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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Is my compost ready? Here's the video

16 years ago

Hi,

This compost pile is about 3 months old. I've never made compost before so I dont know what the finished product looks like exactly. Its mostly leaves and fresh grass clippings with some kitchen scraps. It was hot for a while, but the last month or so its been pretty cool...the compost that is. Im hoping one of you pros can take a look at this video and tell me if this is finished or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d8IxWXmac0

The compost scene starts at 3:50

Thanks.

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Comments (6)

bpgreen
16 years ago
It looks unfinished to me. Finished compost is usually a crumbly brown or black substance and you can't tell what the original ingredients were.
kqcrna
16 years ago
No, not quite "done". It has a lot of identifiable leaves and other matter. When totally finished, it will look like "dirt". Think black, rich soil. Chances are, if you screened that batch, some would look like that but from the video it would appear that it's not quite there yet.

That said, as long as you aren't planning to use it for something like seed starting, where a fine texture is needed, it would be fine to spread on a bed now and let it finish rotting there. That is, assuming that it smells good, too. It is well on it's way. That way you could use the bin to start another fresh batch. Nice work, Nick.

Karen
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Compost ready enough.... More like leaf mold (I think).
Q
Comments (13)
Thanks for all the replies.... Everyone- So, what what would be the difference between letting the leaves continue to decompose in their bins and tilling them into the garden next fall, vs putting them on the garden now as a mulch (matted leaves) then tilling them next fall? PT03- It's about 15'x20' (300sqft). I'm hoping to triple that by last frost but it might need to wait until next year. Can you (or anyone else) give me some recommendations as to how much area a volume of 75 cubic feet of leaf mold would cover (assuming my calculation of 4 ft diameter x 2 ft high bins = 25 cubic feet x 3 bins = 75 cubic feet is correct). kqcrna- Yeah, I thought I was making compost too for the reasons you give but I get where Dave is coming from also. annpat- So, even though I don't technically have leaf mold, you'd still put it on the garden. OK. Interesting you mention bags of leaves.... I still have a lot of bags of leaves lying around (from early fall) that I never got around to composting. If I just leave them in the bags, then in a couple of years they'll turn to the leaf mold you describe? Do you add moisture to the bags before/after you store them? Vent them in any way? Sounds a whole lot easier than the bins if you're willing to wait. Dave- So, the alfalfa that I added was only in an effort to speed decomposition? Remind me not to bother with that next fall. Everyone again... So how do you typically deal with leaves so that you can get them into the garden next season.... or some other system other than annual. Also please see my other thread about hay/straw mix that I was planning on using for a mulch. Why would I chose hay/straw over the leaf stuff I already have? Is one any better than the other?
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Is my compost ready?
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Comments (6)
There are those that will state emphatically that unfinished compost should never, ever be put in a garden that the undigested material will "rob" your soil of Nitrogen because the soil bacteria will get busy and finish digesting that leaving little available N for your plants. That will depend on how much undigested material there is and many of us do have some of that unless we screen that compost. Also whether to do that is related to when you will be planting. If this compost were to be worked into the soil 4 to 6 months before anything would be planted there it makes little difference, but if you are going to plant seedlings a few days afterwards that could. Working that compost into the soil and then seeding that soil may not be a problem. Then again it depends on how good a soil you have to start with. Sorry if all that seems a bit equivacable but there are too many variables.
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Gauging when compost is 'ready'
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Comments (6)
Jon, thanks for the affirmation. From the looks of things, you've got a successful (and impressive) enterprise going there. But in addition to the "look" test for finished compost, would the fact that the piles have cooled down be an indicator of readiness/usability, at least to some degree? Put differently, would you say there's a "temperature" test as well? I'm less concerned with what in time might be the ultimate product, but rather at what point the capacity of fresh cow manure to burn plant roots has been neutralized. Thanks. Gary
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is my compost ready (with video)
Q
Comments (9)
I think it looks like it's in a good stage to be a mulch, meaning that it could go on top of your garden to protect your soil, but not necessarily that it would be composted top-dressing for the garden (though as the growing season continues, that amount would continue to decompose also) However, that is not to say the same thing as, finished compost would always go on top. Sometimes you will want to till it in and sometimes you won't. I think of it as, if I haven't planted anything yet, then I generally like to till it in, along with other plant supplements. But if I have planted things already, and don't want to mess up the seed locations or seedlings/plants, then I may just add them on the top. Maybe a very little bit of working in the soil near each plant but I would be very cautious about doing that. Finished compost will look like some fluffy stuff that you can't really recognized too many things. Leaves, veggies, anything else, will be mostly gone and it is just something like you see in a pile of dirt. It's the reason some people don't like commercial compost that still looks like it has twigs and sticks in it -- because it doesn't look finished. But others say, the compost looks like too much topsoil mixed in, so they feel like they are paying for topsoil with a little bit of compost mixed in. But you may have particles you can use, and if you're willing to sift through your pile to get them, you can certainly have some useable particles that will add up to a useable amount. I put an example link for a video. There are others that should show up on the "recommended" listings, so you can catch a few of them if you have time. Here is a link that might be useful: What compost might look like
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bpgreen
16 years ago
Karen's response was much more complete than mine.

I actually let compost completely finish. I use a sifter to spread only finished compost on my lawn.
Lloyd
16 years ago
Here is what I define as "finished" compost.

Lloyd

Here is a link that might be useful: Finshed compost
greenthumbnick
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the responses guys/gals. I figured it wasnt finished, but it sure looks pretty and has no smell. Looks like something plants would love.

I figured I may be low on nitrogen since it hasnt been hot in a while, so I added some blood meal to it today. I added about a handful or two spread out over each six inch layer in the round bin with a four ft. diameter. Hope it helps speed things up.

Looks like I'm going to have to buy compost to prepare the asparagus beds since that time is fast approaching.

Thanks again.

Nick
kqcrna
16 years ago
Nick: Do you ever flip the compost? If you haven't done so lately it is possible that there is finished stuff on the bottom.

By flipping I mean pick up and remove the fence, put it next to itself, and fork everything back it. It gets mixed as you go, aerating it and you can correct moisture. This can speed up decomposition a lot.

Instead of spreading now as is, it probably would be good to let it finish so you learn as you go. It will give you better appreciation of the great stuff you are forming there. Good luck.

Karen

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