Compost Pit

The area should be approximately 2.5 meters long by 1.5 meters wide.  Dig to a depth of 1.5 - 2.5 meters and enclose three sides with wood to a height of 1 meter.  Leave the front side open to make the compost put accessible to the gardener.  Everyday, put all fallen leaves, lawn mowing, hedge cuttings and plant clippings, wilted flowers, overripe fruits and kitchen refuse such as fruit peels and vegetables leaves into the compost pit.

When the pit has reached ground level and has settled a bit, sprinkle freely with ammonium sulphate, about a handful per square meter.  Top this with another 15cm of garden and kitchen refuse and soak the whole pit thoroughly with water.

Sprinkle the top with lime or calcium carbonate.  Repeat layering with another 15cm.  Layer of of organic rubbish, and sprinkle ammonium sulphate, then add another 15cm layer of organic waste soaked with water, follow with a dusting of calcium carbonate, another 15cm, layer of kitchen and vegetable refuse, and so on.

Build up the compost pit with this layering procedure, remembering to apply calcium carbonate or lime only after watering so that the lime won't come into contact with the ammonium sulphate.  If you have no ammonium sulphate, you can use chicken manure, which is also a very good nitrogen activator of decomposition, but you must cover it with a thin layer of soil to avoid flies hovering ocer the compost pit.

If the pit is being built in wet weather, nothing more need be done but if we want faster results, we can turn the pit when it is 1 meter high after 1 month.  We turn the pit from top to bottom and rebuild it.

The fastest and best way to do this would be to prepare another pit next to the old one and transfer the half decomposed compost material into the new pit.  In another month, the new pit shall have fully decomposed compost for your gardening use and you will still have a reserve compost pit with more compost building up in the old pit.  It will take about 2 1/2 to 3 months to have decomposed refuse ready to be used as compost.