In cold composting, you simply keep adding material to your compost pile without turning it. It is in contrast to hot composting, where you turning the compost pile regularly to create heat during the composting process.
Cold composting methods include burying your organic wastes underground and trapping fall leaves in black plastic bags to building a compost heap on the ground or in a bin. Cold composting on the ground or in a bin are good places to start.
Hot composting is an aerobic (with oxygen) process whereby oxygen-needing microorganisms use heat to rapidly decompose organic wastes. In contrast, cold composting is an anaerobic (without oxygen) process when microorganisms that don't need oxygen to live slowly ferment organic wastes.
Make the first layer with a green source such as manure, coffee grounds, vegetable food scraps or fresh grass clippings, or a combination of two or more green materials. Add a layer of brown material such as leaves, straw, shredded paper, dryer lint, etc. on top of the green with about the same thickness.
The disadvantages of cold/slow composting include slow rate of decomposition and potential for pests to excavate buried wastes. Additionally, if the raw materials contain weed seed or plant pathogens, these will not be destroyed in the composting process. Some examples of cold/slow composting include: Sheet composting.
Once or twice a week, add the green material in and cover with brown each time. Every week or two, turn the compost (before adding new green stuff layers) so that you ensure that plenty of air gets into the compost layers as they break down and compact.
Whereas hot composting need a cubic metre of material to start, cold composting can be done by small gradual additions of organic waste to your compost bin. However, cold composting typically takes from 6 months to 1 year or even longer.
Composting works in sun or shade Piles in sunny spots will decompose quicker but also dry out faster and may need supplemental watering during hot dry weather. Those located in a shadier spot will stay moist longer but decompose slower. In either case, make sure the soil below the pile is well-drained.
Compost that is too cold may become smelly and take a much longer time to break down. Temperatures that are too high (over 160°F) will begin to kill off beneficial microbes and the composting process will stop. Turning or aerating compost before it exceeds 140°F can prevent it from getting too hot.
Your compost bin should be easily accessible, but not in a place where occasional smells or leaching liquids will cause a nuisance. Place it on level, well-drained ground and make sure the location gets some sunlight. If the compost gets too cold this will slow down the composting process.
Test whether the compost is ready...
Decomposition will be complete anywhere from two weeks to two years depending on the materials used, the size of the pile, and how often it is turned.
By turning more frequently (about every 2-4 weeks), you will produce compost more quickly. Waiting at least two weeks allows the center of the pile to heat up and promotes maximum bacterial activity. The average composter turns the pile every 4-5 weeks.
Heat is necessary to break down pathogens, weed seeds, and chemical residues. Never use the cold composting method to process diseased plant materials, invasive weeds, weeds that have gone to seed, or debris from lawns, gardens, or farms treated with herbicide or other chemicals.
To provide optimal amounts of these two crucial elements, you can use the carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio for each of your compost ingredients. The ideal C/N ratio for composting is generally considered to be around 30:1, or 30 parts carbon for each part nitrogen by weight.
Keep an eye on your wrigglers ! Worms cannot withstand the extreme temperature of a composter placed outside during a heat wave. Worms cannot survive at temperatures above 35°C / 95°F. Put your composter in a fresh place in the shade like a cellar, a laundry room, a basement ….
When you have a cold, aerobic compost, it produces carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, and energy. The methane is a green house gas with enormous warming potential and therefore a problem for climate change in contrast to a hot compost, which produces a less intensive mix of carbon dioxide, water, and energy.
If compost begins to reek of rot and putrid odors, there is likely too much material entering the pile before it has the chance to break down. Alternatively, too much water or too little air can cause an anaerobic purification rather than healthy decomposition.
Nutrients will leach out of compost over time. This depends on different factors, such as how it is stored. In general, the older the compost, the fewer nutrients it offers. Compost contains nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, but only small amounts.
which carry out the processes of decomposition. Organisms need free contact with both soil and atmosphere and suitable environments of warmth and moisture. The pile should not be directly exposed to sun, wind, rain, nor sited in a low-lying place subject to unnecessary dampness and standing water.
But being open to normal amounts of rain and snow helps keep the compost nice and moist, which is key to keeping it cooking along. … As is good airflow; so whatever you choose to do, don't let a soft cover sit right on top of your compost.
To start off: Ideally, put twigs and sticks, scrunched up cardboard or similar material at the bottom of the bin to create air spaces. Materials: Add organic materials through the top of the bin. Make sure you include both green (high nitrogen) and brown (high carbon) materials.
Know what to compost
Green materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, used tea, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, grass clippings, green plant cuttings, old flowers and many weeds. Brown materials are things like straw, paper and cardboard, dry leaves, woody prunings and sawdust (but not from treated wood).