Autumn’s a good time for compost, and a bin is key

Garden cleanup, lawn mowing and falling leaves all provide materials that make autumn a good time of year for composting. Housing your compost ‘pet’ You might look upon your compost pile as a pet, a conglomeration of millions of beneficial fungi, bacteria and other soil micro-organisms. The pet benefits from the right housing: a compost bin. Food and water for your compost ‘pet’ The two most important foodstuffs of composting micro-organisms are carbon and nitrogen. Old, usually brown and dry plant materials such as autumn leaves, straw and sawdust, are rich in carbon. The older the plant material, the richer it is in carbon.

Nitrogen-rich materials include green plant parts such as tomato stalks; vegetable waste from the kitchen; and grass clippings, as well as manures. Especially concentrated sources of nitrogen include nitrogen fertilizers and seed meals. Soybean meal (available at feed stores) is my favourite high-nitrogen feed.

Fuel your compost with a mix of nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich materials. How much of each to add will vary with their composition and particle size, but let observation and experience be your guides.

A long-probed compost thermometer and your nose are good monitoring devices. If your pile never heats up, it could be due to an excess of carbon, cold weather or materials added gradually over a long a period of time. Offensive smells and the presence of flies might indicate the opposite problem — too much nitrogen.

Attention to water is the next level of care. Too little water results in little or no activity. Too much water drives out air and results in offensive smells. No care also works, eventually A casually made pile may not generate as much heat or finish up as fast as one deliberately assembled, but time has much the same effect on compost quality as heat. Any pile of living or once living ingredients eventually becomes compost.