


Soft succulent materials do not need to be shredded because they break down very quickly in the compost pile. Nitrogen rich green materials such as manure, vegetable wastes and green plant prunings can also be shredded.

Rotary lawn mowers can also be used by for shredding leaves by running the mower back and forth over a pile a few times although this method is not quite as good as using a shredder. The type of chipper or shreddder used is not important, provided it can handle the materials. Shredding increases the surface area that the compost microbes have to work on and provides a more even distribution of air and moisture among the materials. If there is one secret to making fast compost, it is finely shredding the carbon rich ingredients such as fallen leaves, hay, straw, paper and cardboard.

Some weeds and weed seeds are not killed because the pile may not get hot enough, and the process can take up to a year to produce finished compost.Ī faster method of composting was introduced by Robert D Raabe, a professor of plant pathology at the University of California, Berkeley. Some disadvantages are that nutrients are lost to leaching due to rainfall, These methods produce good quality compost with minimal effort. Many composters use a modified version of this method, by turning their pile every few weeks or months in order to speed up the process. However, many people are certainly interested in making the compost process faster.īy learning about the key factors in making fast compost we can begin making our own compost piles more efficient, regardless of whether our compost is finished in 2 weeks or in 2 months.Ī popular method of composting, known as the Indore Method, involves piling carbon rich and nitrogen rich materials in alternating layers and letting them stand for a year, after which they are ready to use. It just seems like too much work for some of us. Not everyone feels compelled to make compost in 14 days.
