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Project: Build your own garden composter
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Strike it rich in your garden by building a deluxe modular composter.
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By Gary Walchuk
photos: Bert Klassen
illustration: Len Churchill
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Rotten Advice by Kathy Vey
When in doubt, leave it out -- the adage applies to home composting. Dont add meat and dairy products unless you want vermin to drop by, and steer clear of adding sawdust or shavings from laminates, particleboard or pressure-treated wood to keep contaminates such as arsenic and formaldehyde out of your compost. Black walnut and butternut sawdust contains juglone, a natural chemical thats toxic to many plants, although some experts say lengthy composting makes it safe.
Adding too much sawdust of any kind is ill-advised because woody material is high in carbon and needs healthy doses of nitrogen to help the bacteria in your compost heap break it down. Keep the layered look in mind when feeding your compost bin: Green layers of kitchen waste and garden clippings add nitrogen to the heap, which helps decompose the carbon-rich brown layers of stuff like dry leaves and bark.
Bloodmeal, bonemeal and manure are fine sources of nitrogen that will increase bacterial activity. So will commercial compost accelerators, which boost the rate of decomposition by adding enzymes to the mix.
Aerating the pile is essential to speedy production of compost. Toss it like a big, funky salad if you can, breaking up clumps and compacted sections and exposing buried material to the air. Anaerobic bacteria, which do their work in the absence of oxygen, cause a stink if you dont shake things up now and then. With the front open, a pitchfork or other long-handled garden fork is perfect for the job, and a spade will do in a pinch. You can work from the top with a specialized compost aerator, about $30, a long-handled tool with a pair of blades you plunge into the pile, twist and pull out again to aerate the compost (Lee Valley Tools 800-267-8767). Do this several times; the stirring action helps to break up matted material.
Remember, happiness is a warm compost heap. As organic material breaks down, it releases energy in the form of heat, which helps destroy harmful fungi and other nasties that might be lurking. A compost thermometer, available from West Coast Seeds (604-482-8800), is a clever way to keep tabs on internal temperatures. It resembles a meat thermometer, with a round, flat face atop a skewer-like probe much longer than the kitchen variety - up to about 20". Aim for an internal temperature of 55˚C to 60˚C (130˚F to 140…F). When youre hot, you rot; when youre notwell, you know. You wait.
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