How To Grow Cheaper Compost

Buy this, buy that. Then get some of these, and a handful of these, then some more of that, and a few of those…

Gardening can get expensive if you do it the “normal” way.

Consider these rough numbers on building a 4′ x 8′ bed:

(3) 1″ x 8″ x 96″ Cedar boards = $65.00

(8) Bags of mushroom/cow manure or other bagged compost = $40.00

(5) 6-packs of vegetable transplants = $15.00

(1) box of screws = $4.00

TOTAL: $124.00

Now really, $124.00 isn’t a bad price to pay. Over time, a garden bed will pay for itself in homegrown organic produce, provided you don’t count in the labor costs. (If you do, all is lost… so don’t. There will be tears.) However, what if you didn’t need to spend all that money? If you wanted to, you could give up the Most Noble Constrained Order of Raised Beds and just double dig. You could also grow your own transplants from seed, which is another money saver. Beyond that, there’s the compost.

If you’re worth your salt as a gardener, you’re already composting – yet I daresay very few of us create enough compost to meet our gardening needs. Most gardeners simply throw in some yard waste and whatever comes out of the kitchen, creating a measly few buckets of good stuff in a year. More enterprising composters will wander their towns and neighborhoods in search of piles of grass clippings, rotten straw, manure and even rotten vegetables from local dumpsters.

Yes. I’ve done that.

The ultimate in composting, however, is to grow your own from scratch. Let’s take a look at how this can be done at home.

The Concept

John Jeavons, in his book “Grow More Vegetables,” urges gardeners and farmers to devote 60% of their growing space to “compost crops,” or high-carbon crops. Basically, you’re planning in lots of greenery that can be composted and fed to next year’s gardens. By doing this on a large enough scale, you can eliminate the need to “buy in” compost.

Just because these crops are ultimately destined for the compost bin, it doesn’t mean they have to be just for that – often these carboniferous compostables are calorie sources as well. If you’re growing a bed of kale, you don’t really get much compost out of it at the end of the season. The same goes for many of our favorite edibles, like bush beans, cauliflower and peppers. Those produce good fare for the table but not for the compost pile. You’d likely have to grow 5,000 carrots to get enough tops to make a bucket of compost. That’s just silly. You’re looking for stuff that produces a lot of biomass. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Players

I live in a subtropical climate, so not all of these plants will work for you – but most of them will. Try some and see – and always be on the lookout for plants that get nice and big in a short period of time.

Cereal Grains

These are recommended by Jeavons, with cereal rye being the peak. I’ve written on grains before and why they’re not the best option for homesteaders – but if you’ve got blank earth that needs cover, hungry chickens, and a need for compost, it’s hard to beat these friendly grasses. Let them dry down in the field and scythe them brown to mix with greens in the compost pile… or turn them under while they’re still green to give the ground a burst of quick-rotting fertility.

Pigeon Peas

Pigeon peas are a tall tropical perennial legume that both fixes nitrogen and produces a lot of good growth in a season. You can often get the dry seeds (sold for cooking) from Indian or Caribbean groceries. In most of the US, they won’t produce anything worth eating before frosts take them to the ground… but they do grow quickly and will both enrich the soil and add to your compost.

Comfrey

This perennial plant is a permaculture darling. It’s also potent medicine. Grow it in a big patch and cut the leaves multiple times a year for compost.

Mexican Sunflowers

Mexican sunflowers, also known as Tithonia diversifolia, are fast-growing perennials that tower overhead. Mine reach 20′ every year, then burst into bloom. You can cut them over and over again and reap the benefits in the form of crumbly compost.

Corn

Grain corn, particularly the large “dent” varieties, can produce a lot of biomass in a season, plus you get to eat grits. Cornstalks take a while to break down, unfortunately, but they will compost eventually.

Fava Beans

No matter where you are in the country, you can grow fava beans. In much of the nation you can even grow these cold-hardy nitrogen fixers during the winter. They grow into bushes a few feet tall and also yield edible seeds.

Moringa

Moringa trees grow really quickly and also have serious fertilizing power. They can be chopped over and over again – and the wood rots quickly.

Sweet Potatoes

You might not think of sweet potatoes as a compost crop, but they do make a vast profusion of vines which can be added to piles. Just be aware: sweet potatoes are really good at rooting themselves and taking over unless the vines are either dried out or have been frosted.

Beyond these compost-friendly plants, always be on the lookout for fast-growing and expansive plants. Even the weeds can be your friends in this regard. I’ve deliberately planted pokeweed because of its rapid growth. When they get big, I machete them down and feed the pile. I also do this with grass in the yard… landscape plants… and thinnings from garden beds. If you start looking at fast-growing plants as being an asset, you’ll have a jump-start on the “buy it in” crowd.

Growing your own sure beats hauling home expansive bagged amendments of dubious origin. Try it and see.

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