want to compost, but don't quite get it yet

[LGithens]

Ok, I really want to start a compost bin. I live in central Iowa (zone 5) I'm not sure if I understand. It takes several months to actually get compost, right? So by the time I have nice compost, it'll be late summer, early fall when my garden is beginning it's last leg. Do I use the compost then, or keep it over the winter?

I assume that in the spring, having nice compost will be a good thing, but how do get my own compost by the time I start working my garden?

Thanks!

Lori

[Kisal]

If you add the materials in the right proportions, you can get a nice hot pile going. You might have useable compost within a couple of weeks to a month.

You can use compost as a mulch during the winter. There are many uses for compost.

[haname]

Hi Lori!

It is good to let your compost age a bit before using, so the compost you make this summer will be perfect for next year's spring garden. Next summer's compost will be for the following spring etc. etc. This means you might have to buy compost for this year's garden, but if you start composting now you will be able to make your own.

Happy Gardening!
haname

[bogydave]

Usually 4, but like anything there are variables Mine takes about 6 months not counting the time it's frozen during winter

[LGithens]

Thank you, I will start today!! I'm going to start pretty small. I live on a farm, and we have some old hay in the barn. Will that still be good to use as brown?

Also, we have lots of leaves from last year and other debris that I've been raking out of beds and other corners, can I compost those items?

Thanks again, I think I get it now.

Lori

[rainbowgardener]

Kisal was being a bit optimistic I think. The compost tumblers where you can keep aerating and mixing your compost advertise finished compost in a few weeks, but most people that write in here don't say even those work that fast.

But a couple months, sure. And you can use your compost any time you have it. Great in the spring for planting with, but I also use it as a top dressing in mid season, to keep things nourished. And it is great for fall mulching, or put less than finished compost in (not on) your soil in fall for it to be broken down through the winter.

For now since you won't have your own, you can buy some bagged compost. Not as good as homemade, but better than nothing.

Browse around in this section for lots of good info about how to get started.

Here's one:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=161319&highlight=compost+101#161319

It does not have to be hard or complicated! Do what works for you...

[toxcrusadr]

I make compost all year too, whenever materials are available, and use what there is when it's ready.

In fall you will have a lot of cleanup materials available. If your garden soil needs improvement, consider making piles on your garden beds for winter. I have one bin right now so when I have a lot of material I look for a place to make a spare pile. With my clay the worms work on it from the bottom all winter, and the soil is lighter underneath in the spring plus it has more nutrients now. You can plant through the piles in the spring or turn them and consolidate, or move to your regular compost pile, or whatever.

Don't worry about how long it takes, or whether you'll have compost at the right time, just get started and you'll see!

[hendi_alex]

I subscribe to the lazy composting method. My cycle starts in the fall as leaves, table scraps, greens, manure are added to two bins pile as the materials become available. Layer in so much as is possible. Toss a little dirt or recycled potting mix between layers. Let the mix sit until the following spring, then turn it by moving all of that seasons compost to a single bin. The material will have decreased in volume so that two bins of original collections will easily fit in the single bin. Start to accumulate fresh greens and browns in the two starter bins and let the consolidated mix age one more year. After a year and a half, you will then start having a batch of finished compost available every spring, when it is most needed. If I had access to manure and/or used more greens, I think that my composting process would play out between fall and spring. But dry oak leaves make up at least 80% of my volume, and they are very slow to decompose. It doesn't matter however, as after the first year and a half investment, the compost is always ready for me during the spring planting period.

There are lots of more efficient ways to make compost, but as I say, mine is the lazy man's way. It just takes a little patience to get through the first year and a half, such that the person then begins to get to compost at the first of each growing season. As mentioned above, my method uses three bins, two for fresh materials, and one for the more advanced aging of the compost.

[rot]

..
Good easy to follow basic information with lots of ideas. What works best is what works for you.
https://www.compostinfo.com/

More information than I want to know.
https://compost.css.cornell.edu/index.html

A good list of ingredients with carbon/nitrogen values. Think: Grass clipping as really nitrogen or green and sawdust as really carbon or brown and most everything else falls in between.
https://compost.css.cornell.edu/OnFarmHandbook/apa.taba1.html

Start something up and then observe and adjust as you go along. No major disasters. Don't stress it.

to sense
..

[bogydave]

Mistake***

[haname]

If you have the space, you can keep the leaves in a separate area and make "leaf mold" which is a cold process, more like the natural process in the forest. As you need to add browns to your compost pile you can take leaves from that leaf pile. Some people make a simple wire cylinder that can be placed on the ground into which leaves are piled. The leaves are added to the top and at the bottom it gradually composts into the most wonderful stuff without any real work, and it goes even faster if the leaves have been shredded. By the next year the stuff on the bottom can be used as mulch or a soil amendment. It's a little different than compost but great stuff. The link below is to an article that explains it really well.

https://www.gardeners.com/Leaf-Mold/leafmoldlp,default,pg.html

Haname