I’ve had a composting pile going for some time, but it didn’t seem to be getting very far. Now that I’ve planted a garden, I need my compost! So, a little research later, and voila, the Berkley Method of composting (also known as thermophilic composting, hot composting, fast composting). This is the art of making a “hot” compost pile consisting of 25:1 to 30:1 carbon to nitrogen that should heat up to 113 degrees within 4 days, and provide you with compost in 14-18 days. Well, that sounds like exactly what I need. Here’s a link to the page I read: http://www.compost-info-guide.com/fastcompost.htm
We decided Sunday would be a good day for this project. The first step was to gather up all my materials. I did have quite a bit of “green” or “nitrogen” products in my fridge left over from cooking last week. My darling son drug a large piece of plywood over to the back edge of our yard for me to make my “hot” mix on. I then asked both my children (very nicely) to please rake me up a few piles of leaves. We live on an old style Florida lot with many, many oak trees, so there were plenty. Didn’t take them long at all. My sweet mother keeps chickens for our families, so she brought me over a nice bucketful of chicken manure mixed with straw. The previous owners of our home started a huge (and I do mean gigantic) pile of leaves in the natural barrier that separates our home from a side street. We’ve lived here six years, so they’re at least that old. Besides being an absolutely sold out housing community for mosquitoes, it’s also an excellent carbon source. We added several shovelfuls of those to the pile. We then added a few handfuls of shredded paper and last week’s tea bags and coffee grounds (filters included!). Just for good measure, we added some rich black earth that we found while digging around in my old flower bed that’s now my vegetable garden. We eyeballed our ratios, but I’m feeling pretty good that we have the correct amounts. Plus, my mom said it was correct. And we all know that mothers are ALWAYS right, right?
We then added water until it was the texture of a wrung-out sponge. Again, I deferred to my mom on this because, as I mentioned, moms are always right. And although I’m a mother, she outranks me. As per the instructions, I covered it with an old tarp my son found behind the shed (don’t even ask!) and anchored the tarp with broken concrete blocks we had lying around. We’re supposed to let it sit four days before stirring it.
It’s only Tuesday, but I couldn’t wait to peek. Lo and behold, the temp is already up to 100 degrees. I did hope to smell that rich earthy smell when I lifted the tarp (standing way back in case there were flying pests or snakes just waiting for some idiot to peek under the tarp before they were supposed to). Although it didn’t have that strong, wonderful smell, it also didn’t stink at all, as it’s not supposed to.
I’ll post this now, and add pictures and an update by Friday, God willing and the Creek don’t rise. For now, I’m a happy girl. Got the tomatoes and peppers transplanted, the Brussels sprouts in the garden, along with nasturtium, marigolds and basil. I’ll also try to get some pictures of the garden posted. I’m so proud of it. And more than that, there’s such a sense of accomplishment and contentment in providing for your family (I’m sharing with my mom since she keeps the chickens at her house) and it was so much fun having her here Sunday and the kids being out and helping us.
Everyone enjoy your week, and check back Friday for an update!
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