User:Tr3ndyBEAR/composting

My suggestion

 * 1) Shred/mulch/blend the organic matter (browns and greens, but browns especially).
 * 2) Pay attention to the ingredients and calculate your overall C:N ratio and try to get it to around 25:1. Additionally, look out for any ingredients that might make the pH too acidic or alkaline. Also make sure there are good sources of specific minerals. Add special ingredients as needed.
 * 3) Make a heap of compost that's about a 1.5m cube. You can add bokashi or other EMOs to help ferment. You should at least add some healthy soil to introduce certain microbes. You can also make sure worms are in the mix to help out.
 * 4) Keep it in the sun, but water it to make sure it doesn't dry out. After 4 days, take the outsides of the heap and put it in another heap. Then take the insides and make a wall around the outside bits with the inside bits.
 * 5) Repeat step 4 until you have good quality compost (~2 weeks). After you plant your plants, you can add mycorrhizal fungi mix.

General tips

 * Sun and moisture are important, but avoid too much sun or too much rain as it can dry out or waterlog your compost.
 * You want your moisture content to be around 50-60%. If you can squeeze water out, the compost is too wet. If it crumbles apart when released, it's too dry. Alternatively, you can weigh some compost, dry it thoroughly (oven), and weigh it again.
 * It's not clear that layering is actually necessary or useful and I couldn't find that it provides any benefits besides being able to sort how much of each type you have (i.e. 3 layers of brown and 1 layer of green is easier to keep track of than weighing all your materials).
 * If the temperature gets over ~65°C (149°F), aerate or turn the pile to cool it down. Temperatures that high kill most microorganisms and limit the rate of decomposition. Make sure the temperatures are above 55°C (131°F) however since this is where most microbes that are pathogenic to humans and plants die.
 * The reason you want a larger compost heap is that it is better at keeping the heat in the middle. However, if you can find another way to keep the heat from escaping (without blocking aeration too much), you can get away with a smaller pile.
 * Certain organic material can be useful for creating more aeration spaces.
 * Some materials will take longer to decompose (important to note that there are many forms of carbon and complex chemicals like lignan will take much longer to break down than sugars. Ultimately, the C:N ratio is just a rule of thumb). If you have a screen, you can separate the good crumbly compost from pieces that haven't decomposed. Then you can collect those pieces and add them to the next heap.

Organisms involved
Under optimal conditions, composting will go through three phases: the mesophilic (moderate temperature) phase, the thermophilic (high-temperature) phase, and a cooling down/maturation phase. Throughout the different phases, different microbes will be predominant. Initially, mesophilic microorganisms will quickly break down the soluble, readily degradable compounds. This activity causes heat and raises the temperature of the compost rapidly. As temperatures get above 40°C (104°F), mesophilic microbes will become less dominant and thermophilic ones will take their place. When the temperature reaches 55°C (131°F), most microbes that are pathogens for humans or plants will die. However, if the temperature is allowed to get over 65°C (149°F), most organisms will struggle to survive and the rate of decomposition will decrease. During the thermophilic phase, the breakdown of proteins, fats, and complex carboydrates like cellulose and hemicellulose is accelerated. As these high-energy compounds become exhausted, the temperature gradually decreases and mesophilic organisms take over again.

Bacteria
Bacteria make up 80-90% of the microorganisms found in compost.

Carbon-nitrogen ratios
Materials with low C:N ratios rot very quickly (i.e. fish), while stuff like tree branches would need to be broken up as they take much longer. Breaking up the material increases the surface area. • cheese whey (2411:1)

• shredded newspaper (175:1, 400-800:1)

• newspaper or corrugated cardboard (560:1)

• wood chips (400:1)

• shredded cardboard (350:1)

• sawdust (325:1)

• wood chips or sawdust (100-500:1)

• mixed paper (150-200:1)

• paper (150-200:1)

• bagasse (137:1)

• bark (100-130:1)

• corn cobs (50-120:1)

• rye straw (82:1)

• wheat straw (80:1)

• pine needles (80:1)

• corn stalks (75:1, 80:1)

• straw - oats and wheat (70-80:1)

• straw (40-100:1, 75:1)

• oat straw (70:1)

• leaves (60:1, 40-80:1)

• corn stover (57:1)

• autumn leaves (30-80:1)

• manure with litter - horse (30-60:1)

• rye cover crop (anthesis) (37:1)

• fruit waste (35:1)

• peanut shells (35:1)

• garden waste (30:1)

• weeds (30:1)

• pea straw (29:1)

• fresh banana peel (28:1)

• dry banana peel (26:1)

• rye cover crop (vegetative) (26:1)

• wood ashes (25:1)

• green wood (25:1)

• hay (25:1)

• mature alfalfa hay (25:1)

• cow dung (25:1)

• vegetable scraps (25:1, 15-20:1)

• clover (23:1)

• manure - cow and horse (20-25:1)

• apple pomace (21:1)

• coffee grounds (20:1)

• food waste (20:1)

• rotted barnyard manure (20:1)

• grass clippings ( 20:1, 15-25:1, 12-25:1)

• molasses (19:1)

• seaweed (19:1)

• horse manure (18:1)

• legume hay (17:1)

• beef manure (17:1)

• dry potato peel (17:1)

• fresh potato peel (16.5:1)

• vegetable waste (12-20:1)

• cow manure (16:1, 20:1)

• manure with litter - poultry (13-18:1)

• manures (15:1, 5-25:1)

• young alfalfa hay (13:1)

• alfalfa hay (13:1)

• alfalfa (12:1)

• press mud (12:1)

• chicken manure (12:1)

• hairy vetch cover crop (11:1)

• pigeon manure (10:1)

• manure - poultry (fresh) (10:1)

• soil microbes (average) (8:1)

• fish (7:1)

• blood meal (4:1)

• urine (1:1)

Diseases and pathogens
Almost anything organic can be composted. In cold composting, you should avoid diseased leaves, manure, meat, and other possible disease vectors. With hot composting, you may be able to compost it if you can keep it in the center to make sure it breaks down properly.

pH
A pH between 5.5 and 8.5 is optimal for compost microorganisms.

Nutrients
Adequate phosphorus, potassium, and trace minerals (calcium, iron, boron, copper, etc.) are essential to microbial metabolism.

External
Links to sort through:
 * Compost C:N Ratio
 * Composting manure and other organic materials
 * http://compost.css.cornell.edu/microorg.html
 * https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/44736
 * http://compost.css.cornell.edu/chemistry.html
 * https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is_organic_matter_decomposition_dependent_upon_CN_ratio11
 * https://www.jstor.org/stable/42951797?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents
 * https://msnucleus.org/membership/ngss/fourth_ngss/04greens_browns.html
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0957582018313399
 * http://jals.gnu.ac.kr/journal/article.php?code=65831
 * https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0205112
 * http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/html/g2222/build/g2222.htm
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960852412003501
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001074210605918
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096085241200291X
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653513009211
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0957582018313399
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960852419316402
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960852420307331