Latest / The Beanstalk : A Podcast for Gardeners / Episode 20 – Compost - Turning Scraps into Garden Gold

Transcript

Episode 20 – Compost - Turning Scraps into Garden Gold · The Beanstalk : A Podcast for Gardeners

0:28
Welcome back to the Beanstalk, fellow Beans.
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My name is John, your neighborhood garden buddy, and
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today we're digging deep, literally, into one of the most
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important, transformative, and downright magical processes in
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gardening composting. If you've ever wondered how to
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turn kitchen scraps, leaves, and yard waste into rich, dark,
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crumbly soil that smells like a forest after rain, this episode
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is for you. Compost is the secret ingredient
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behind every thriving garden, and once you get the hang of it,
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you'll never look at a banana peel or pile of autumn leaves
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the same way again. So grab your gloves, your
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pitchfork, and maybe a cup of coffee, because today we're
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turning trash into treasure. Why should we compost?
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Composting is nature's recycling system.
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It's how the earth itself reuses everything that falls to the
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ground, Leaves, twigs, dead plants, all of it breaks down
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naturally into a nutrient rich hummus that feeds new life.
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When we compost, we're not just making soil, we're closing the
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loop in our gardens. Everything that grows eventually
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feeds what comes next. It's a living cycle of renewal.
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A few benefits of composting include diverse nutrient
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density. Compost adds things like
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nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, micronutrients, and all of that
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organic matter that your plants absolutely love.
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It improves soil structure, compost, improves aeration and
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drainage in clay soils, and also helps sandy soils retain water.
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It's a bit of a miracle material because it basically improves
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pretty much any soil. It's full of microbial life.
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Compost is teeming with beneficial bacteria and fungi
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that make nutrients more available to plants and help
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with things like water retention.
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It helps to reduce the amount of waste your home produces.
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Up to 30% of household waste can be composted instead of sent to
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a landfill. This is definitely a good thing,
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especially when it benefits your garden as well.
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And best of all, composting saves money.
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You'll spend less on fertilizers, soil amendments,
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and waste disposal, all while giving your plants the best
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possible growing environment. Let's talk about the basics of
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how to compost. At its core, composting is
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simple. Microorganisms breakdown organic
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matter into hummus through the magic of decomposition.
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To keep them happy and active, you just need to provide an
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environment that helps them do exactly that.
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The first thing you'll want to have is carbon or Browns.
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Some natural materials would be dried leaves, straw or hay,
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broken up twigs, shredded bark, and wood chips.
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Then you would have things like shredded up paper, cardboard, or
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sawdust. A few waste stream examples
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would be things like paper bags or toilet paper and paper towel
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tubes. Next on the list is nitrogen or
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greens. Depending on what you have
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access to will determine the fresh materials you use.
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Things like different food scraps.
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A few examples would be different fruit peels, any old
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greens and crushed up egg shells or coffee grounds.
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You would generally want to avoid using any meats or dairies
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to try and avoid some yucky pests.
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Garden trimmings, preferably ones that aren't affected by any
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type of fungus. Grass clippings that are
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generally free of weeds, and you can even use weeds too.
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You just want to make sure they aren't throwing seeds yet.
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Most seeds won't survive composting, but a few most
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certainly will. Now let's talk about the
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importance of maintaining your piles moisture.
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You want your pile wet so it can stay active, but not too wet.
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If there's too much moisture in your pile, it can block out the
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ability for oxygen to get in. On the other hand, if your pile
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is too dry, then the microbes that help to break it down are
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unable to live comfortably. This will slow down how fast
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your materials breakdown by a large margin.
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Your pile should feel like a rung out sponge, nothing more,
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nothing less. And lastly, you want to make
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sure your pile has good air flow, or at the very least turn
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it regularly to allow air in. Oxygen keeps your compost
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aerobic, which keeps the microbial life you want in your
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pile happy. You want to prevent your pile
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from going anaerobic, keeping the microbes associated with
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that from moving into your pile. This will help prevent foul
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odors and pests, making your composting experience much more
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enjoyable. A good rule of thumb is to
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maintain a carbon to nitrogen ratio of about 30 to one.
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That usually means about two to three parts Browns to one part
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greens. Maintaining your pile is rather
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simple. If it smells bad, add more
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Browns. If it's not breaking down, add
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more greens or a splash of water if your pile has dried out.
