Ingredients for composting
For a healthy compost mixture you need a good balance of these four ingredients.
Greens + Browns + Water + Air = Compost
GREENS (high nitrogen content)
- Vegetable scrapsFruit scraps
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Tea leaves and bags
- Lawn clippings
- Plant clippings
- Flowers
Source: Wellington City Council Home Composting Guide
BROWNS (high carbon content)
- Tree clippings (only small twigs and branches)
- Dried leaves
- Straw and untreated sawdust
- Shredded paper towels, paper serviettes and tissues
- Shredded paper or cardboard
- Egg shells
- Breads, grains and pasta
4 composting bins should be ample room to build and turn. If there is bulk (eg. tree branches etc) that don’t break down as easily we can find a spot for them and deal with them as needed.
Building and maintaining a compost
Use fork to loosen soil, this facilitates proper drainage/moisture levels/aeration6-10cm layer of rough vegetative material eg corn stalks, sunflower stalks, parts from last heap that didn’t decompose like corn end stalks with roots on them5cm layer of mature vegetation then moisten when you ring with two hands 1 drop of moisture comes out no more!5cm layer of immature vegetation and moisten1 cm layer of soil and minerals moisten. Continue until 1.2 m high
- watch moisture levels, moist as a wrung out sponge, a drop or two, too much moisture means less air flow and anaerobic.. not enough makes decomposition difficultcover compost in wet or hot weather
- measure/monitor temp, moisture levels, aeration, colour and smell watch heap go through two stages, heating then cooling and curing.
The most import part of this process is aeration and in order for decomposition to happen quickly, turning the pile is essential. The addition of a another composting bin will hopefully facilitate the turning process. The addition of an ‘activator’ like blood and bone, bokashi, lime or similar will helps worms and microorganisms to become interested in the pile and get it going faster.
source: http://www.koanga.org.nz/knowledgebase/grow-nutrient-dense-food/compost/
Endeavour Street Garden 