Compost Recipes
Feed-as-You-Go Compost
This is the easiest recipe for yard trimmings by themselves or
for fruit, vegetable and yard trimmings together.
Ingredients:
Yard trimmings by themselves or for fruit, vegetable and yard
trimmings together (about half browns and half greens), water
as needed
Directions:
Feed yard trimmings to your bin as you generate
them by chopping them first into pieces six inches or smaller.
Food scraps and grass clippings need to be buried or mixed into
the center of the pile (never “dump and run” or else
you will have animals and flies attracted to the smells in your
bin). Be sure to mix enough browns to balance your greens.
Maintain compost by turning it or mixing it
each time you add material, or about once a week. As it gets full
you only need to turn or mix the top layers. Keep it moist as
a wrung out sponge.
Harvest the rich, brown, finished compost after
4-12 months. It can be found at the bottom and center of the pile.
Use the harvest door if your bin has one, or remove the top layers
of the pile to access the bottom layers. If you need a fine textured
compost, sift out coarse, unfinished materials and return these
to the pile.
Batch Compost
This is the best recipe for hot composting of yard trimmings
by themselves or for fruit, vegetable and yard trimmings together.
It works best if you have two compost bins so you can have one
for Batch Composting and another to add to while you are making
your batch compost.
Ingredients:
Yard trimmings by themselves or for fruit, vegetable and yard
trimmings together (about half browns and half greens), water
as needed
Directions:
Feed the bin by filling it with alternating two
or three inch layers of well-chopped browns and greens, watering
as you go (if necessary) so it is moist as a wrung out sponge.
Mix each layer as you go and fill the whole bin all at once. If
the volume of material reduces greatly in the first week, add
more material by repeating the layering process to fill the bin.
Maintain compost by turning it or mixing it
about once a week. Keep it moist as a wrung out sponge. If it
gets too wet, add additional dry browns, and/or turn the pile.
Water if it needs moisture. Do not add additional material to
the pile after the first week or so. Harvest the whole pile after 3-6 months or when
the material looks like soil. If there is twiggy, unfinished material,
you can use the compost as is for mulch, or sift the compost for
use as an amendment and throw the twigs back into the bin. |
