Transcript Slide 1

Composting
Steve Chaney.
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Tarrant County
If you want to have a healthy, productive landscape
the first key is to build great soil. Many gardeners
make the mistake of looking first to fertilizers, tonics,
or a multitude of miracle working concoctions to
produce great plant. There is no long-term substitute
for proper soil building.
If your soil is poorly drained, too acidic or alkaline,
compacted, low in organic matter or has poor
structural characteristics, it doesn’t matter how much
fertilizer you add, the results will be disappointing.
Build your soil first and then fertilizers can play
their proper role in promoting plant health and
production. Fertilizers are most effective when
used to fine tune a soil situation that is already
working relatively well. Healthy soil grows
healthy, productive plants and is the place
where any great landscape begins.
Start by adding compost to improve the soil’s
structure, internal drainage and water holding
ability. It stimulates soil microbes and breaks
down to feed plants gradually over time. If
drainage is at all in question, build raised
planting beds to insure that plant roots don’t sit
in soggy wet conditions.
Organic fertilizers can be an integral part of a good
soil building program for your garden and
landscape. Along with compost additions and soil
testing they provide the basis for a healthy
productive landscape.
While some organic fertilizers provide a quick fix,
similar to the way synthetic products can, most are
for a long-term solution. The goal is to build soil
that needs few additional inputs rather than soil
dependent on a continual series of “quick fixes”.
Gardeners who want to garden naturally are willing
to build their gardens over time recognize the
value in such an approach. They will enjoy the
benefits for years to come in terms of great soil,
healthy plants, and productive gardens.
Types of Natural Fertilizers
•Alfalfa Meal - 3% Nitrogen
•Blood Meal - 12 % Nitrogen
•Bone Meal - 12% Phosphate
•Corn Gluten Meal - 10% Nitrogen
•Cottonseed Meal - 6 % Nitrogen
•Feather Meal - 12% Nitrogen (slow release)
•Fish Meal - 10 % Nitrogen
•Fish Emulsion - 5% Nitrogen
•Greensand - 5% Potash (slow release)
•Kelp Meal - 1% Nitrogen
•Gypsum - 0 % Nitrogen ( calcium and sulfur)
•Lime - 0% Nitrogen ( calcium)
•Soft Rock Phosphate - 30% Phosphate ( very slow release)
•Potassium Magnesium Sulfate - 22% Potash , 18% Mg , 27% Sulfur
Forest Floor
Nature recycles leaves
and plants. In a forest,
leaves fall forming
mulch that protects the
soil. Over time they
decompose into
nutrients that feed
forest plants.
Compost
Broken down
(decomposed)
organic matter
 A soil enrichment
product

Composting Benefits
Improve Your Soil
Quality
 Moisture retention
 Increased aeration
 Reduce erosion
potential

Composting Benefits
Improve your Soil
Texture
 Clay soils

– Easier to work
– Helps drainage

Sandy soils
– Prevents nutrient and
water losses
Composting Benefits
Save on your
gardening bills
 Soil amendment
savings
 Water use savings
 Yard waste
disposal costs

Home Composting Benefits
Helps Our
Environment
 30% of waste stream
is organic material
 Pro-active alternative
to land-filling and
incineration of organic
waste

What’s Happening in the Pile?
Organic matter is
decomposed by living
creatures
 Starting materials
converted to ‘less
complex’ forms
 It becomes
“unrecognizable”
humus

Microscopic Decomposers
Chemically convert organic materials
 Mostly single-celled organisms

– Bacteria considered most productive
– Fungi
– Actinomycetes
– Protozoa
– Rotifers
Physical Decomposers
Arrive in the pile after
lower level
decomposers have
‘worked’ material
 Grind and chew
remaining organic
material
 mites, snails, slugs,
earthworms,
millipedes, sowbugs,
whiteworms

Organic Matter Decomposition

2 Basic Processes
– Aerobic Breakdown
– Anaerobic Breakdown
Aerobic Decomposition
Organisms require more
than 5% oxygen
 Occurs in nature (leaf litter
on forest floor)
 Community of
decomposers affected by:
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Aeration
Moisture
Organic materials used
Temperature
Anerobic Decomposition
Organisms utilize less
than 5% oxygen
 Occurs in nature
(Marshes, mud flats)
 Production of
Methane gas
 Associated with ‘bad’
odors

Required: Oxygen (Aeration)
Home composting
should be ‘Aerobic’
 Aerobic
composting is up
to 90% faster than
Anaerobic
composting
 Anaerobic odor
emissions are
avoided