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Let's look at hot composting. Hot composting is for those who
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want fast results and have the time to achieve them.
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By actively maintaining your compost pile, you can keep the
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temperature above 130°F. This will break it down and you
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will have good usable compost in as little as 4 to 8 weeks.
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The best way to achieve this is to build a pile at least three
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foot wide by three foot long by three foot tall.
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The larger the pile, the better, but try not to take on too much.
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It's easy to build too large of a pile, making it an absolute
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shore to turn it to allow oxygen into it.
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You'll want to layer your greens and Browns evenly.
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Make sure to surround your greens with your Browns.
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That way you can capture all those nutrients efficiently.
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Keep your compost pile moist, not soggy.
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You want to be able to squeeze it and your hand gets wet, but
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not much liquid, if any at all, comes out.
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If the pile gets too wet, the moisture won't allow air to get
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into the pile, causing it to turn anaerobic, and if it gets
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too dry, the microbes won't be able to process the material
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very quickly at all. And lastly, you need to turn
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your pile every three to five days to reintroduce oxygen into
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it. The pile will cool down a little
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bit after turning, but it will have no issue heating back up
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again as long as there is still more material to be broken down
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and it's still nice and wet. The hot composting method kills
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most weed seeds and pathogens, producing clean, rich compost
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for your garden. It's a bit more hands on, but
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very rewarding if you enjoy tinkering and seeing quick
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progress. Now a simple look at cold
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composting. If hot composting is like a
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turbocharged engine, cold composting is a slow cooker.
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You just pile up organic matter and let nature take its course.
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You do still want to try to maintain the three to one ratio,
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but it's not as important here. It can take 6 months to two
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years and sometimes even longer, but the results are generally
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the same. Rich and beautiful compost.
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Cold composting requires less effort but more patience.
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You don't need to worry as much about ratios returning, just
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keep adding material as it becomes available.
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It's great for people with limited time or smaller gardens.
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Let's cover composting methods. There's no single way to
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compost, just the one that works best for you.
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Here are some popular methods. First up is a traditional
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compost pile. It's simple and low cost.
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Just pick a corner of your yard and start layering Browns and
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greens. Turn it semi regularly and water
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it once in a while and you'll be well on your way.
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Next is compost bins. These will contain your compost
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pile to keep things tidy and critter free.
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Plastic or wooden bins work great.
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You can buy different kinds or even build some of your own.
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Then we have compost tumblers. These are enclosed drums that
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rotate for easy turning. They speed up decomposition and
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are perfect for smaller spaces. Next in line is worm bins, Verma
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composting. This is a fun indoor friendly
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method using red wigglers to turn scraps into compost.
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Worm castings are some of the richest fertilizer you can make.
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This is also a winter friendly method as most people keep them
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inside under their kitchen sinks.
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And last up is Bokashi composting.
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This is a fermentation style composting method using
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beneficial microbes. It is great for small apartments
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or winter composting indoors. Let's talk about building versus
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buying composters. If you like to DIY, you can
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build a composter with pallets like I did.
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Basically I stood three of them up in AC shape and screwed them
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together. I then stapled some half inch
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hardware mesh onto the inside to allow airflow while still
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holding the materials I want to compost in place.
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You could also use wire fencing attached to stakes of some kind,
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or even just rolled into a large circle and you fill up the
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center. You can even use cinder blocks
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or bricks, just make sure it allows for airflow and access
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for turning. If you'd rather buy one,
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consider these types. Firstly is static bins.
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These are generally inexpensive and are great for beginners.
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Then there's dual chamber tumblers.
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These are great because you can allow one side to cook while you
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fill the other up. And since they're tumblers, they
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even breakdown materials quite quickly.
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And last up is rolling bins. These are nice and easy to turn
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and good for small yards. They can be quite helpful for
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larger amounts of compost. Make sure to look for models
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with ventilation holes, locking lids, and drainage ports if
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you're buying commercially. Managing moisture, airflow, and
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temperature. Compost organisms need oxygen
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and water to thrive. If your pile is too wet, it'll
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smell. If it's too dry, decomposition
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slows. The ideal compost pile should
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feel like a rung out sponge, heat up to 130 to 160°F if
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managed actively, and have visible steam on cool mornings,
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which is a very good sign. Turning your pile every week
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helps it breathe. If it's sluggish, poke holes
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with a broom handle or add a few sticks for ventilation.
