While every gardener knows that compost is one of the best additions we can make to the garden, many struggle with getting compost from their composter in a timely manner.  Here are some tips to getting your garden composter working faster.

We all want to have all the compost we can get for our gardens.  Compost is a great addition to the soil for a variety of reasons. Compost improves the soil drainage while it retains the water better in dry periods.  It buffers the pH of the soil, reducing that acidity of soils that are too acid, and reducing the alkalinity of alkaline soil.   Sifted compost is a good seed starting medium, great for those small seeds like carrots.

While the exact ratio of high carbon to high nitrogen materials doesn’t have to be exact, it does help to make sure that we don’t have too much of one or the other. You need to avoid using all one type of material like lawn clippings or leaves. Try about an even mix of brown and green materials for you composter, and it should heat up without overheating and smelling.

The more you can break down the material going into the pile, the better it will work. This reduces the amount the material needs to be broken down, and improves the effectiveness by exposing the insides of the material. Reduce the size of the large stalks and branches with a pruner, and smaller pieces can be run through a lawn mower. You may want to buy a leaf shredder to do a thorough job.

Processing compost in batches works well for faster composting.  Once you have a pile working, start another pile or keep your kitchen waste in a kitchen compost container. Try putting a smaller bin or pail near the back door, and save up the kitchen materials for a larger batch to process.

To get compost the fastest, it’s necessary to turn the bin or pile every day or so.  This has the dual advantage of bringing fresh composted material into the hotter center of the pile, while improving the air flow throughout the pile as well, refreshing the oxygen supply to the microbial activity in the hot middle of the pile.

The ideal moisture level is a pile that is like a damp cloth.  It should not be soaked, as that can cause a slimy, smelly pile, and too little moisture will just bring the activity of the pile to a stop. To keep it from getting too wet, make sure you can cover it during a rainstorm.  Give these steps a try and see if you don’t start getting compost much more quickly in your compost pile.