DIY Network

Capturing Water and Making a Compost Heap Joe Lamp'l shows how to capture water from natural sources and start a compost pile from household scraps. From "Fresh from the Garden" episode DFFG-306

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Fresh manure is easy to find in almost any place around the country. Horse and cow manure are loaded with nutrients and are good ingredients for jump-starting your compost pile. Manure by itself is very strong, but if you volunteer to clean out a friend's stable, you'll get a good mix of manure and cedar shavings that can go right into your pile. The fresher the manure, the more active it'll make your compost pile. Dried manure will have a similar but slower effect.

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Figure B

For a compost to do its work of breaking down all of this stuff into useable elements, it needs to heat up (figure B). It takes water and nitrogen to start it cooking; manure has plenty of nitrogen and beneficial bacteria to get the compost pile going. You could use a handful of nitrogen-rich fertilizer and some fresh melon rinds if you don't have access to manure; it'll just take a little longer for things to heat up.

Figure C

Compost needs to be moist, but not soaking wet, all of the time. The moisture will encourage bacteria growth and let it spread throughout the pile. Water your compost pile every week or two (figure C), especially of you haven't had much rain. As the pile heats up, be sure to turn the pile to speed up the composting process.

Figure D

When compost is ready, it'll look nearly black, moist and crumbly (figure D). This is a real treat for plants. It makes them grow quicker and stronger, and that's a combination that'll prevent pest and disease problems. The healthier the plant, the less likely it is to have fungus, bacteria or viral problems.

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