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Should you use compost starters? Compost starters are like
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probiotics for your pile. They contain microbes that jump
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start decomposition. However, they're not necessary.
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A handful of finished compost or garden soil does the same thing
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for free. That said, if your compost is
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slow to heat up or you're starting fresh with sterile
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materials, a starter can give you a boost on ground versus off
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ground composting. On ground composting let's worms
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and microbes migrate freely in and out, enriching your soil
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naturally. It's great for gardens with
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space. Off ground composting, like in
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bins or tumblers, keeps pests out and makes turning easier,
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but it can dry out faster. If possible, you can combine the
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2 starting in a Tumblr and then finishing the curing on the
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ground for a perfect balance. Now let's take a quick look at
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what not to add. You really want to keep these
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out of your compost, meats, dairies and fats.
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They attract pests and can be quite smelly when they're
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breaking down. Pet wastes.
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These can contain pathogens that can be harmful if mishandled.
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Diseased plants. It's best to avoid the risk of
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transferring anything to next year's garden.
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Glossy or colored papers. You really don't want any of
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that stuff in your soil, large branches or treated wood.
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Large branches can take a long time to break down, and treated
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wood also is something you don't want in your compost.
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Just like the glossy or colored papers and weeds that have gone
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to seed, you don't want to risk adding weeds into your fresh
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planting beds if you can help it.
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And now for the best part, the recipe?
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A sausage baked ziti. All right folks, after all that
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talk about decomposition and microbes, let's shift gears and
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talk about something that brings everyone back to life.
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A comforting bubbling sausage baked ziti.
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First up is the ingredients. 1 LB of Italian sausage, mild or
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hot, That's your preference. 1 LB of ZT pasta. 3 cups of
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marinara sauce. One Cup of ricotta cheese, Two
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cups shredded mozzarella, 1/2 of a cup of parmesan, two cloves of
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garlic, minced and fresh basil or parsley.
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Bonus points if it's from your garden and then the
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instructions. Boil your pasta until all dente
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and drain in a skillet. Brown the sausage with garlic,
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drain the excess fat, stir in the marinara sauce and simmer
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for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine pasta,
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sausage mixture, ricotta and half the mozzarella.
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Transfer to a baking dish. Top with the remaining
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mozzarella and parmesan. Bake at 375°F for 25 to 30
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minutes, until bubbly and golden.
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Garnish with chopped herbs and serve hot.
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This is perfect with a slice of garlic bread and fresh garden
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salad. Now for some fun facts about
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compost. The average household throws
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away over 400 lbs of compostable material every year.
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Worms in a Verma composting bin can eat half their body weight
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in food scraps daily. Composting reduces methane
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emissions from landfills by up to 50%.
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The heat from a large compost pile can actually boil water.
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Some farmers use it to heat greenhouses.
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Compost piles were once used to generate electricity by
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capturing methane gas. Some fungi found in compost can
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break down plastics. Nature's own recycler is still
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evolving. And now for the garden nerd
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corner. Did you know that compost isn't
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just fertilizer? It's a living ecosystem.
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In one teaspoon of finished compost, there can be over a
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billion microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi,
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protozoa and nematodes. These organisms form symbiotic
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relationships with plant roots, unlocking nutrients and
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improving disease resistance. That's why plants grown in
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compost rich soil are often more vigorous and resilient.
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Another fun tidbit? The scent of good compost, the
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earthy aroma we all love, comes from a compound called geosmin,
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the same thing that gives soil that fresh smell after rain.
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That's all for today's episode, folks.
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We've covered the insurance and outs of composting, from hot and
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cold methods to bins, piles, worms, and beyond.
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Remember, composting isn't just about making soil, it's about
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participating in the same natural cycle that sustains all
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life on earth. If you enjoyed this episode,
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please follow The Beanstalk on Spotify and swing by our
22:45
Facebook page to share your own compost setups or success
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stories. I love seeing how your gardens
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are growing and hearing about what you're learning.
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Until next time, I'm John reminding you that even the
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scraps of life can become something beautiful.
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Keep climbing, keep learning, and I'll see you next time on
23:09
The Beanstalk. Music.