Empty Common Community Garden & Meeting Hut: How to make a compost heap & party time!

Monday 6 August 2018

How to make a compost heap & party time!

Charlotte and Peter start piling the dry stuff

In November 2017 we made a compost pile and it got pretty hot. Over 43 degrees C even though it wasn't well insulated. It composted to less than half the volume in two weeks and later on we turned it into a new bay to mix up all the material and microbes and get more air into it for the microbes. The centre was already getting pretty well composted when we checked it again. Forward to July 2018 and we had another go. Charlotte gave Simone and Peter a tutorial on how to create the perfect heap.... Before we go into the method, here are two pics (the compost heap when we finished piling stuff up and after three weeks). Keep reading for step-by-step pictures of the process.

As you can see from the before and after pic above, our hot composting went reasonably well with layers of green matter containing lots of comfrey and dry matter from our slow compost heaps at a ratio of about 2-3 green to 1 brown and all watered in with horsetail tea (see principles below for explanation). The heap got pretty hot during the first week but then slowed, probably it needs more water but it was so dry we were using all our water supply for our plants.

The heap reduced in size quite dramatically in three weeks. Calculating the change in volume it was 60% of its original size. We should now turn it into another bin putting the un-composted matter on the outside into the middle and adding our next batch of horsetail tea.This tea is our horsetail weedings which we collect in wheelie bins and then drown in water for several weeks to thoroughly kill off the horsetail and create an evil smelling brew full of wonderful microbes.

In Permaculture design there are several principles and tips that keep designers on track when they're trying to create sustainable, or better still, regenerative systems.

One principle is "Produce no waste" and by dealing with our horsetail like this we avoid having to burn the horsetail or remove the horsetail from the site to be transported to the green waste depot.
One tip is to think laterally - "The problem is the solution". Horsetail has been a real problem for this piece of land and this is why it was abandoned and so became available for us. It is very good at absorbing minerals from deep down in the soil, particularly silica. By collecting it and reusing it to make our compost it becomes an asset as we get a good brew to activate our compost heap plus all those minerals it accumulates from deep down end up in our compost to feed our crops.

Now for the step-to-step tutorial on how to make a 'fast' compost heap. The trick of good composting is to make a lasagne with layers of nitrogen rich material (eg. green leaves, manure) - carbon rich material (eg. woody and brown dead material) with water added in between layers so it is damp but not wet plus some wood ash sprinkled in as well to add more nutrients if possible. Charlotte started with the dry stuff, mostly leaves. Then we added green comfry leaves and other soft cuttings.

Then we water the layers. We use a trough and watering cans, no hoses for us! More dry stuff goes on the growing compost heap.

The heap is growing among its walls made of recycled wooden pallets. More green stuff now.

Watering the next layer, a lot of dry stuff with green stuff peeking out.

Another layer of green stuff, then more watering.

Back with the dry stuff now...

The heap is growing, hang on and you will see how tall it is at the end!

Voila', Simone takes a break from taking photos and collecting green matter to show how tall it is. Simone is 5 feet 1in or 156cm, the compost heap is taller.

We close the heap with a pallet and put old carpet offcuts on top.

This is not a musketeer brandishing a sword... it's a metal rod with a CD on top. This will act as thermometer. We will insert it into the heap and check it now and then. Read on for the party pics!