Sacred Compost

“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” -Wendell Berry

(From the Flower Child's Garden Planet:) Wendell Berry says that one of the most important jobs of the humans of Earth is to make soil, and keep it healthy. I have composted all of my home food scraps for many years. I invented my own compost method after taking a class on the chemistry of composting at the university.

At our community, we consider the ritual of composting to be a sacred ceremony, called the 'grand compost'. This is an easy, no-turn, no-smell, plant right away, composting method. You do not need a 'composter' from the store for this method, but you will need some cans with tight lids:

1. It's simple! SAVE your food scraps in a large, sealed lidded, closed garbage can until full. Two or three large cans is best, to create a critical mass of heat. (Don't put meat scraps in, else your compost may attract unwanted visitors.)

2. DIG a shallow hole, removing the topsoil in the area where your garden is to be, about the size of a bed mattress. Set the topsoil aside around the hole, in buckets or on a sheet of plastic.

3. Make a 'nest' in the hole you dug,to provide air circulation at the bottom of the pile. You can use anything that will rot: yard debris, thin sticks, piles of freshly pulled weeds dried blackberry canes, old shoes, dryer lint,egg cartons, natural fiber worn out clothes, etc. we save household 'dry compost' in a special can, to use in this once every few months process.

4. Add all of your saved up cans of WET compost to the nest. Rinse the cans, pouring rinse water on too. Don't worry, it will not stink once you have assembled all of the layers. 

5. Sprinkle fireplace ASHES (or lime) over the wet compost layer.

6. Next, add a layer of GREEN: fresh grass clippings or manure, such as rabbit, horse, or chicken manure.

7. Next, add a thick layer of LEAVES (oak is great!) or straw.

8. Finally, replace the TOPSOIL that you set aside, 'icing' the compost cake, covering the pile completely. You can add a little potting soil to the top if you like,to plant seeds in.

9. Now comes the fun part! You can plant immediately. Just plant seeds of your choice, and KEEP IT WATERED! 

With this method,you can even start your garden weeks or even months early in the spring, or even in winter! Your pile will keep it warm. The plants will turn the compost for you, and soon earthworms will appear and transform you pile into sweet, rich, dark soil. Your glorious mound will slowly go down as your plants go up! (Feel free to pass on this recipe!)