BEGINNERS' GUIDE TO

Compost and WormsCourse Notes

“If it has lived, it can live again”

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Benefits of compost

Compost. What else can turn the dead back into living, thriving

plants? What else turns rubbish into the gardeners' 'black

gold'?

Compost is a natural soil improver made from broken-down

organic matter, and it contains three things of vital importance

to gardeners:

• humus (that's the dark spongy material that makes good

soil the colour of chocolate)

• recycled nutrients

• billions of microscopic lifeforms which create a healthy

soil ecosystem.

Healthy soil creates healthy plants, which creates healthy humans. And to this end, composting is

our most important tool. It really is the cornerstone of organic gardening. Some of the benefits of

compost include:

• In clay soils, it improves drainage and nutrient availability.

• In sandy soils, it improves water and nutrient holding capacity.

• In both acidic and alkaline soils, it helps neutralise pH!

• Many toxins are broken down in the composting process, while others such as heavy

metals in city soils become locked up and less available to plants when compost is added.

Since up to two thirds of household waste is compostable, it's a great way to divert waste that

otherwise creates methane in landfill.

Not any pile of rotting vegetables is really compost. Compost should smell great, like a rainforest,

and that's how you'll get the best product for your garden too. To get there, there are some simple

rules to follow.

Both your soil and your compost pile are literally alive with worms, bugs and microbes. (And yes,

that's a good thing, without them there would be no compost.) Like us, they need the basics: food,

water, air, and shelter. We'll explain how to make great compost using these principles.

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Types of compost

There are many different ways to make good compost, and these include:

Hot compost: If you pile organic left-overs and garden clippings into a really big pile – at least one cubic metre –

the pile will usually generate enough heat to kill weed seeds and most diseases in the middle.

Hot composts are “batch processes” – that is, you need to gather all your ingredients at the

beginning and kick start the process all at once. You do need to turn hot composts to make sure

the cooler outside of the pile is cycled at least once, through the hot hot centre. Hot composts need

to get to 55°C for about three days to kill weed seeds and pathogens, but usually they will get even

hotter – hot enough to cook an egg! Hot composting is the fastest way of making compost – in as

little as three weeks. You might build a hot compost if you are kick starting a new garden, or if

you have a big block of land with lots of weeds on it that you can harvest all at once. It's often

possible to get lawn mowing companies to deliver clippings to you for free which can be a good

excuse to create a hot compost. Hot composts are often one for the real enthusiasts, so we'll focus

on the other strategies and you can search the internet for the 'Berkley Method' of hot composting

if you'd like to learn more.

'Cold' compost:Usually what we're talking about here is compost in plastic bins. Most

of us home composters place our kitchen scraps, and sometimes garden

weeds and prunings, a little bit at a time, into a medium-sized compost

bin. Although it warms up a bit, the compost never gets particularly hot

this way, so we'll call this method the cold composting method.

Although it doesn't kill weed seeds (so you need to do your weeding

before the weeds produce seed) you don't need to start it all at once,

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which is more practical for daily needs. This is a perfectly fine and decent way of making

compost, however you do need to follow our advice below to make a good product. You'll also

need (at least) two bins so that one rests, once the other is filling.

Chicken compost: One of the things we love to do in our gardens is harness the power of

the chook to do the garden chores for us. One way of harnessing this

power is to make compost, and in the process we can offer them a

better life. We do this in what we call a strawyard. Chickens love to

scratch and eat food scraps and bugs. If you put chickens on top of a

thick layer of straw and throw in food scraps, they'll turn and mix the

compost looking for bugs, while the straw absorbs the smell of the

chook poo. We don't cover this method in this course, but there's some

info on the www.VeryEdibleGardens.com website (in the iVEG section) or you can come along to

one of our Power of Chook workshops.

Worm farms: Compost worms are well suited for most kitchen scraps, but not woody garden materials. They

produce a wonderful compost and we'll deal with worms in a separate section below.

So now, lets talk about food, water, air and shelter.

Food: A Balanced Diet

You don't need a food pyramid to figure out what your compost needs, you just need to know

about two basic categories:

• carbon-rich, and

• nitrogen-rich materials.

Your compost needs a good balance of each, so we talk about carbon-to-nitrogen ratios. That may

sound complex, but it's not really. In fact it's very intuitive! Of course in both cases we're talking

about things that were once alive – anything made of organic materials.

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Carbon-rich

In general, carbon-rich materials tend to be brownish, often dry, and don't rot easily. How do you

know something is high carbon? Imagine it in a bucket, covering it with water, and coming back

two weeks later. If it hasn't broken down much and hasn't begun to stink much, it's high in carbon.

Sawdust and newspaper are examples of materials that are very carbon-rich.

Nitrogen-richHigh nitrogen materials tend to rot – and stink – readily. Any green foliage is relatively high in

nitrogen. If you were to repeat the bucket experiment with them you would discover that they do

stink when left in water for a couple of weeks. Try it with fish guts and you'd discover that they

are very nitrogen-rich.

