1. Compost
Compost can be added directly to your soil, or it can be used more effectively if given in the form of compost tea or compost extract (see below).
Most folks pile all organic material in a covered area and leave it for up to two years, turning occasionally to produce compost… but this method is wasteful of space, time, and nutrients. A better way to compost was devised by Dr. Robert D. Raabe, Professor of Plant Pathology at University of California, Berkeley.
Berkley’s 18-Day Composting Method
Berkley’s is a fast but labor-intensive way of making heat-sterilized compost. While high maintenance, with a little practice it becomes easy.
Thermophilic composting uses the heat released by the decomposing organic matter to kill pathogens and weed seeds. To reach this critical heat level, compost piles must be at least 1 cubic meter in size, but 1.5 cubic meters (2 cubic yards) is easier.
An efficient compost heap is assembled from a combination of carbon-rich (brown) ingredients (C) and nitrogen-rich (green) materials (N) in the proportion of 25 to 30-parts carbon to 1-part nitrogen (30:1).
Too little nitrogen and the carbon will not be broken down; too little carbon and the nutrients will rot and leech away, preventing correct compost production. As with a recipe, you will have to aggregate the C:N rations to get your 25–30:1 ideal.
How To Compost Using The Berkley Method:
- Gather your materials as they become available (for free!).
- High carbon: Shredded cardboard or paper (50:1), dried leaves and grasses (40:1), sawdust (200:1), small twigs
- High nitrogen: kitchen vegetable wastes, meat, green grass, leguminous hay, fresh leaves, fresh manure, dried manure
- Under a lean-to and ideally on top of a concrete slab or plastic sheet, spread a 5-gallon bucket of fresh manure or blood meal, and layer 3 inches of small twigs or shredded cardboard on top.
- On top of this, place thin layer of green material, then a layer of brown material (like dried leaves or grass). Then place a layer of green material followed by a sprinkle of manure.
- Alternate this sequence (brown, green, manure) until you have a pile of at least 1 cubic meter in size that is compactly piled (not spread over more than 1.25 square meters) and top with a layer of brown material (sawdust is ideal here).
- Water slowly to moisten the pile until the water begins running out the bottom. Cover with plastic if you are not under a roof.
- After four days, turn the pile. Use a shovel to cut into the pile and work the material on the outside into the center, moving the hot fresh material from the middle to the outside.
The pile should be moist but not wet. Take samples; if the material doesn’t shed a drop of water when squeezed, it is too dry and you need to water it some more. If the material is sopping wet, make sure rain isn’t getting in.
- A compost thermometer (one with a 3-foot long probe) makes checking the progress of your compost pile easy.
If you don’t have one, you can test it yourself by sticking your hand into the center (you can use a veterinary glove). If it is hot but not uncomfortably so, you are about right. If it gets too hot to leave your hand in, it is in danger of killing the microorganisms or even catching fire (not likely but possible).
If the pile is too hot, put a 2-foot length of 6-inch PVC pipe into the middle of the pile as a chimney to vent the steam.
- Turn the pile every two days, bringing the outer material into the middle and vice versa. Water as necessary.
- By day 18, you should have fresh, organic compost for use throughout your homestead.
- If you had a slowdown (due to too much or little water; too little nitrogen, meaning you had to add more and restart the process), add another turning cycle to the process to ensure full composting.