North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Christopher Mauchline" <mauch1@aol.com>]

Couple of things about compost:

If you do not turn regularly (like me) you can still get great 
compost, but the weed seeds may not be killed (I read an author
a while back who loved compost, but she admitted that her "piles"
never got hot enough to kill the seeds. )

If your ratio isn't perfect (mine isn't) you can still get good 
compost.

I disagree about the "covering part" - that means, in general you'll 
have to manually add water.  I believe (in the case of compost) of 
letting nature doing the watering.

Be careful of grass clippings (only add in THIN layers), as they will 
easily clump in to a mass that does not easily decompose (I prefer to 
use most of my clippings as mulch).

Compost story:
The former owner of my house didn't compost, but had piled up a 3 ft 
wide, 20? ft long of several years of leave, grass clipping and shrub 
trimmings.  Because it had never been turned, it had not really 
started to decompose.  I decided to move the leaves/clippings and 
compost them in my new bins.  As I dug into the pile it started 
smelling really bad.  I assume this was because the pile had had no 
oxygen/air.  Well...as I dug into the pile I discovered a tomato cage 
was buried inside the pile, and inside of that was a mother skunk and 
her babies.

I don't think I ever ran so fast.

Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6

--- In nafex@egroups.com, orchardist@h... wrote:
> Hello Compositors,
> 
>       There's black gold in them their leaves.   When I `m from 
> there are a couple composting companies that get leaves from all 
over 
> the county and they are making a fortune composting and selling the 
> finished product.
>       I when to a composting class that was presented by the county 
> Master Gardeners.  Here's what I remembered. To keep a compost pile 
> active you must have four things in place, carbon, nitrogen, 
moisture 
> and oxygen. Carbon can be anything that has you have grown in your 
> back yard and has died.  It could be fallen leaves, dry grass, or 
any 
> other plant material in your yard that is brown.  The Plant 
material 
> should be as small as you can get it.  Some folks own a chipper-
> shredder to reduce the size of their compost materials. They work 
> great but not necessary.  I use my lawn mower and it works just as 
> well as a chipper-shredder. Nitrogen is needed to spark up the pile 
> and makes it heat up.  Any green material fills the bill for 
> nitrogen.  Grass, freshly pulled weeds and other green plant 
material 
> works as nitrogen source.  Manure's will work also work to heat up 
> the pile, but DO NOT PUT DOG OR CAT WASTE IN YOUR PILE.  Moisture 
is 
> also required so the microorganisms in the pile can help break down 
> the waste.  The pile should be as wet as a sponge that had the 
water 
> squeezed out of it.  A pile that is to wet will not stay hot enough 
> to breakdown the material in the pile.  Oxygen or air in the pile 
> also is required to help keep the pile active and at the right 
> moisture content.  Constant turning of the pile will aerate the 
pile 
> to help keep the moisture down during the winter months when there 
is 
> a lot of rain.  The pile should be covered to protect it from snow 
> and rain.  A ratio of 3 to 1(3 carbon to 1 nitrogen) with frequent 
> turning at the correct moisture is required to maintain an active 
> pile.  You will see a lot of little critters in your pile too.  
> Slugs, sow bugs, thousand leggers, and a few others will actively 
> help reduce the pile.  Don't put dairy products or meats in the 
> pile.  If you add food scraps, bury them in the middle of the 
pile.  
> This way the animals won't be able to smell them.  If you pile 
starts 
> to smell, you need to turn it to add more oxygen.  
>       Don't forget, Keep those piles turned.    Mike – WA.
>       
> 
> --- In nafex@egroups.com, Tom Olenio <tolenio@s...> wrote:
> > Hi,
> > 
> > Moving the leaves with a front end loader is turning them.  But I 
> think you need
> > to do it at least once a month to make a lot of progress and 
speed 
> decompostion.
> > 
> > I think if you added layers of old compost, to layers of new 
> leaves, you would
> > speed up the process.  This would make it into a large sandwich 
of 
> sorts, with
> > different layers.  Just save a pile of leave compost from the 
> previous year to
> > use as a "starter" for the next years leaves.
> > 
> > You might want to make a few piles, and shift them around  if you 
> have the
> > space.
> > 
> > Wish I had that kind of space.
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Tom
> > 
> > Ed Mashburn wrote:
> > 
> > > At 08:37 AM 12/20/00 -0500, you wrote:
> > > >   Keith: You must have mulched these leaves along with lawn  
> clippings eh?
> > > >Usually takes years to get stand alone leaves in a  pile to do 
> anything
> > > >except become wet and a forage for worms along the bottom  or 
> merely a
> > > >component for a good composting mix. If your outside temp is 0 
> and you can
> > > >see steam  eminating from your pile turn, turn, turn the pile. 
> This will
> > > >cook it and break it  down, cook any weed seed and give you a 
> wonderful
> > > >medium when done. Donna and I  are great believers in compost 
> tea. I line
> > > >my compost pit with a double  layer of 6 mil plastic set on 
top 
> of concrete
> > > >pads and tipped at a pitch towards  the front to one corner.  
> reclaim the
> > > >solution and then store it up in a big covered barrel on hand 
> when  needed
> > > >and use this as a fertilizer throughout the season. I might 
add 
> kitchen
> > > >waste to the "hot pile" now as  well. Egg shells, coffee 
grinds 
> etc as
> > > >you've got a very valuable situation in that  it's cooking and 
> able to
> > > >consume almost anything added, keep turning every  few days or 
> so....
> > > >Happy Holidays! Gianni
> > >
> > > I have been following this thread for a while and now have to 
get 
> in.  I am
> > > in a small town (Boro) in PA and the township brings me all the 
> leaves that
> > > they collect in the fall. This amounts to about 70 truckloads, 
so 
> is quite
> > > a pile. I have no way to turn the pile as it is as large as a 
> three car
> > > garage. I do try to flatten the top and let the pile sit over 
the 
> winter
> > > and collect rain and snow. I find that there are places in the 
> pile that
> > > decompose very well and others that remain completely dry. I 
use 
> the pile
> > > that has "rested" over the winter and start a new pile and let 
> it "rest"
> > > for a year.
> > >
> > > This has worked very well for me and the township. They are 
happy 
> to have a
> > > place to dump leaves (PA forbids that they put them in a 
> landfill) Lasy
> > > year they came out with a large front end loader and "repiled" 
> the leaves
> > > for me (that is almost like turning them). I use these leaves 
on 
> the rows
> > > of gooseberries and currants to provide mulch, conserve 
moisture, 
> and to
> > > provide some nutriants. Just seams like a "win/win" situation 
to 
> me
> > >
> > >
> > > Northumberland BerryWorks
> > > 707 Front Street
> > > Northumberland, PA  17857
> > > Phone:  (570) 473-9910
> > > WWW.currants.com
> > > Ed@c...
> > >
> > 
> > --
> > Thomas Olenio
> > Ontario, Canada
> > Hardiness Zone 6a


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