High-carbon materials take a long time to break down and don't

produce strong smells

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High carbon materials absorb odours, and prevent the loss of nutrients, and slow the breakdown

process. Mixing high-carbon and high-nitrogen materials gives you the right balance.

Using around 2 parts Carbon-rich materials to 1 part Nitrogen-rich material (by volume) from the

table below will be about right. For example, you could mix two buckets of loose straw to one

bucket of kitchen scraps. Or two buckets of autumn leaves to one cup of chicken manure.

Carbon-rich materials (1 part = 1 bucket)

Straw

Shredded newspaper

Cardboard

Autumn leaves

Wood shavings and sawdust

(Woodchips are carbon-rich but usually too

chunky to be of use)

Nitrogen-rich materials (1 part = 1 bucket)

Kitchen scraps

Green lawn clippings & weeds

Manure (eg. cow, horse, sheep)

Wool, feathers, hair

Lucerne

Extremely nitrogen-rich (1 part = 1 cup)

Blood and bone

Chicken manure

Meat scraps

It's useful therefore to have a pile of straw or autumn leaves, or a bin containing water and ripped

High-nitrogen materials rot quickly and produce foul smells if not

composted properly

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cardboard, next to your compost pile, and add some carbon every time you add green weeds and

kitchen scraps. If this sounds all too much, don't worry too much about ratios – if your main

input is kitchen waste, just adding any amount of carbon at all will improve things.

The smaller the size of the ingredients the better they'll mix, and the faster your pile will break

down. We use a sharp spade to bruise and cut weeds before putting them in the compost.

Build your compost in layers, always finishing with a layer of carbon to absorb smells.

What should I and shouldn't I put in the compost?

Large amounts of citrus or onions aren't good for worms and can slow down other

composting processes.

Excessive amounts of meat or dairy: don't add any of these unless you have a healthy,

quickly breaking-down system, and bury them deep inside the pile to avoid flies.

Dog and cat poo can be worm composted or hot composted, but kept in separate systems

and shouldn't be used on vegie beds. Some parasites can survive worm composting,

although hot composting should kill everything.

Some plant diseases and weed seeds may survive cold composting so avoid diseased plant

matter and weeds gone to seed.

Eucalyptus leaves and pine needles should be stored separately for a few months until they

lose their strong smell.

Wood ash? A bit is ok, it is rich in nutrients, but if left in the rain becomes very alkaline.

Never burn treated pine or use its ash in the compost!

Some twigs and branches can be great to help aerate the pile.

Coffee grounds and tea bags are excellent ingredients – go for it!

Cardboard, newspapers, pizza boxes – for sure! Just wet and rip them up first, and avoid

the glue in cardboard boxes. Newspaper ink is made from soy and is compostable.

Glossy coloured magazine paper is a bit suspect, even though the shine itself is simply a

clay coating, the inks may be more toxic. Probably best to avoid it.

Eggshells, avocado seeds, mango seeds and some other things all take a long time to break

down, but will eventually. Crush eggshells.

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ActivatorsSome plants are so called 'dynamic accumulators' – they concentrate nutrients from the soil and

help 'activate' and speed up the compost process. They aren't essential, but it can help to add the

leaves of yarrow, tansy, comfrey, nettles or chamomile to your compost pile.

Water

It is important to keep the pile moist. Soak cardboard or straw before adding and/or water each

layer. But don't saturate the pile. It should be 50% moisture – you know it's right moisture level

when you squeeze a handful between your fingers and a drop or two comes out between your

fingers, but no more.

Air

You can aerate your compost by either:

(a) For hot composts: turning it from one place to another, and moving

what was on the outside to the inside of the pile. A pitchfork is the

best tool for doing this with.

(b) For compost bins ('cold' compost): Some of the plastic compost bins

have no aeration. If yours is like this, you need to drill lots of holes

into it! Make the holes small enough that flies don't get in. Around

60 or 100 holes would be a good number. A truly useful tool for

mixing and aerating your compost is a compost screw.

TurningTurning mixes the ingredients, aerates and speeds up the composting process. If you turn twice a

week, you will have beautiful rich compost in 3 weeks to 2 months for a hot compost, or more like

3-5 months for a cold compost, depending on the weather and your ingredients.

Shelter

If your compost is not in a plastic bin, keep your compost pile out of direct summer sun and hot

winds so it doesn't dry out. You will want to protect it from too much winter rain so it doesn't get

soggy. You can put your compost pile under the canopy of a tree, or if it's not in a compost bin,

you can use a tarpaulin – just make sure some air can get underneath.

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Trouble-shooting

Is your compost too stinky? It may be too wet, or too nitrogenous. If it looks too wet and is

stinky, mix in dry carbon-rich material, aerating well. If it doesn't look too wet, mix in soaked

carbon-rich material. Make sure it is well aerated. Consider mixing in some twigs, and drill holes

in plastic bins if you haven't already.

Is your compost not breaking down quickly? It may be too dry or too carbonous. Mix in

nitrogen-rich material, and water if it looks dry.

