Fast, Biologically Active, Highly-Efficient, No-Turn Composting-Really!
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Article by: Fred Davis Most now-old-fashioned composting methods are actually labor , Japanese Beetles - The Plain Truth About Traps... And A Tiny New Winged Hope! intensive and often a little too slow for my taste and purposes. The pile must be turned to re-introduce air , Basics of Pruning Roses into colonies of oxygen-starved bacteria, fungi and other organisms. Now there's an easier way which incorporates very nearly all basic composting principles but which vastly improves two crucial factors: aeration and time. Here's my system for producing finished "black gold""”fully decomposed, rich, dark, nutrient-saturated, almost totally weed- and pathogen-free organic , A Rose is a Rose? matter ready to be worked into garden , Man Made Puddle soil"¦in 21 to 28 days, with no turning"”REALLY! The Enclosure. A diversity of materials may be used for the enclosure"”concrete blocks, timbers, , Spruce Budworm wire mesh or boards, for example"”but for economy's sake, I have constructed my "no-turn, self-aerating, 21-day" compost , Porch Swing Places: Where to Put a Porch Swing bin from salvaged pallets commonly used by truckers in the transport of equipment or supplies. Other sources of these used"”oftentimes perfectly usable"”pallets are large hardware , Plants, Birds, Love and Deer Hate stores, plumbing , A Quick Overview of Outdoor Hot Tubs and heating suppliers, lumber yards. , Selecting the Right Roses for Your Garden ..and don't overlook your local , Rose Success landfill or waste transfer station. A friend or neighbor who works at large discount stores or on construction sites may be of some help, as well. As interest in using recycled or salvageable pallets increases, it is likely that you may have to pay for them. $5 would not be an unreasonable amount for sound, fully-intact pallets. Most medium-to-full-size automobiles are wide enough in the trunk to accommodate one or two pallets. Recall that biological composting does not rely on bright light , Pruning Trees and sunshine, so you can secrete your bin in a dark corner of the yard, , Pruning Trees behind shrubbery or "back in the woods" where it won't be seen. Place , Hammock Chairs - Relax in Style the least attractive pallet on level ground where you want your compost , Buying or Building Your Own Water Fountain pile to reside. This base or "foundation" allows air , A Quick Overview of Outdoor Hot Tubs circulation (remember that free air , Are There Really Black Roses? movement is key to the composting process) and prevents tree , A Rose is a Rose? roots from creeping in and feasting on your compost. , Caring for Grosfillex Resin Patio Furniture You might consider nailing additional narrow strips on this "foundation" pallet between each top-surface board, leaving just enough space for air , A Rose is a Rose? to pass without difficulty, while preventing your shredded garden , The Rich History of Wild Roses wastes from falling through. Half-inch gaps work for me. You could also use saplings instead of sawn strips. Next, stand the remaining four pallets on edge with the closely-spaced boards facing inward and vertical (perpendicular to the ground) to form a box just outside , The Rich History of Wild Roses of the foundation pallet. Lash them together using wire or synthetic cord (so it won't decay in a few weeks). I've used the same two-foot lengths of plastic , Making Memories with Flower Gardening clothesline cord for years. Later, you'll want to untie the pallet which constitutes the "front" in order to access finished compost"”so select your knots carefully. Allowing For Maximum Air , Cultivating Plants In Your Garden...What To Watch Out For Circulation. Important to the function and success in this new system are appropriate length sections of salvaged 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" black plastic water , Tulip Delivery or PVC drain pipe. Most discount salvage stores (here in Maine we call , What You Need To Know About Pruning Bonsai Trees them "Mardens") sell such pipe for a fraction of what the same material would cost at a builder's supply. You'll need ten or twelve lengths about 4-1/2 feet long. Use a half-inch "spade" drill bit and an electric , Tulip Delivery drill to create random perforations about every four or five inches all around the pipe. Precise spacing is not important. All right - ready? Let's assume you've gathered all your shredded "greens" and "browns" and are ready for some serious composting action. I like to mix these two main ingredients together before tossing them into the pile. Place , Japanese Beetles - The Plain Truth About Traps... And A Tiny New Winged Hope! a layer of mixed material 4" to 6" deep on the foundation pallet of your