COMPOSTING

Composting goes back into the time of early Romans. It was mentioned in the works of Plinius. Traditionally, composting was a pile of organic substances that stood approximately one year or to the next harvest season when the compost was ready for using. The main advantage of this method is that a little work effort and time is needed for it in the moderate climate. A weakness of the traditional composting is that it takes place for at least one year that some nutritious constituents wash out because of precipitation expose, illnesses that are produced by microorganisms, weed, weed seeds, and insects cannot be appropriately controlled.

I started composting because of a wish to reuse the kitchen and garden waste. Because I wanted a compost bin for a longer period of time I did not make it out of wood (it can rot because of moist) but I bought the compost bin from recycled plastic. This purchase was not the most useful one because I found out after two years that plastic as a material, exposed to different weather conditions, has a limited term. However, this was only one problem. The second problem was tossing of the pile. I only had one compost bin because of the lack of space and if I wanted the compost to be ventilated, I had to toss the pile occasionally. If you have only one compost bin, it can be quite a pickle, which is also physically difficult. We have to wait quite a long time to gain a sufficient result from such composting, which was not my intention, not to mention my wish.

Composting modernized in the beginning of 1929 in Europe as a tool for ecological agriculture. The first industrial unit for transformation of urban organic waste to compost was established in Wels in Austria in 1921. Composting was also imported in America with followers of early European movements. There are many modern supporters of fast composting that try to correct some of the noticeable problems connected with traditional slow composting. Many defend the opinion that compost can be done in 2-3 weeks. Many of such processes include changes regarding traditional way of compsting with smaller and more homogenized parts, control of carbon and nitrogen in proportion 30:1 with moist level observation. Many scientists are convinced that the nature has to do its own treatments because there are no vivid improvements in modern composting considering the traditional composting. They also warn about the fact that the structure of natural molecules themselves (carbo hydrates, proteins and cellulose) dictates the speed of composting.
Modern, methodical composting means carefully observes the process with measured input of water, air, carbon and nitrogen rich materials. The process of decomposition is supported by the decomposition of plant material, adding of water, and assuring of appropriate ventilation of compost and regular rotating of the mixture. Worms and fungi accelerate the compost material's decay. Aerobic bacteria manage the chemical process with transformation of the input into heat, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. Ammonia cleans itself first with the bacteria, which is in the plant.
But, you don't have to be a scientist. You only must have a basic understanding of the life forms and processes that operate in the compost pile.

Compost is rich in noutrishment, that our plants need for optimum growth. Compost is used in gardens, gardening, and agriculture. Compost is useful for land in many different ways, as a means to improve the soil, as a fertilizer, and as a natural pesticide for soil. Compost is useful in eco systems as a protection against the erosion, acquisition of land, building on wet land and as a covered dump.

Composting demands four important components for efficiency:
Carbon for - energy; microbe oxidation of carbon produces heat.
Highly carbonated materials are brown and dry.
Nitrogen - to grow and reproduce more organisms for oxidation of carbon.
Materials with high value of nitrogen are usually green (or multi-coloured as fruits and vegetables) and wet.
Oxygen - for oxidation of carbon, the process of decomposition.
Water - the right amount maintains the process without causing anaerobic conditions in the compost.
The appropriate proportion of these materials creates useful bacteria, which heat the pile. This process releases a lot of water, oxygen is quickly drained out, and therefore, it is needed to actively manage the pile. Warmer the pile is more important it is to add air and water. The proportion of air and water in the compost is important to preserve the high temperature as long as the material decomposes. On the other hand, too much water or air in the compost slows the process down, as well as too much carbon or too little nitrogen.
The most efficient composting is with carbon-nitrogen in proportion 30:1. A pile with high C/N ratio will take a long time to decompose. If the ratio is very low (too much nitrogen), the pile will release the excess as smelly ammonia gas. As a carbon source I use sawdust, wich is wery high in carbon.
Almost all plants and animal waste contain carbon and nitrogen; however, the proportions may differ a lot. Freshly mown grass has the average proportion 15:1, dry leaves in Autumn approximately 50:1, depending on the sort of it. We get closer to ideal proportion of carbon and nitrogen by mixing the same volume parts. With observation of quantities and consideration of different materials in the compost, we can easily achieve efficient technique for different situations.

Don't throw away your kitchen scraps - add them to the compost . Kitchen scraps are usually high in nitrogen, which helps heat up the compost pile and speed up the composting process. Egg shells, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps, coffee grounds are all outstanding materials to add to the compost pile.

