Making your own Complete Organic Fertilizer

(from Gardening When it Counts)

Mix by volume (not weight):

4 parts seedmeal (or 3 parts seedmeal and 1 part tankage (AKA blood-and-bone, meatmeal))
1/4 part agricultural lime
1/4 part gypsum
1/2 part dolomite lime
1 part phosphorus source: finely ground rock phosphate, bonemeal, high-phosphate guano, kelpmeal, or basalt dust.

Apply at the rate of 4 to 6 quarts per 100 square feet once per year.

For high-demand vegetables, side dress a few weeks after seedlings have come up. Sprinkle small amounts of fertilizer around each plant, thinly covering the area that the roots will be growing withing the next few weeks. Repeat this process every 4 weeks, placing each dusting farther from the plant's centers. 4 to 6 quarts per 100 square foot can be used each year in this way, but if an increase in growth rate is not noticed, stop adding more because it is not needed.

Compost

Add compost to your soil as often as you can. A 1/2" layer added each year is typical.

Low-Grade Compost

Use a typical compost bin that creates a high-heat situation and converts the material quickly. Most of nutrient value is lost. A good set of plans for one type is located here.

Medium-Grade Compost

(from Gardening When It Counts) Build one compost heap a year in early fall. Accumulate all vegetative wastes and kitchen garbage into one big stack and let it dry out throughout the year.

Keep average C/N below 25:1.
Create a layer of 'dry stuff' about 8 inches thick and no wider than 7'.
Cover with 1/2 of soil. (the soil absorbs gases and converts them into nutrients, and also regulates the temperature of the pile)
Cover with 'strong stuff' (dried poultry manure, fresh cow or horse manure (without bedding material), or seedmeal.
Water the layer throughly.
Repeat and taper as you go up in height. Try to plan the size of your heap so that the height is between 4' and 5' high.
Cover the whole heap with another layer of soil.
Within 5 weeks, turn the pile, placing the material that was on the outside on the inside. Remoisten when you turn.
After three turns, your compost is probably done.

Carbon to Nitrogen Ratios

(from John Jeavons - How to Grow More Vegetables...)

Loosen the soil 12" deep w/ spading fork where the pile will be located.
Lay down roughage (brush or woody material) 3" thick for air circulation
Put down 2" of mature material -dry leaves, weeds, straw, dry grass clippings, hay, old garden waste. Water it thoroughly.
Put down 2" of immature material and kitchen wastes - fresh weeds, clippings, trimmings, green cover crops. Water
Cover w/ 1/4 to 1/2" of soil. Moisten.
Add additional layers until the pile is 3 to 4' high.
Cover the pile with 1/2 to 1" of soil.
Water the completed pile regularly until it is ready for use.
Let the completed pile cure 3 to 6 months while you are building a new pile.

Compost Technique from my PDC

Dick Pierce taught me the following in his class:

he prefers a 1:1 ratio of green:brown material in the compost pile
says a 1:2 ratio of green:brown is more normal
does not like to put soil in the compost pile
builds on a pallet, to allow airflow under pile
alternates layers of green and brown
fluffs and mixes every 2 layers
adds cottonseed meal
lots of water, until wet sponge feel
covers with 1" layer of grass clippings for 'insulation blanket', to keep sun off of pile, and keep moisture in.
turns compost 14 times - can be each day or each week
says slow compost is created more by fungus, and best suited for forest plants
says fast compost is created by microbes, and best suited for annuals
says the reason domesticated pet waste should not be used is because human pathogyns might be present

Automatic Compost