Cook up your own FAST, high-quality compost and either use it immediately in your garden or use it to brew an excellent compost tea. Want to form fast compost to complement the soil in your garden? Our video shows you ways to try to that in easy steps.
What is a top-quality compost?
High-quality compost comes from a carefully tended compost heap with the proper mixture of brown and green matter, water, and oxygen. When all is functioning optimally during a pile it’ll reach high temperatures of 120-150°F. The high heat will kill most pathogens and weed seeds, but the beneficial mycorrhizae will survive. there’s a natural “cooling off” period then the compost is “finished compost” or “humus” and may be put to use.
How to make top quality compost
Find basic information about life within the compost heap, and the way to form compost in our Composting 101 video and articles. to form the simplest compost you ought to create a quick, hot compost heap (in a bin or on the ground) and add all the composting ingredients directly. If you manage your compost heap well, you’ll have finished compost in 2-8 weeks.
Fill your compost bin, or build the pile by layering equal amounts of brown and green ingredients. The pile shouldn’t be bigger than a 3-foot cube since you’ll get to be ready to turn it often. If you’re composting outside a bin, during a windy area, you ought to go up to a 4-foot cube size, to retain the warmth better. With this fast process, you’ll get to watch the balance of brown and green ingredients because the composting goes along, and be prepared to supplement with more brown or green if the pile develops problems.
Speed up decomposition by using small pieces of ingredients (shredded leaves, not whole leaves, for instance). Don’t use branches during a fast compost heap, because they take longer to interrupt down.
Spray water on each layer. Keep the pile as moist as a wrung-out sponge in the least times. take care once you touch the pile because it’ll be HOT using this composting technique.
Kick up the speed within the pile by adding compost inoculants to the water you spray on the pile.
Turn the pile every 3 days with a digging fork or compost aerator tool.
Monitor the temperature of a quick compost heap. Your friends who are new gardening will squawk once they hear you own a compost thermometer, but you will have the victory once you produce superb compost during a few weeks. A speedy pile may go up to 120°F within the first 2 days, and up to 130°F in 3 to 4 days. When the temperature drops to 110°F the compost could also be on the brink of finish if your pile has been working at the fastest rate — or it’s going to need a lift of additional turning and water to heat up again.
Compost is “finished” when it’s dark, crumbly, and sweet-smelling. you ought to not be ready to identify the first pieces of the ingredients. Let it sit for a couple of days, then spread it an in. thick in your garden, or use it to form your compost tea!
Products to assist you compost
Kitchen Compost Carrier to refill with vegetable cuttings for “green” in your compost pile.
Soilsaver Composter may be a covered composting bin (cover keeps out most rodents).
Corona Machete to cut your materials into smaller pieces which will compost more quickly.
E.B. Stone Compost Maker may be a high nitrogen mix that kickstarts and enriches compost.
Biodynamic Compost Inoculant brings new microbes to the party, to colonize the compost heap.
SP Farm & Home 2-Gallon Sprayer may be a good home sprayer, and Tricia uses it within the Hot and Fast Composting video to spray on the inoculant.
Corona 5-Tine Manure Fork is a simple thanks to turning the cooking compost. Plus, you get to seem like you’re within the American Gothic painting!
Compost Aerator may be a more streamlined tool to show your compost.
Compost Thermometer is significant once you are making fast compost. Monitoring the temperatures may be a crucial part of keeping the fast process going.
Composites may be a completely breathable, non-woven fabric made from 100% UV-resistant, black polypropylene that completely sheds rainfall from covered piles. A staff favorite here!
Soil Sifter 2-in-1 Sieve has two sizes of screens so you’ll easily remove big chunks from your compost heap, leaving fine grade compost to brew as aerated tea or spread in your garden beds.
PVFS Compost Tea Brewer is that the home garden size, to form 5 gallons of aerated compost tea.
Growing Solutions Compost Tea Brewer System comes during a 10-gallon size or larger sizes are often specially ordered.
Arctic Humus
is ready whenever you would like to brew up some aerated compost tea — just in case you haven’t cooked up any fast compost lately.
