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Getting the dirt on composting

A quick guide to getting started on mulching, bin composting and worm composting

By Joan Morris, The Mercury News
Published: June 16, 2016, 6:02am
3 Photos
A worm bin is another way of composting kitchen waste. The worms eat it and then produce castings that are gardener&#039;s gold when it comes to rich nutrients for the soil.
A worm bin is another way of composting kitchen waste. The worms eat it and then produce castings that are gardener's gold when it comes to rich nutrients for the soil. (Istock.com) Photo Gallery

Composting is nothing new, but it has become more popular in the last few years as people strive to be better citizens of the planet.

Billi Haug, a master composter with Recycle Smart, says many people want to compost but may need help getting started. Here are some of her tips:

Bin composting

When planning a traditional compost pile or stack, gather your materials. You’ll need 50 percent carbons, called browns, and 50 nitrogen, called greens.

Brown material consists of things such as shredded newspaper and dried leaves. Greens include grass and garden clippings, fruit and vegetable peels from the kitchen, coffee grinds and tea leaves.

Layer the material, starting with either the greens or the browns, alternating the layers and watering each layer lightly before adding the next. This will help you judge how much of each component you are adding. You can stir it later.

Don’t add dairy products, meat, fish, bones or oily foods and don’t put in large pieces of wood, diseased plants or weeds.

Continue adding materials to the pile until the temperature inside the pile rises. You can use a thermometer, but Haug says you’ll be able to tell when the pile gets hot.

Once the pile is about 100 degrees, you can start turning it; once a week should be plenty. When it gets 130 degrees and higher, stop adding fuel and turn the pile every other day for two weeks.

Within four weeks, you’ll have completed compost, which should be pulled out of the bin and stored for a couple of weeks to cure.

Mulch, mulch, mulch

If you don’t want to start a composting bin, you can gain some of the same advantages of composting by mulching.

Mulching is a way to protect the ground and feed the soil. In essence you are practicing composting, but the results – the breakdown of organic material into a nutrient rich material – will take place much more slowly.

An easy way to compost in this manner is to use grass clippings as a mulch. You can leave the grass clippings in place on a mowed lawn, instead of collecting them in a bag. The clippings are full of nitrogen and will feed the lawn, helping you reduce the amount of fertilizer you use.

You also can scatter grass clippings and leaves on planted areas. Add grass slowly, about 1 inch at a time, gradually accumulating about 3 inches. Leaves should be chopped – Haug recommends running them through a leaf blower in reverse, or piling them on the driveway and running the lawn mower over them. Cutting them into smaller bits will prevent them from creating a blanket over the soil, which will prohibit water from reaching the ground.

Many things are considered mulch, even rocks and gravel. The rocks won’t provide nutrients, but they will help protect it.

Worm composting

Having a worm bin is another way of composting kitchen waste. The worms eat it and then produce castings that are gardener’s gold when it comes to rich nutrients for the soil.

Like traditional bin composters, you can buy a worm bin or make your own. For instructions, search the web; for commercial ones, ask your sanitation district for special offers on worm bins.

You’ll need about a pound of compost worms – red wigglers. You can buy them online or ask your worm composting friends to share. They reproduce quickly.

Next, prepare the worm bed by tearing newspapers into long, inch wide strips. Then use your hands to fluff the paper. You should end up with about three times as much bedding, by volume. You don’t want any paper sticking together.

After you’ve fluffed, sprinkle the paper with water and continue to fluff it up, moistening the paper but not soaking it. Worms don’t like their bed too wet.

Put about 3 inches of bedding in the bin and add your worms. Then give them food.

Use only kitchen scraps – mostly fruit and vegetables, no meat or dairy. Don’t feed them eggs. Worms prefer sweet food, including melons and other fruits. Chop it into small pieces and then cover the food and worms with more damp newspaper.

If you can smell the worm bin, something has gone wrong. It may be too wet, or you may have added food the worms won’t or can’t eat.

In two to three months, you should be able to harvest the castings. Give yourself plenty of time for the consuming task.

Worm castings need another month or so to cure, and they can keep for a long time. Use them indoors and out by diluting them in water. A little can go a long way.

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