18-Day Compost – the Appliance of Science
Compost — by Andy Kenworthy
 Composting puts carbon back where it belongs - in our soils! |
You may have got beyond the ‘heave it in and hope’ stage of composting, but the average heap or bin still involves a lot of trial and error. This 18-day compost system takes the guesswork out of your heap and turbo-charges the whole process. But, it does require consistent effort for two weeks and careful monitoring to work properly.
Here’s how it was described to LeafTurner by Geoff Lawton, head of the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. As part of Geoff’s academic research into the usefulness of this approach he has successfully composted the discarded bodies of a kangaroo, and even a penguin (both of which had died of natural causes). But it is not recommended you try that at home!
You will need:
- a long handled fork
- a rake
- a minimum of 1m³ of semi-shaded floor space and room to work around it
- a water supply
- old clothes
- enough compostable material to create a pile 1.5m high. One third of this should be manure (animal dung – horse or cow is good) and two-thirds carbon rich materials (also known as ‘browns’), which can include: ashes, wood, cardboard, corn stalks, fruit waste, leaves, newspaper, peanut shells, pine needles, sawdust and straw
Building and turning
 The magic of muck - a compost pile gives evidence of the heat-producing action of bacteria breaking down organic matter |
Day 1: Shred the carbon material to pieces no bigger than 5cm, about the size of your thumb, and crush them so they are as fibrous as possible. This offers more surface area for the composting process.
Saturate the pile with water as you mix the manure and the carbon materials together.Once this is done, cover it if it is rainy, to avoid too much water getting into your pile.
Day 4: Turn the pile upside down and inside out (this should take about 20 minutes). Then repeat this process every two days, adding water as necessary.
Getting the correct moisture content
This is crucial. Test this each time you turn the heap by picking up two handfuls of compost and squeezing them together. If you see water pushing to the surface, or a single drop comes out, it is fine. If no water is seen, the pile is too dry – add water as you mix. If two drops or more come out, the pile is too wet. This is a problem and will slow compost production by at least two days. To remedy this, ‘fluff’ the pile with a fork and dig a chimney-type hole through the centre to let more air in (force in an implement handle or pole and move it about to widen a little).
Getting the right temperature
By Day 8 your heap should be between 55-65º, which is too hot to keep your hand in.
If you see white powder forming in the heap, it is too hot: do not compact the heap, ‘fluff’ it to allow more air to circulate add sawdust.
If you are successful you should end up with a nice smelling, warm, dark brown compost which can be sieved and used for potting.
Hmmmmm. I feel from experience that composting is one of those things that we master with time, and I can`t say I`ve mastered it yet. The information I would most appreciate from the people in the know is: MISTAKES THAT THEY HAVE MADE. Because there are lots of little errors we can make. The basic, how to`s are simple to understand, and this information is easy to come bye, but its the details that I struggle with. I can make decent compost, but I feel its not the stuff of teas. Let me know how you`ve ucked up.
Gracias,
Comment by philbobaggins — July 28, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
I’m halfway through the 18-day process–using green matter instead of manure for nitrogen. All is going well except that I see a fair amount of the white powder. Does anyone know exactly what that is? I’ve heard crystalized nitrogen, ash, and mycellium. Would also like to know what conditions are causing it–too wet? too much nitrogen?
too compacted?
Comment by Rebecca — September 30, 2008 @ 10:35 pm
Ive noticed the white powder appears if my compost is too dry and compacted. In Australia at least I’ve tried to keep my compost heap moist by giving it a good soak and turning it over every few days. If it looks like its drying out - I give it a good soak with the hose. Lack of moisture is probably one of the chief reasons (I’d guess) why most compost heaps fail. The bugs and organisms need moisture to survive and do their work. When my chickens run to my compost bins and scratch around the base - I know the system is working.
Comment by Frank — October 4, 2008 @ 10:16 am
This compost batch is wet (if anything, it could be too wet but hopefully not). I’ve turned it frequently but it does compact a little between turnings. I’m more inclined to think it’s a function of overheating…
Comment by Rebecca — October 7, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
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