Below is a recipe for two different types of compost piles. One is high maintenance and will produce compost quickly in four to six weeks. The other is a low maintenance recipe and who knows when you will have compost. It could be one month, two months or even a year before you have usable compost. Spring and fall are great times to start composting as there are plenty of ingredients available from your own garden and kitchen waste. So clean up the yard, follow the recipe below and start composting! Ingredients: Note: You will need nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) at a ratio of one part (N)itrogen to three parts (C)arbon. (N)itrogen (one part) components consist of: - Stable scraps like horse manure, rabbit, pig, goat and chicken manure
- Fish meal
- Blood meal
- Cottonseed meal
- Legumes such as alfalfa and pea clover
- Green garden waste like weeds
- Algae and sea weed
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Algae
- Seaweed
- Lake moss
- Hair
- Kitchen vegetable scraps
- Grass clippings without chemical fertilizers from the first two or three weeks of spring when they are lush and tender (at this time they are high in nitrogen but afterward they go into the carbon category)
- Sod
(C)arbon (three parts) components consists of: - Straw
- Dried leaves
- Sawdust in small amounts, (as long as it hasn't been treated with chemicals)
- Untreated wood chips in small amounts
- Shredded newspaper
- Cardboard
- Dryer lint
- Corn stalks and corn cob
- Shredded brown paper grocery bags
- Pine needles and pine cones
- Oak leaves
- Egg shells
Water - You will need just enough water for the pile to be moist, not wet. Air Circulation What NOT to add to a compost pile: Ashes from coal or charcoal, cat litter or droppings, dog waste, fish scraps, ashes from untreated wood, meat, fat, grease, oils, bones, milk, cheese, yogurt, potatoes, sawdust and wood shavings from chemically treated wood. Recipe for a high maintenance compost pile: If you want compost quickly and you aren't afraid of a few quick chores then this recipe is for you. Compost can be made in a pile in the back yard or a bin  according to the compost chef's preferences. Keep in mind that if you mix your compost in a pile, it needs to be protected from varmints. You can easily do this by surrounding the pile with chicken wire or by building a wood enclosure. Make sure that any large ingredients, like paper bags or garden waste, are broken down into small pieces so that they will quickly decompose. For maximum production of your compost pile, combine all of your ingredients at once. Don't keep adding ingredients to the bin. Every time a new ingredient is added to the pile, the decomposition process starts over. That's why it is a good idea to have two piles going at the same time. Use one pile to collect the ingredients and a second pile that is engaged in the composting process. To build your compost pile, first put a pile of twigs and sticks at the bottom so your pile wi... | 