How to Make Compost
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Many things can go into the compost heap: the vines of peas and beans, fresh hedge clippings, pea-pods, tea-leaves and coffee-grounds, banana peel, fluff from the vacuum cleaner, straw, lawn mowings, fallen leaves, and even well-soaked newspapers. It is important not to use obviously diseased plant material. Whatever the material, encourage it to rot down properly by using some type of activator. This can be animal excreta, the droppings from birds such as poultry or, when these are not available, fish meal or a brand-name activator. The compost heap is built up in layers of the vegetable waste with a sprinkling of the activator and soil between layers. An easy method is to make a bottomless bin of boards or of wire netting in which the vegetable waste can be collected and raked level. The size of the bin will depend on the size of the garden. For a small garden the bin may be 4 ft. by 4 ft., preferably with a reserve bin; and for a garden of half an acre, 6 ft. by 6 ft. with perhaps a reserve bin nearby. For a garden of an acre it may be 8 ft. by 8 ft. and have two reserve bins alongside. There is all the difference in the world between a rubbish heap and a compost heap. A rubbish heap is merely a collection of .vegetable waste, and may be the breeding ground for pests and diseases, as well as a place where weed seeds are stored but not killed. In a properly made compost heap the temperature will rise to 82° C. It is then that the actinomycetes (rod-shaped bacteria) break down the more resistant proteins and carbohydrates in the heap. The temperature may remain high for a month and then; as the heap cools, the bacteria complete the task of breaking down the organic material until it is first-rate compost. |
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