Mice or rats? If you have problems with mice or rats getting into the compost, you may need to

bury the base of your compost bin in the ground, or put bird net wire underneath the bin.

Worm Farms

Worms produce perhaps the very best and richest compost for the vegie garden, and worms are

especially suited to dealing with kitchen scraps. Worms speed up the composting process,

introduce excellent microbiology for your soil, and aerate and mix the compost ingredients for

you. Like other forms of compost we need to consider a balanced diet, water, air and shelter.

Compost worms are not the same as garden earthworms – they live closer to the surface, prefer

wetter conditions and eat ‘raw’ organic material. Compost worms will only survive in your

garden if there's lots and lots of organic material for them.

How many worms should I start with? We recommend that you start with 1,000 multiplied by the

number of people in your house. A well maintained worm farm will increase its population to a

comfortable amount for the space and food provided. Worms can double in numbers every two

months or so, and may breed up to as many as 20,000 in

one of the small commercial worm farms.

HousingCan-O-Worms worm farms are a great house for a

thriving worm farm, except they MUST be kept in a

cool spot on hot days such as a garage or worms will

die. They come with instructions on how to use the

multi-tray system, which is very efficient and allows

you to harvest the compost while leaving the worms

behind. Extra tips: If some stubborn worms won't leave

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the bottom tray come harvest time, put that tray on top and keep the lid off for several hours

during the day. The light will encourage the remaining worms down into the active tray. If worms

congregate in the bottom of the bin (the worm-juice collecting part) you can drill a few small holes

in that area. The light discourages them from coming down there and helps aerate the worm

liquid so it doesn't begin to stink.

Polystyrene box: If you’re budget conscious, you can

make your own worm farm with three stackable

polystyrene boxes that have holes in the bottom. This

will need to be standing on a large tray to catch the

worm juice, and should be covered with a wet hessian

bag or a waterproof cover if your farm is exposed to

rain. The insulating properties mean that these survive

hot weather better, but they don't keep out mice or flies.

Other systems: Worm farms don't need to have the

multiple box system. You can make or buy worm farms

made from recycled plastic, wheelie bins or wood which

you fill from the top, and harvest from the bottom. You can also keep worms in a bathtub as long

as there is good drainage. The more surface area, the more you can feed them.

To start your worm farm, add the following:

1. A few cm layer of coconut fibre, dry grass clippings, wet straw or wet cardboard

2. Your worms mixed with a good amount of compost (which they should come with)

3. Worm food (see below)

4. Cover with a thick layer of damp newspaper, a wet doormat or hessian

Where should I put my worm farm?A well maintained worm farm will not smell or attract pests, and worms need a sheltered, shady

spot that isn’t too light or hot. It’s best to place it near your kitchen for easy access. (Eg. in the

laundry, the shed, on a balcony, or under a tree). Protect them from any direct summer sun, but

sun will help in the winter.

Food for wormsWorms like fruit and vegetable kitchen scraps (and the older and softer the better), soft weeds, tea

bags. They love pumpkin, coffee grounds, manures and wet cardboard! Go on, give your worms a

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treat. Add wet shredded cardboard or wet straw each time that you feed the worms to keep the

worm farm smelling sweet, (adjusting the old C:N ratio). To increase the fertility of your worm

castings, it is important to give your worms a varied diet.

Worms don't like citrus, onion, or too much oil, meat or dairy. Too much bread can go mouldy and

they don't eat it. They don't have teeth, so they can't handle anything woody.

Over-feeding

Feed your worms only so much as they can eat. They should turn whatever you put in into

compost within a week or two, otherwise it's too much food. Start slowly and add more as their

numbers build up.

Final productThe final product should look dark and rich (about like 70% cocoa chocolate). You can use it when

there are still some not-quite completely broken down bits and it's not completely uniform, but it

should be almost entirely the dark colour.

Trouble-shooting

Sour smell and lots of tiny vinegar flies: add wet shredded newspaper or straw. Bury new food

under existing castings.

Ants: something sweet is in the compost, or is too dry. Remove sweets, or add water.

It’s normal to have slaters, mites and a few vinegar flies and other creatures in the worm farm.

Other creatures in the worm farm: The tiny white creatures called springtails, tiny brown mites,

slaters, earwigs and other creatures can all help with the breakdown process. Don't worry about

them.

Good books: Organic Growing with Worms by David Murphy (available through VEG)

Using the compost!

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When starting a new garden in bad soil you might gently mix your

compost into the top 15cm of soil. After that, it's good to simply

place it on top, but under a layer of mulch. Compost creates fluffy,

living, humus-rich soil. You must keep it moist, out of direct

sunlight and hot winds. Mulch provides shelter, holds moisture and

is itself food for the soil as it breaks down. Don't step on it, or use

artificial chemicals. Use straw mulches for veggies, wood chips for

trees and shrubs.

Organise your garden beds so that you don't need to walk on them to harvest your veggies. And

you will have turned waste into healthy living soil, healthy plants and healthy you!