Compost refers to decomposed organic waste that is used as fertilizer. It can be considered a type of recycling and is used in of sustainable agriculture. Compost is one of nature's best mulches and garden amendments, improving soil structure, texture, and water-retention characteristics. The organic matter in compost feeds microorganisms which naturally produce nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Producing and using compost also helps reduce human production of waste — landfills are brimming and nobody wants one in their backyard! Best of all, compost is cheap and the City of Davis will even provide you with a free compost bin.
Almost any organic material is suitable for composting, but the pile needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials (aka "browns") and nitrogen-rich materials (aka "greens"). Brown materials include dried leaves, straw and wood chips while green materials are fresh vegetation such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps. Achieving the best blend of greens:browns is not an exact science, but a good target ratio is about 25:1 part browns:greens by weight. Too much carbon hinders breakdown of materials while excess nitrogen makes for a big stinky pile.
All additions to your compost pile will decompose more quickly if they are chopped up before adding. Grass clippings break down quickly and contain as much nitrogen as manure. Since fresh grass clippings will clump, become anaerobic and start to smell, mix them with plenty of brown material or dry them out in the sun before composting. Most kitchen scraps can be composted, but meat products, dairy products, and high-fat foods will decompose slowly, smell bad, and attract pests and vermin. Egg shells are great, but decompose slowly and should be crushed first.
Leaves and other large pieces of materials will break down slowly, so chipping wood and grinding leaves will reduce the size of your compost pile and speed decomposition. Also keep in mind that some leaves, such as live oak, magnolia and holly are too tough and leathery for composting while all parts of the black walnut tree contain a toxin that survives composting. Eucalyptus leaves can also contain a toxin that may be harmful to other plants after composting. And of course, avoid using poison oak and sumac!
Once you've got a good pile going, it will eventually decompose into a rich dark humus, but it may take a year if you do nothing else! To speed up the process and harvest your humus as early as four weeks, water your pile occasionally and turn it over about once a week. Organic waste needs water to decompose, so keep your pile about as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Don't go too nuts with the water though, a soggy compost pile becomes anaerobic, which will slow decomposition. If you're building your pile with wet materials mix in dry materials as you go along, and if your materials are particularly dry, wet it down as you build it up. Oxygenating your compost pile is the other part of this equation: the pile needs to be turned or mixed with some regularity because the temperature in the middle of the pile is warmer than the outer areas and you want to get the whole thing to cook evenly. Whenever you turn your compost pile, check it for moisture and add water as necessary.
Compost Users
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The E Street Commune has a bunch of compost piles, which is really cool. They know what's going on.
Composting Groups
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2006-06-04 22:02:33 According to DavisRecycling.org, you can call 757-5686 to get a free compost bin! —CharlesWinkelmann
2007-01-22 03:05:24 Or you can take out a spade and make one yourself! Assuming you have property you can dig on. Like my dad does, we had rotating compost holes in the backyard at all times when I was growing up (and the practice lives on to this day) —StevenDaubert
2008-06-07 02:41:25 Anyone know where I can get a 55-gallon drum that was used for something edible? —PeterGee
