And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down. ‘”
Luke 13:8-9
Composting is very important for two reasons, firstly you can make your soil much more fertile and increase your yield of vegetables or fruit. Secondly you reduce your food waste going to landfill. When food waste ends up in landfill it creates methane which is a very strong greenhouse gas, actually more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Here are some hints from “Farming God’s way “ on how to make compost
Compost is an exceptional alternative to fertiliser, which builds up not only the organic nutrient levels in the soil, but helps to restore the natural biotic balances which occur in the soil profile.
What is Compost? Compost is simply decomposed organic matter that has been broken down by micro-organisms, especially bacteria and fungi. Start collecting compost materials at the time when there is plenty of green material around to allow enough time for the compost to fully mature before the next spring planting season.
Compost is made of four main ingredients – nitrogen, green, woody and a dry component.
a) Nitrogen is the essential fuel of the compost pile and gets the bacteria going. The most readily available Nitrogen component is manure and should make up 10% of the pile .Use the freshest manure that you can find. If there is no manure in your area then you can use dark organic materials from the forest and if you don’t have this don’t worry – it will just take longer to decompose
b) Green Component Green leaves are a great source of sugars, which are necessary for good quality compost. The green component should make up about half of your pile .Collect approximately green materials made up of leaves, grass clippings, weeds, old vegetables or shrubs.
c) Woody Component The woody material really helps to encourage the fungal growth in the pile because it breaks down so slowly and keeps the pile aerated. Collect approximately woody materials to make up 10% of the pile using maize cobs, stalks, branches, cardboard, wood chips or shavings.
d) Dry Component The dry material adds bulk and carbon to the compost and should make up one third of the compost volume. Collect dry materials, grass, leaves or old weeds.
When building the pile, it is very important that the right ratios are maintained. The simplest way to achieve this is to build using alternate layers of the 4 main ingredients. As you build each layer dunk the ingredients into a container of water before you place them, so that you wet the layers thoroughly. A good wetting at the outset will mean you will probably only need to add water maybe once or twice during the turning process.
Start with woody, then dry, then f green, then well wetted, fresh manure on top of that.
Turning the Pile: Within 3 days, the compost pile will have heated up and needs to be turned. The turning process maintains the correct temperature, mixes all the ingredients, brings material from the outside to the inside, aerates the pile with oxygen and allows for moisture levels to be checked and adjusted if necessary. If the pile is not turned it will become anaerobic, have a bad smell and result in poor quality compost
. Temperature: The compost gets hot very quickly because of all the bacterial activity. The ideal temperature of the compost should be maintained between 55C to 68C to kill all seeds and unwanted pathogens. A really simple turning cycle is to turn the compost pile every 3 days for the first 3 turns and every 10 days for the next 2 or 3 turns. This cycle will continue until all the nitrogen in the pile has been utilized. If you followed the guideline ingredients, then the compost will get hot enough for adequate decomposition and also will be maturing and cooling after 6-8 weeks.
Moisture Content: It is important to test to see whether the pile is moist enough, as a lot of moisture is lost as steam and needs to be replaced. Try to keep the moisture content of your compost at 50%. You can test this when turning the pile, by squeezing it in your hand. If moisture drips out, it is too wet. If no water drips out, but on opening your hand the material does not hold its shape, then it is too dry, so add water.. Leave a gentle slope on the top of the pile and place thatch grass or grain bags on top to keep excess rain water off the pile, which can cool the pile too much
Curing: After approximately 2 months the turning process is complete, but leave it to cure thoroughly for another 4 months before you use it. You don’t need to turn it anymore, but store it in the shade or cover it with a breathable material or thatch grass to prevent it from drying out. Do not cover the compost with plastic as this deprives the living organisms of oxygen. When complete, your compost should be a dark brown colour, smell sweet and rich, have a crumbly texture and you should be able to see thick fungal strands
Utilizing the Compost : Compost is the input that we should see on every farm field as we teach farmers faithfulness with what God, in His all sufficiency, has put in our hand. Compost can be utilized as a surface application or in planting stations/furrows. The yield potential with good quality compost is very high and the cost of producing it is only a few days labour to collect the materials, build and do the turns of the pile. The opportunity to excel as a vegetable grower by cutting input costs and growing healthy nutritious plants depends on what we put in!!!
For more information go to chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.farming-gods-way.org/Resources/FGW_Field_Guide.pdf