Many people are familiar with aerobic composting, commonly achieved by using compost piles. But there is more than one way to compost your yard, kitchen and garden waste.
There is three basic ways to compost: aerobic, anaerobic and vermicomposting.
Aerobic Composting
There's a number of ways to achieve Aerobic Composting, including piles, bins, trash cans, tumblers and sheet composting. All of these variations on Aerobic Composting exist simply because it is effective.
Aerobic Composting is a complex process. To put it simply, microorganisms use carbon and nitrogen from the plant matter available to them as food. These microorganisms inhale oxygen and respire carbon dioxide.
Aerobic decomposition can create a great deal of heat. If a pile is big enough it could reach a temperature as high as 170 degrees Fahrenheit, although that takes a certain set of circumstances which are rarely achieved.
A properly built compost pile can work from 0 degrees Fahrenheit up to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat created by the microorganisms decomposing the plant materials can be enough to make the pile steam in cold weather.
With a compost pile there should be no smell. If there is a smell, the pile may need to be turned or there may be materials such as meat or dairy which really don't belong in a compost pile.
Anaerobic Composting
Anaerobic composting is rarely used by any gardener. Until the decomposition is complete, anaerobic composting creates a slimy, smelly mess.
Anaerobic composting can be achieved simply by using a well packed pile with a high moisture content, 40% to 75%. It can also be achieved by submerging the organic material in water, this will help to alleviate some of the smell problems.
This form of composting doesn't produce enough heat to effectively kill pathogens and weed seeds. Letting the pile sit for a year or more will kill most pathogens, weed seeds may be able to survive longer than that.
In my opinion, aerobic composting is superior to anaerobic. There isn't any time that I would recommend anaerobic over aerobic composting.
Vermicomposting
Vermicomposting is a big word that means composting with worms. These aren't your average garden earthworms, they're two different species of worms, Eisenia fetida and Lumbricus rubellus,commonly known as redworms, red wigglers or any number of other names, depending on who you're talking to.
Vermicomposting is simple to start doing.
Get a bin, either purchase a commercial worm bin or you can build one out of plywood.
Add some bedding, which is most commonly newspaper torn into 1" wide strips or cardboard cut into strips 1" wide and 2"-3" inches long. Wet the bedding with water, just until 2 or 3 drops of water drip out when a handful is squeezed.
Add a handful of garden soil to add some grit for the worms.
Now you can add the worms. They can be ordered over the internet or a garden center might special order them for you. Let the worms settle in for 2 or 3 days before adding any waste plant material.
Vermicomposting is an excellent way to compost kitchen scraps. An aerobic compost pile isn't efficient when you're continually adding new material to the pile, a worm bin is efficient when you're continually adding new material.
A worm bin shouldn't smell so some people will keep them in a kitchen cupboard if they're short on space or just want the ultimate convenience for adding kitchen waste.
This was just a quick introduction to the different ways to compost. Some people might make composting seem complicated by talking about specific recipes and carbon to nitrogen ratios, it really doesn't have to be complicated. Composting is a complicated process biologically, but to build a compost pile or use a worm bin is simple.
And composting is one of the best ways to build the soil in your garden, it's even the basis for organic gardening. It can provide all of the nutrients necessary to grow a great vegetable garden.
