MSU key messages

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Montana State University Extension
BACKYARD COMPOSTING TURN OVER A NEW LEAF COMPOST
FOR HEALTY SOIL TOOLE COUNTY EXTENSION
An educational resource dedicated to improving
the quality of peoples lives by providing
research-based knowledge to strengthen the
social, economic and environmental well-being of
families, communities and agriculture
enterprises.
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Backyard Composting

• Speeding up the natural process of decomposition.

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Shelby Community Garden
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Reasons to Compost

• Air Quality
• Landfill issues
• Manage Yard Waste
• Improve soil

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Containers

• Bins

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Wire Bin
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Wood Pallet
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Seattle Compost Bin
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Turning Bin
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Three Bin System
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Thermometer

• A compost thermometer helps you determine when it
  is time to turn your pile.
• Ideally the pile should be maintained at between
  120-140º

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Chipper/shredder

• The more surface area available to microorganisms
  the faster the material will decompose.

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Requirements

• Critical mass
• Oxygen
• Moisture
• Nitrogen
• Carbon
• Soil organisms

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Hot Vs Cool Compost Piles
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Hot Pile(Temperatures Above 110º)

• Pros
• Produce finished compost faster
• Kills most weed seed and pathogens

• Cons
• Labor intensive
• Must be built all at once
• More precise C/N ratio (301)

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Cool Pile

• Pros
• Needs little maintenance
• Allows materials to added a little at a time.

• Cons
• Takes longer to compost
• Will not kill weed seeds and disease organisms

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How to Build a Hot Compost Pile
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Building a Compost Pile

• Collect approximately one cubic yard of material.
  2 parts brown to 1 part green by volume. Chop,
  shred, mow, or smash course materials to increase
  surface area.

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Mixing Your Pile

• Start the pile by mixing your green and browns
  all together with a pitchfork as you soak the
  pile with water. When using a bin you will a
  portion of the material, wet it down and turn and
  then keep repeating the process until the bin is
  full.

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Monitoring and Turning Your Pile

• Monitor the temperature of pile with a compost
  thermometer. When the pile cools below 120
  degrees turn the pile and add water.
• Continue this process about once a week until
  the temperature wont go above 120 degree
• Ideal temperatures in an active pile is 120-140
  degrees.

How hot does it get???
How hot does it get???
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Curing Your Pile

• Allow the compost to cure for 4-8 weeks.
• When the pile temperature no longer rises the
  compost is ready to use.

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Helpful Hints

• Air provided by turning your pile
• Surface area need the right size of chipped
  material

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Trouble Shooting Problems With Composting

• Smells
• Pests

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Smells

• Too wet
• Not enough oxygen (too much green stuff Too fine
  a material)
• Too much nitrogen not enough brown
• Food waste not being mixed into the pile

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Pests

• Four legged pests such as mice, rats, cats and
  dogs may visit your pile if you dont monitor the
  food waste that you are adding.
• Turning pile frequently will stop mice from
  taking up residence.

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Remember

• Critical mass (volume)
• Micro-organisms
• Greens /browns (301 C/N or 2G1B)
• Water
• Oxygen

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Biology of Composting

• Compost doesnt happen without biological
  processes!

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Phases of a Compost Pile
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Phases of Composting

• Psychrophilic 0 to 70 º
• -Thrive at 55º
• -Cool-temperature bacteria, physical
  decomposers
• Mesophilic range 70 to 90
• -Mesophilic bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi
• Thermophilic range 90 to 200
• -Thrive at 104
• -Thermophilic bacteria
• Dont want compost pile to go over 160 º

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Soil Organisms

• Naturally occurring organisms that do the actual
  work of decomposition
• -Physical
• -Microscopic

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Physical Decomposers

• Physical decomposers (chewers shredders)

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Worms

• Found in the early and final stages of the
  composting process.

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Springtail

• Less than 1/16 inch long.
• Jump up and down
• Feed on molds and decaying matter and important
  producers of humus.

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Mites

• Have eight jointed legs
• Range from the size of a pin head to microscopic
• Many different kinds of mites, very specialized

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Isopods
Pill bug
Isopods have ten legs Eat vegetation and leaf
litter.
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Millipedes

• Name means thousand legs.
• Two legs per segment
• 1-3 inches long
• Vegetarian
• Eats decaying plants.

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Centipede

• A fierce hunter!
• Prey on worms and eat them.
• One pair of legs per segment.
• Poison claws to help keep prey from getting away.

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Microscopic Decomposers

• Process the smaller particles
• Chemical decompose materials

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Bacteria

• Most numerous organisms in the compost pile and
  do the lions share of the chemical
  decomposition
• Are the smallest organisms in the pile. Are
  responsible for most of the decomposition and
  heat generated in a pile.
• While decomposing animal and vegetable matter
  bacteria liberate carbon, nitrogen and ammonia
  making nutrients more available to plants

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Actinomycetes

• Actinomycetes give off the earthy smell
• Produce grayish cobwebby growths throughout the
  compost pile.
• Chemically breaks down tougher compounds such as
  lignin, cellulose and proteins
• Some appear in thermophilic stage and others are
  important in curing phase

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Fungi

• Primitive plants that are single cell or many
  celled with filamentous. Includes molds and
  yeasts
• Break down tough debris enabling bacteria to
  continue to decompose
• Occur in both the mesophilic and thermophilic
  phases
• Live in the outer edges of the pile when
  temperatures are high

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Vermicomposting
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Vermiculture is the raising of earthworms under a
controlled environment
Vermicomposting is the process of recycling
material by using worms into something very
useful. How is this done?
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Worms are part of the animal kingdom These are
called Eisenia fetida but they are more commonly
known as ? Red Worm ? Tiger Worm ? Red
Wiggler
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Q. What will Worms Eat? A. Anything
Biodegradable

• Animal Waste
• Green Waste
• Brown waste

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What Not to Feed Worms !

• Even Though Worms will eat most anything there
  are some things that are best to avoid.
• Meat
• Oil like salad dressings
• Any kind of fat meat or
• vegetable

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What Does A Worm Produce With All That Eating?
WORM CASTINGS
Also known as worm dirt - worm manure or worm
poop
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Worm Castings Are Natures Natural Fertilizer

• Provides nutrients (food) for plants
• Retains water for the soil so plants can grown
  even when it doesnt rain!
• Helps plants resist diseases so they grow
  faster stronger
• Environmentally friendly - created from 100
  recycled materials
• Naturally insulates plant roots reduces soil
  erosion
• Breaks up hard clay soil so plants can grow
  faster bigger

Use Worm Castings at on plants, trees, grass
garden or take them home to use there!
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Vermicomposting
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Vermicomposting
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Can-O-Worms
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Worm Bin
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Vermicomposting
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Whats Next

• Collect your carbon material this fall
• Gather the equipment you need
• Come the Spring Composting Workshop and will
  build some compost piles.

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COMPOST HAPPENS