I am only on my second batch of compost in two and a half years, and when I watched countless gardening shows, they always said that the compost was supposed to only take a few weeks to complete. Well, mine obviously never did; in fact, the last batch I made took almost two years to finish! I decided I needed a little help from the library. I checked out the book Mike McGrath’s Book of Compost by, well, Mike McGrath and read the 112 pages in just a few days.
I will start out by reviewing the book as a whole and then give you all the dirty details ;) The book was an amazing find in the midst of so many composting books that simply went over my head. I think what really made me like the book so much is that he included humor throughout the book that was actually funny. I love this type of informational nonfiction (don’t be hating on my made-up type on nonfiction)! As I kind of got at before, the book is really easy to follow and makes composting sounds really simple, as it should be. McGrath goes through the process of setting your system up, what to put in it, and even dedicates a chapter to vermiculture (using worms to make compost). Let’s get to the main attraction now shall we?
As I mentioned before, my first attempt at composting didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked. Let’s see if you can tell what I did wrong: my family was cleaning up a wood pile one fall and there were tons of leaves all over the ground. So everything was scooped into this bin we have (leaves, bark from the wood, grass clippings and the occasional rock). I decided it would be best if the compost was topped by a tarp so the water didn’t get out (or in when I forgot to take it off before it rained). Then it was time to wait… two years.
Let’s take a breather… alright, ready to go! So the first thing that I did wrong was to trust my 15 year old sense of knowledge on the workings of compost. The second thing that I did wrong was add wood to my compost. And the most important thing that I did wrong was not to keep it continually moist and not have stirred it up. Like I said above, after two years, the compost came out okay, but compost shouldn’t take so long or at least the compost I want to make.
McGrath shows us a direct and successful way of creating your very own compost, or black gold as he likes to call it. The first thing you have to do is find something and or somewhere to put you compost-to-be. It can be in a pile, but it would be best to use a bin made from small-holed caging with a wooden frame. Or it is even better to use the composters that have a handle to stir all of your ingredients together.
The next step is to add all of your ingredients. The most important thing that McGrath stressed is to keep your brow-dry to green-wet ratio approximately 5:1. By brown-dry, he means primarily chopped leaves (except black maple leaves: they will kill your plant) but straw is a good substitute. The green-wet ingredients can be a whole slew of things. There are dried grass clippings (just be sure to add them slowly to the dry ingredients while stirring), kitchen scraps that have been cut up to good sized chunks (egg shells and tea bags are a very good addition), manure from herbivores only (not cat or dog poo!!) and plants that haven’t seeded yet. Then there are coffee grounds you can add. Actually, Starbucks has a “Grounds for Gardeners” program in which they will give you free grounds if you ask them about the program (I live in the middle of nowhere, so there are no Starbucks close to meL). You can also add seafood products that are chopped up (just make sure there is a lid over your bin or critters might have a feast). Just remember NOT to add meat, dairy, and the insides of the eggs to your pile. What will happen, you ask? Weeeellll, let’s say your bin will blow up and move on (that was an attempted joke by the way).
Wow, are you still with me after that long paragraph?? If you are, you are true gardeners, or just have nothing better to do (no judgment). So the last step in the process is to mix it ever week until it has an earthy smell. Then spread it on your garden and be amazed at the awesomeness of composting.
Book Information:
Mike McGrath’s Book of Compost, Mike McGrath
Copyrighted 2006 by Mike McGrath
ISBN:1402733984
(again, this isn't MY compost... I really need to get my own pictures up here)