Compost is recommended as an additive to soil. Compost assures rich growth substrate or porous absorbent substances that detain moist and warm minerals that assure support and nourishment where a plant can grow; even though compost is rarely used as self-sustained and it is mostly mixed with soil, sand, bark etc.
Generally, direct planting into compost is not recommended because of the fast growth and possible attendance of phytotoxine which can decelerate germination and possibilities of binding nitrogen with lignin.
The most frequent mixture is 20-30 % of compost that is used for plants transplant.

Microorganisms can decompose organic substances for production of compost with an appropriate mixture of water, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. The procedure of composting depends on microorganisms.
There are many different species in the compost and the most important are:
- Bacteria which are the most numerous species of microorganisms (Psychrophiles, Mesophiles, Thermophiles),
- Actinomicet is needed for decomposing of paper products, such as newspapers, bark etc.,
- Fungi-moulds and yeasts that help to decompose the materials that bacteria alone are not able to, especially lignin in wooden materials,
- Protozoans that help bacteria, fungi,
- Rotatoria that have control over the population of bacteria and little protozoans.
Therefore, there are also earthworms, which besides eating partly decomposed materials take care for ventilation of compost and water running out of compost. Lacking of healthy micro organic community is the main reason why processes of composting in dumps are slow. There can be lack of oxygen, nourishments, water, ...

I started to search for a more appropriate compost bin. I found a solution in Jora compost bin which is some kind of a tub with doors. This tub can be standing or hanged on a wall. Therefore, it can easily turn and spin which enables mixing and ventilation of the compost. Because the tub for composting is isolated, composting is also possible in cooler days and in winter. This tumbler compost bin is made of plated with zinc tin plate, dust varnished which provides immunity against weather circumstances, and moist that is present during the composting process. It is divided into two identical parts and every part has its door where we add components for composting.
It enables that we fill in the second part meanwhile the first part (the loaded one) makes compost already usable after seven weeks. Optimal results are if the waste we add in is in small parts and in the proportion, which is the best for making compost. Because I do not have enough brown waste, I add sawdust or pellets (that is the waste of wood processing in wood production).

After almost a year of using isothermal compost bin Jora, I have been satisfied with its use because rodents do not have any access to it, it occupies less space, and the compost is ready to use earlier. It is also important for me that physically it is much easier to ventilate the compost and empty it. I only drive a wheelbarrow under it and open the door.
I believe there can be a better way to compost, which can also be cheaper. Therefore, I will gladly accept any suggestion in this direction, which will also be useful for all who read this writing.

Our wood stoves and fireplaces have kicked into high gear in recent months.
I have a Pellet Stove, so I often wonder - will composting wood ashes harm my compost in tumbler bin?
Actually, wood ashes can be a great addition to compost piles and/or to our garden.

Wood ash should be the entire remnants of a wood burning fire. In reality, what remains after a typical fire in a wood burning stove or fireplace is both ash and charcoal. Ash is the fine grey substance, whereas charcoal describes the black chunks of material that accompany the ash. Together, these two substances makes good material for compost.
To be true - in pellet stove there is almost no charcoal.
Both ash and charcoal can offer great benefits to our compost and garden soil.

Wood pellets are a very dense carbon source, so make sure you have enough nitrogen in your pile to balance that out. Wood pellets are a type of wood fuel, generally made from compacted sawdust or other wastes from sawmilling and other wood products manufacture. Pellets are produced by compressing the wood material which has first passed through a hammer mill to provide a uniform dough-like mass. This mass is fed to a press where it is squeezed through a die having holes of the size required (normally 6 mm diameter, sometimes 8 mm or larger). The high pressure of the press causes the temperature of the wood to increase greatly, and the lignin plastifies slightly forming a natural "glue" that holds the pellet together as it cools. The volume of pellets is much smaller from the volume of the sawdust.

One way to speed up composting is AERATION. If you have a simple compost pile in your garden, you just have to create enough air passages in the compost pile.You can create air channels on the bottom. Just make the first layerwith coarse material such as light brush or hedge trimmings.
The best way is, that you mix all the ingrediets of the compost. Just move the materials that were on the outside towards the middle, and vice versa. Check the moisture and adjust (the best with sawdust or pellets - if it's too wet).
Once your pile is built, you may try special tools, designet to aerate compost pile by lifting and fluffing the material in the compost pile.
If you have a tumble composter, it's simple - just turn the composter every day.