in this type of compost pile is lost, however, and the
resulting cured compost only contains about 1 ⁄ 3 to 1 ⁄ 2 the cured
compost that a cooler (mesophilic: 50° to 113°F) 60-to-1
compost pile will produce. A 60-to-1 pile is built with approximately
2 parts dry vegetation to 1 ⁄ 2 part green vegetation
(including kitchen wastes) and 1 ⁄ 4 part soil. The result of this
pile will be a slower-releasing cured compost that generally
releases nutrients over a 3-month to 5,000-year period—
especially if the sources of dry matter contain a large amount of
lignin, such as corn and sorghum stalks. This can be a way to
build up your soil fertility on a long-term basis, but the more
readily available nutrients in the cured compost from a 30-to-1
pile will be important for the good growth of most vegetables.
We make separate compost piles of small tree branches, since
they can take 2 years to decompose.
The ground underneath the pile should be loosened to a
depth of 12 inches to provide good drainage. Next, lay down
roughage (brush, corn stalks, or other materials) 3 inches
thick, if available, for air circulation. The materials should optimally
be added to the pile in 1- to 2-inch layers with the dry
vegetation on the bottom, the green vegetation and kitchen
wastes second, and the soil third (in a 1 ⁄ 4- to 1 ⁄ 2-inch layer). You
can, however, build a pile spontaneously, adding materials daily
or so, as they become available. This kind of pile will usually
take a little longer to cure, but can be built more easily. Always
be sure to cover kitchen waste and fresh manures with soil to
avoid flies and odors!
Green vegetation is 95% more effective than dry vegetation
as a “starter” because its higher nitrogen content helps start
and maintain the fermentation process. Dry vegetation is high
in carbon content. It is difficult for the microbes in the compost
pile to digest carbon without sufficient amounts of nitrogen.
Unless you have a large household, it may be necessary to save
your kitchen scraps in a tight-lidded unbreakable container for
several days to get enough material for the kitchen waste layer.
You may want to hold your breath when you dump them
because the stronger-smelling anaerobic form of the decomposition
process has been taking place in the closed container.
The smell will disappear within a few hours after reintroducing
air. All kitchen scraps may be added except meats and sizable
amounts of oily salad scraps. Be sure to include bones, tea
leaves, coffee grounds, eggshells, and citrus rinds.
Note
We are finding that cold compost piles,
which are built with more carbon and
can take up to one year to fully cure,
may produce much more cured carbon
(humus) and compost per unit of
carbon added to the pile after the built
point. This could be essential to maintaining
sustainable soil fertility, since
sufficient humus is the essential factor
in making this fertility possible. You
may wish to experiment with this!
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