How to Make your Own Compost!

1. Start your compost pile on bare earth. This allows worms and other beneficial organisms to aerate the compost and  be transported to your garden beds. 2. Lay twigs or straw first, a few inches deep. This aids drainage and helps aerate the pile. 3. Add compost materials in layers, alternating moist and dry. Moist ingredients are food scraps, tea bags, seaweed, etc.  Dry materials are straw, leaves, sawdust pellets and wood ashes.  If you have wood ashes, sprinkle in thin layers, or they will clump together and be slow to break down. 4. Add manure, green manure ( clover, buckwheat, wheatgrass, grass clippings) or any nitrogen source. This activates the compost pile and speeds the process along. 5. Keep compost moist. Water occasionally, or let rain do the job. 6. Cover with anything you have - wood, plastic sheeting, carpet scraps.  Covering helps retain moisture and heat, two essentials for compost.  Covering also prevents the compost from being over-watered by rain.  The compost should be moist, but not soaked and sodden. 7. Turn. Every few weeks give the pile a quick turn with a pitchfork or shovel.  This aerates the pile. Oxygen is required for the process to work, and turning "adds" oxygen.  You can skip this step if you have a ready supply of coarse material, like straw. Once your compost pile is established, add new materials by mixing them in, rather than by adding them in layers.  Mixing, or turning, the compost pile is key to aerating the composting materials and speeding the process to completion. Note: If you want to buy a composter, rather than build your own compost pile,  you may consider a buying a rotating compost tumbler which makes it easy to mix the compost regularly. Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio All compostable materials are either carbon or nitrogen-based, to varying degrees. The secret to a healthy compost pile is to maintain a working balance between these two elements. Carbon - carbon-rich matter (like branches, stems, dried leaves, peels, bits of wood, bark dust or sawdust pellets,  shredded brown paper bags, corn stalks, coffee filters, conifer needles,  egg shells, straw, peat moss, wood ash) gives compost its light, fluffy body. Nitrogen - nitrogen or protein-rich matter (manures, food scraps, green lawn clippings and green leaves)  provides raw materials for making enzymes. A healthy compost pile should have much more carbon than nitrogen. A simple rule of thumb is to use one-third green  and two-thirds brown materials.  The bulkiness of the brown materials allows oxygen to penetrate and nourish the organisms that reside there.  Too much nitrogen makes for a dense, smelly, slowly decomposing anaerobic mass.  Good composting hygiene means covering fresh nitrogen-rich material, which can release odors if exposed to open air,  with carbon-rich material, which often exudes a fresh, wonderful smell. If in doubt, add more carbon! Source : http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html