new, high-efficiency, low-cost, no-turn composting bin. Make certain that the material's moisture , Pruning Trees level is adequate (it should feel like a wrung-out kitchen , Gardening on a Budget sponge) and do not press the layer down. Place , Hammock Chairs - Relax in Style two of your perforated aeration pipes on top of this layer so the cut ends protrude through the side pallets. Space a pipe about 16" in from each side so, when you look down at the layer's surface, it looks as if it's been divided into thirds. Recall that I suggested making the boards in your pallet walls , Economically Design Your Own Landscape Lighting stand vertical. Perforated aeration pipes can now slide down freely as the pile settles during the accelerated composting process. Had those boards been placed horizontal, your pipes would have hung up, bent"”and possibly "kinked""”in a short time. You can guess what that'll do to the flow of air , Fountains: A Garden's Best Friend into the pile. Now it's time for a second six-inch layer of shredded material followed by a second set of perforated pipe at right angles to the ones in layer #1, below. Continue, layer by layer, adding another set of pipes to each layer as you go, until you've reached the top (and the end of your supply of pipes). Remember to alternate the direction of each layer of perforated pipes. It is not necessary to install aeration pipes above the top layer. But it is recommended that you lay on an additional 4" or 5" layer of some coarse, insulating organic , Light Up the Night! Quick Facts about Outdoor Lighting material like pine needles or whole leaves. This insulating layer allows generated heat , What You Need To Know About Pruning Bonsai Trees to penetrate all the way to the top of your mixed material, thereby destroying most"”if not all"”weed seeds, , Gardening on a Budget undesirable insects, and plant , How to Grow Strawberries pathogens. What happens next is pure simplicity and efficiency! Mass temperature , Patio Swing Covers immediately begins to rise until, between 48 and 96 hours later, it has topped out at between 140° and 160° (F). As bacterial decomposition consumes oxygen in the process, air , How to Build Your Own Backyard Bat Cave passes through the aeration pipes to replenish supplies. As material quickly decomposes, the pile begins settling. In about seven to ten days, temperatures , Cornus Mas 'Golden Glory' will have begun to fall , Garden Folklore: It Starts with the Soil until, by the end of about 3 weeks, it should have reached ambient outside air , Spruce Budworm temperature and the pile's mass will have shrunk to a little over half its original size. There is one small problem, however, which must be dealt with during the high-heat stage. Because fresh, cool outside air , Patio Swing Covers is flowing through the perforated pipes"”and therefore into the pile"”a small area of the mix near each perforation will remain cool enough to prevent the destruction , Spruce Budworm of seeds , Swimming Pool Chemicals: Algaecides & Clarifiers and pathogens by heat. , Making Memories with Flower Gardening To overcome this small handicap, it is recommended that, for one 24-hour day (only) about 3 days into the high heat , Plants, Birds, Love and Deer Hate stage, the open ends of each aeration pipe be plugged, thereby allowing high heat , Growing Nostalgic "Old Roses" In Your Garden to thoroughly penetrate throughout the mix. At the end of this 24-hour period, remove the plugs, and the process continues essentially unaffected by the missing , How to Grow Strawberries days' worth of air. , Buying or Building Your Own Water Fountain Wadded-up newspaper makes a good temporary plug. It's done! Actually, I like to allow the finished product , Tulip Delivery to just sit there for another week or two to stabilize. At this rate, given a large enough supply of greens , Garden Makeover On A Budget and browns, you should be able to produce nearly a square yard , Plants, Birds, Love and Deer Hate of finished compost , Making Memories with Flower Gardening every five weeks. You guess what that'll do to the health of your garden"”and your success rate!The information , Growing A Brush Cherry Bonsai In Your Garden contained in this article was taken from the free downloadable book by the author, Fred Davis, "Keys To The Garden , Wildflower Seeds - Ten Reasons Why You Should Plant... Gate," at http://www.HillGardens.com/ Fred Davis is a Master Gardener, Master Composter, , November Gardening Tips lecturer, and long-time nurseryman. He and his wife, Linda, own and operate a popular perennial , Patio Swing Covers nursery in Palermo, Maine, and maintain a no-frills, no cookies, no-login gardening , Wildflower Seeds - Ten Reasons Why You Should Plant... information website at: http://www.HillGardens.com/ |
  
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