Creating your own aerobic compost is easy to do if you are willing to put the time into it. It is more labor intensive than and anaerobic compost, but the benefits are greater. Turning the pile is a key part in producing a rich humus material that is full nutrients that will have your crops thriving.
To start out you will need the proper carbon to nitrogen ratio of the organic material that you are going to compost. This ratio needs to be as close as you can get it to 30:1, C/N. It is what is going to keep the pile cooking or hot. This is going to take a little time to learn if you have never composted before. All materials are different to some extent.
Once you have started building your pile in the layers of carbon and nitrogen material you will need to add moisture by lightly sprinkling water over the pile, you can cover it with a tarp. This will allow the heat to stay in the pile and start to cook faster. A god tool to have when hot composting is a compost thermometer, keeping the temperature at or near 160 degrees Fahrenheit is very important. After a couple of days have past you should check to see if the pile is heating up, you should be able to feel the heat if you dig into the pile and feel the material. If you start to feel the heat in the material at this point then the pile is starting to cook and in about a week the temperature should be up around 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once a few more days go by you will most likely see a drop in temperature. This is due from the organisms depleting the air source in the pile and at this time you will need to turn the pile and add more moisture, this will replenish the air for these organisms to keep reproducing. Recover the pile once you have finished this step to keep the heat in the pile. Your pile at this point should heat up faster than when you first started the pile, due to the fact there were already a lot or organisms in the material. Keep repeating this step once a week and when turning the pile you want to get the material that is along the outside edges of the pile worked into it so it will start decomposing.
Once the organic materials have composted you will notice a drop in the temperature. This means that it is near completion. After the cooking process has finished and the rich humus material has cooled a new life form will start to move in and continue working the pile, the most common one know to the home gardener is the earthworm.
Now your compost is ready to be used in the garden to benefit your gardens soil structure and plants.
A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.
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