Berkeley Composting Method

Our annual compost competition was held at our May Meeting. Our speaker, Rami Siam, was very enthusiastic to see we were staging such an event, and said he was very keen on the Berkeley Composting Method, as it produced very good results. For those who maybe interested here is some detail as to how to go about it. With thanks to Lloyd Richards for the information from his blog.

The Berkeley Composting Method, sometimes called rapid composting, is possibly one of the most efficient ways of composting material quickly, and without much loss in organic matter.

1. The step to any great compost is to collect your materials.  The Berkeley composting method outlines two main ingredients: brown, carbon rich organic matter, and green, nitrogen rich organic matter.  The ideal ratio is about 30:1 Carbon to Nitrogen but since every material has a different ratio inside them what I find easiest is to have twice as much brown in colour material to green.
2. Once materials are collected its time to build the pile.  Whats been used on many an occasion is a section of wire fencing, anything over 3.5m by 1m tall will give you the needed volume of 1m³.  Pick a location with enough space to take off the wire and rebuilt it slightly to the side for turning.
3. With the fencing in place begin by giving the bottom of the area a good soak with water.  This will ensure that the moisture in the pile doesn't get sucked up by the ground and eliminates watering as you turn.
4. Begin layering the material in the circle, watering every couple layers to make sure everything is wet, but no more then say a damp sponge (this is called the Squeeze Test).  What I like to do is layer two different brown materials, one green layer, and then water til everything is damp.
5. When the pile is complete you can cover the pile to reduce water evaporation or encase of heavy rains, but if you live in the UK then its not necessary.  The day you make the compost counts as Day 1.
6. Three days later, on Day 4, you will do the first turn.  Take off the wire fencing, rebuilt it next to  it and then turn the compost into the new area.  Unless the compost has dried out there wont be any need to water it again, but if it is dry then add just enough water to get it damp again. You should also notice that the pile is steaming slightly at this point.
7. Now you repeat this every second day, giving the compost one day of rest between turns.  So turn it on Day 6, Day 8, Day 10, Day 12, Day 14, Day 16 and Day 18.
8. On the 18th day the compost should be dark in colour and hot to the touch.  There shouldn't be any intact organic matter left and it should have a sweet earthy smell.  At this point you can continue to turn if its still not one, adding water if needed, or you can give it a few days rest to bring down the temperature before turning it out onto the garden.

(optional) If you are producing organic matter during this 18 day process then you can layer them into the middle of compost each turn however you might then need to add a few extra turns to make sure they're broken down completely before use on the garden.