Goal: Achieve High Temps
Importance of High Temperature
 Pathogen kill
– (Harmful bacteria, etc.)
Weed seed kill
 Pest control

– (Flies, plant parasitic Nematodes)

Checking temp with a compost
thermometer
The Composter’s Role:

The Home Composter is
responsible for making
a suitable “living”
environment for
beneficial decomposers.
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Pile size
Aeration
Weather
Moisture
Particle size
Carbon:Nitrogen ratio
Sizing a Compost Pile
To reach higher
temperatures needed:
 4’ x 4’ x 5’ (L x W x H)
 3’ x 3’ x 4’ (Minimum
Size)
 Too small of Pile Size

– Decomposition slows
– Temperatures remain
low
Bins
Bins
Moisture Maintenance
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Moistening piles
Decomposers need water to
maintain their activity
Place pile close to water
source
Apply moisture to 55-65%
Squeeze test
Working with Weather
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Protecting piles
Excess rain leads to
anaerobic
decomposition
Cool temps slow
decomposition
Wind may cool pile
Avoid potential
nutrient leaching
Achieving Aeration
Turning piles
 Introduces oxygen to pile
organisms
 Hastens decomposition
 Set a schedule that works for you

Good Compost Materials
Grass clippings
 Leaves
 Farm manure
 Yard clippings
 Vegetable scraps
 Sod, Hay
 Non-noxious weeds
 Sawdust
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Garden residue
Bad Compost Materials
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Pig and pet manures
Meat scraps
Fats or oils
Diseased plants
Noxious & perennial
weeds
Recently fungicidetreated plants (within a
month)
Selecting Compost Materials

Decomposers need
Nitrogen to break-down
Carbon materials for use
as their energy source.
Influence of C : N Ratio

Optimum decomposition
occurs when “Starting”
mixture ratio is 30:1
Selecting Compost Materials

Low C : N
– Alfalfa hay 18:1
– Grass clippings 19:1
– Rotted manure 20:1
– Oak leaves 25:1
– Vegetables 26:1

High C : N
– Leaves 50:1
– Corn stalks 60:1
– Straw 80:1
– Pine Needles 90:1
– Sawdust 300:1
Influence of LOW C : N Ratio
‘Mostly Grass’
 Initially
– Organism populations skyrocket
– Fast temperature increase
– Fast decomposition

Later
– O2 and N depleted
– Odors
– Temperature decrease
Influence of HIGH C : N Ratio
‘Mostly Straw’
 Effects
– Low temperatures
– Slow organism population growth
– Slow decomposition
– Material looks the same after 3
weeks
Other Considerations
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Turning piles
Need pitchfork
Rebuild pile next to
old pile
Old top, becomes
new bottom
Old outside; new
middle
Add moisture to 5565%
Other Considerations
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Layering method
– 1 layer of hay, 1 layer
of grass, repeat
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Pre-mixing method
– Mix materials before
piling it
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Alternate fork method
– 1 fork full of hay, 1
fork full of grass,
repeat
Using Finished Compost
Compost Value
 Use as a soil
amendment
 Apply in tandem with
other fertilizer sources

Use Compost in Potting Soil
 Container mix (fertilize as
necessary)
 1 gallon vermiculite
 1 gallon compost ( matured)
1 T single super phosphate - ground
 2 T limestone or dolomite
 4 T dried manure or blood meal or cottonseed
meal
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The Living Soil
By Mike Shoup - Antique Rose Emporium
The development and maintenance of a good
garden is dependent on the management of the soil.
Roses old and new do best in a well prepared bed
incorporated with lots of organic matter. It is rare to
see our native forests in a state of starvation.
Mother Nature has ensured that these plants grow
and stay green without the aid of man’s synthetic
fertilizers. The constant decomposition of leaf litter,
dead branches, and bark that falls to the ground in
these areas provide nutrition.
The gardener would do well if he could mimic this
program in his landscape. Good results have been
achieved using the following guidelines. Mixing 3
inches of decomposed organic matter like composted
leaves or manure into 6 to 8 inches of soil. Roses
and perennials should be planted in this mixture and
mulched with 3 inches of coarser material like
hardwood bark. Mulch will slowly decompose,
providing a continual source of food for fungi and
bacteria, creating a living and nutritive soil. The
addition of more mulch biannually insures the
continuation of this process.
The advantages , besides not having to apply
synthetic fertilizers, are numerous. Beds retain
moisture, the pH of the soil is buffered, weeds are
kept at bay, soil temperatures fluctuate less, and the
appearance is better.
Composting
The End