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Making your own compost is not a complex operation. But there are different ways of making compost, the one you choose dependent upon the type of materials you have and the time you can devote to tending the compost pile. This is not intended to be a complete guide to making compost, but to give you general idea of the different ways to make compost.
The first step in making your own compost is siting the compost pile. If you are using an enclosed composter, like a barrel or tumbler, you may want it somewhere where it is handy to get to, but out of site. Whereever you put it, make sure you can get to it easily for loading and unloading. If using an open bin, like a wire enclosure, you may want to consider devoting a small area of the garden for the compost pile. The pile can be moved each year, and the nutrients which leach out of the pile will be available in the garden soil below it. If you are using an open bin compost pile, put a layer of shredded leaves or straw on the soil to provide some drainage.
Making your own compost using the so called "hot" method is the most labor intesive method of making compost. It will give you a good quality compost quickly. For a hot compost pile, you will need to assemble all the materials before building the pile. You will want to use about one third "green" materials like grass clipping and fresh kitchen scraps. For best results, you will need at least a cubic yard of material for the pile. Use a shredder to chop up large materials. You will want about two thirds "brown" materials like shredded leaves or straw. You may also mix in organic materials like wood ashes, cottonseed meal, seaweed extract, and blood meal. Layer the materials, green, brown, green brown. Put a small amount of garden soil between the layers, if you want. Once the pile is built, it should start to heat up in a few days. A compost thermometer will help you monitor the temperature. This type of compost pile will need to be turned weekly. Use a compost turner, pitchfork, or garden fork. When it is finished, the compost pile should be cured a bit for using. The total time to make this type of compost is about eight weeks.
If you want to make your own compost, but don't want to go to all that trouble, you can use the "cold" compost method. In this method, you may use the compost materials as they become available to you. Locate the compost pile, then put a layer of dry material in the bottom, like shredded leaves or straw. Then just add kitchen scraps and garden refuse as it is generated. Add the new material to the center of the pile. Once in a while you will want to rake the material in the center to the edges, creating a slight depression in the center to which you continue to add material. A small amount of garden soil added once in a while helps keep things composting. You really don't need to turn this type of pile, and it probably will not heat up. It will take longer to make compost using this method.
You can also use earthworms to make compost. Using special bins which stack one on top of another, worms digest between five and eight pounds of kitchen scraps each week and will produce a bin of finished compost a month. The worms will naturally migrate from one bin to another as the food in one bin is used up and a fresh one is placed above them.
Some composting tips:
Use only vegetable matter in making your compost pile. Bones and meat waste will stink and attract pests.
If the compost pile does develope a foul odor, it needs air. Aerate it, and it should stop. Adding lime or covering the pile with soil will stop the odor too.
Use a compost keeper in the kitchen to collect the compost. Empty it periodically into the compost pile. This will minimize the trips to the compost pile in bad weather or at night.
Use a compost sifter to screen finished compost to screen out large, uncomposted pieces. These may be added to another compost pile for further breakdown.
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