Organic Answers Column – April 26, 2023 – Compost

Compost – the Easiest Way to Make Quality Product

My common answer to the question of what should and should not go in the compost pile is simple. Everything that was once alive can and should go in the compost pile. Some ingredients require a little more management. Manures can have odor issues and food wastes can attract wildlife, but a little common sense can solve those minor problems. Air in the pile and burying the offending ingredients is all that is usually necessary.

If you follow the odd advice of keeping salty or greasy foods out of the pile, you sure shouldn’t have been eating that stuff! Composting is the solution to neutralizing all questionable, once living materials.

Ask tree trimming contractors to dump their ground trimmings on your property.

Another tip on composting is this. When tree trimming is done on your trees or your neighbors or anywhere else nearby, ask the contractor to bring the freshly ground trimmings to your property. Leave the pile alone for 9-10 months and it will turn into the most beautiful and almost perfect compost you can imagine. Turn it once or twice and it will happen even quicker.

The reason is that living tree trimmings provide a perfect balance of carbon and nitrogen. The wood, bark and cellulose are high in carbon while the buds, young stems, cambium layers, and green leaves are high in protein which is source of nitrogen. That gives a wonderful supply of major nutrients, secondary elements, trace minerals, and microorganisms.

Use ground tree trimmings as top dressing in the garden

If you are not interested in waiting on the compost, the freshly ground material is the ideal top dressing mulch for landscaping and food crops.

Black walnut has a chemical called juglans

Any mix of trees (hardwoods, softwoods, evergreens and junk trees) can be used. Any single tree species can used, with one unusual caveat. 100% walnut can create a growth problem for the nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc.) in the vegetable garden. The natural chemical called juglans is the culprit. Fresh walnut mulch is more problematic than after it is composted. When the walnut is mixed with other trees species, the negative effect is neutralized.

Some of the soil suppliers have started selling shredded tree trimmings and some of them even do a second grind to give the material a more tidy look. However, the free stuff right out of the tree care company’s truck is what I recommend and what I use myself.