releases nutrients over a 3-month period (and up to
5,000 years!) especially if the mature materials 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 or more to decompose.
The materials should optimally be added to the pile in
1- to 2-inch layers with the mature vegetation on the
bottom, the immature vegetation and kitchen wastes
second, and the soil third (in a ¼- to ½-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. Mature vegetation is high in carbon
content. It is diHcult for the microbes in the compost
pile to digest carbon without suHcient 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
brent
(Brent)
#1