Now that I've finally gotten rid of my giant compost pile I'd like to create a new, more efficient system for disposing of plants and garden debris in the fall to make compost. Is this a system you'd recommend
@Alasgun ? It would only be for outdoor materials, nothing from the kitchen.
As Alasgun said, any pile of organic material will compost over time if it has the right conditions. I'm thinking mostly about moisture. The bugs that turn the stuff into compost need a certain amount of moisture to live and reproduce.
@digitS' has some experience with that, that's one reason he often buries his. If it gets too wet and stays too wet the aerobic bugs that you want can't breathe and anaerobic bugs take over. These can stink and the quality of the compost isn't as good as the aerobic bugs make. If the weather sets in wet for a while it may get too wet but as long as it is somewhere it can drain that6 usually isn't a problem.
Another part is the mix of greens (nitrogen) and browns (carbon). There are ideal percentages of each but I don't worry too much about that. Many things you use to compost contain both greens and browns. It can be hard to get too precise of how much of each are in there. Too much greens and it can stink too so adding browns, or mixing it can be useful to tame it. If I dump too thick of a layer of chicken manure (mostly a green) on the pile it can stink and draw flies. Either mixing it up or covering it with grass clippings takes care of the problem. There might be some trial and error in your learning curve.
The bugs that turn it into compost eat the browns but use the greens as an energy source. The more greens the faster the process but also the more likely it is to go anaerobic and stink. It's not just how wet it is that causes the problems, it is also the mix.
Some typical greens are animal manure, kitchen wastes, nitrogen fertilizers, urine, and fresh green vegetation. Typical carbons are dried leaves and dried brown vegetation. Fresh green grass clippings or fresh green sweet potato vines are considered greens but they become browns if they have dried out. They still contain both greens and browns but the proportions change. That's one reason I don't worry too much about getting the mix very precise, I just err on the side of too many browns. Personally I don't do it but a few years back a lady in here said she got her husband to pee on the compost pile to add to the greens content.
@heirloomgal if you just pile up your garden wastes in the fall it will start composting, but they will probably be mostly browns, at least after a while if they dry out. Your dried bean hulls are very much a brown. They will compost even if you don't turn them or add greens as long as they have some moisture. Not sure what your winter temperatures will do to the process. Try to avoid wood. Wood takes a long time to compost.
I built two bins maybe 4' x 4' each. I use one to continually collect materials throughout the year. That's mainly chicken poop, kitchen and garden wastes, and garden excesses. I pile up corn stalks, bean vines, sweet potato vines, and such in a separate pile. I mix some dried grass clippings (more like hay I let it get so big before I mow) in withe collectibles bin to keep it from getting too green.
My second bin is the working bin. When I clean one batch of compost out to start another I layer in a layer of browns, a layer of fresh chicken poop since I just cleaned my droppings board special for that occasion, and a layer from my collection bin. Some stuff in the collection bin has already composted a lot. Then I alternate browns and the stuff in the collection bin for another couple of stacks. I'll probably top it off with grass clippings. That stack shrinks dramatically if I water it or if it rains. So I add another pretty tall stack of grass (hay) clippings or browns if I still have some. it shrinks again so in a week or two I add another layer, plus any chicken poop or kitchen or garden wastes or excesses I have. While the bugs will find it, you can speed up the process a little by shoveling a couple of shovelfuls of topsoil. That top soil contains the bugs I want. The partially composted stuff in the collection bin is full of those bugs.
At some point I stop adding to the working bin and start putting that stuff in the collecting bin. Turning the stuff in the working bin is a pain because I have no place to put that stuff as I try to turn it. If I had it to do again I'd go with a 3-bin system, just to make it easier to turn it.
In line with it being a natural process, The largest compost pile I'm directly familiar with goes from northern Georgia to up in Canada. It's called the Appalachian Mountains. Those trees dump a lot of leaves every year. While some birds, bugs, and other critters drop an occasional bit of "greens". it is mostly browns. It composts slowly because it is almost all browns, but it does compost.
And just for fun, here is what some master gardeners had to say about composting.
at least they didn't eat the clematis...
www.backyarddigs.com
