composting

[kellybethx3]

Can I compost without getting a composting bin??

[Revvell]

..... yes.....

[michigan roman]

- straws my favorite add to compost pile

- you just make layers of different plant stuffs like grass clippings , leaves , straw , dirt , any dead plant leaves but not weeds as they can take root in compost , wood ashes , bark that comes off logs in firewood piles , etc

- you need a pitch fork as its easier to turn the compost pile over with then shovel , way easier . and turning the pile over helps it decompose quicker

- ide go to www.motherearthnews.com and search the topic for good info

[DebB]

Thanks michigan roman for that info. I was weeding our garden beds today and tossed the pulled weeds in the compost. I'm going to pick them out - I don't want them taking hold in there! *Ü*

[kellybethx3]

Thankks! But is there a way i can do it ahead of time to use when i start a garden i haven't yet but im planning to!

[michigan roman]

what ide do to make ' instant compost ' would be take grass clippings , then put a bunch of dryish / dead leaves from last fall on ground and repeatedly run them over with lawn mpwer to grind them up . then ide do same thing with straw . mix the 3 things together then youve a material you can spread around plants to enrich soil + prevent weed growth + hold moisture in ground

[kellybethx3]

Okay thanks!

[RawBogan]

One of our simple(long term) composting methods is to just dig a whole in the garden patch(about 1 and a half feet deep) empty the kitchen waste bin in there as is and cover it. Next time dig next to it. So on and so forth. In a few months turn the soil. And again later.

[Revvell]

One of our simple(long term) composting methods is to just dig a whole in the garden patch(about 1 and a half feet deep) empty the kitchen waste bin in there as is and cover it. Next time dig next to it. So on and so forth. In a few months turn the soil. And again later.

I like this idea!!

[michigan roman]

ps- leaves dont really need to be dry , i was just thinking about your lawn mower and not wanting you possibly beating it by running into a dense pile of wet leaves . you can use wet leaves just dont bog the mower down in them by piling them too high . can also add wood ash to this mixture , mix it all up with a pitch fork

[fastfreedom]

..... yes.....

Dangit. I saw the op and that's what I wanted to say. LOL



Also you could look into lasagna gardening. I think it's just basically layering your kitchen scraps and weeds and whatever else you would normally compost directly on top of your garden soil. I haven't looked into it, but I was talking with someone and they were explaining that's what they do.

[levamssg]

I have a compost pile that I layer like this ... it works if you are patient because it takes a long time (a couple seasons) to cook and produce usable compost ... but it is the easiest way to compost.

I also have two 'tumbler' composters that produce beautiful compost ... I fill them continuously during the summer and turn them, then let them set over the winter, and have a couple wheelbarrows full of beautiful compost in time for springtime - getting beds ready, etc.

This year I'm going to try my hand at turning compost frequently to see how fast I can produce useable compost. Supposedly, if you turn it every day, you should have useable compost in two to three weeks .... hmmmm. We'll see. The trick will be remembering to get out there every day to turn it ....

[michigan roman]

if you could take a pitch fork , long tine kind for straw , and bend the tines
90 degrees so it worked like a very long toothed bow rake itd make turning compost over way easier as it would be easier to rake / drag the compost pile off its spot then rake it back in different order to mix pile up as raking / puling motion way less work then pitching / hefting fork motion

in summer i also at times put tarp over pile to raise up its heat to help break down quicker

[levamssg]

Good idea Michigan Roman ... I will look into that. I have a regular compost pitchfork, but like the idea of the curved tines.

Right now, the plan is this. (the plan, by the way, is always being tweaked and revised as needed ... :) )

1. transport the existing 'main' pile to the 'turning area'. That way, I will restart a 'main' pile, while I'm working in the other area.

2. I am creating adjacent 'turning areas' ... so will put the pile back and forth here until it is compost ...

3. Move the finished compost to the holding pile to be distributed as needed.

These piles are strategically placed in the yard ... the main building pile isn't that far from the kitchen back door, so I have easy access to add scraps. I've placed several bags of shredded leaves adjacent to it to use as layering in this holding 'main' pile. It is surrounded by simple mesh fencing material with plastic stakes.

The two part turning area is just behind the house. It will only get 1/2 day of sun, so am not sure about that. I haven't decided on how to mark the area -- will most likely use up some concrete blocks I have for now. This area is much closer to the raised bed garden area I am in the process of putting. (I have built 60' of raised beds, 2' wide, along a property line fence -- and only have 5 left to fill with my soil mixture).

The 'finished pile' will be at the end of the 60' bed area in a more shaded area in the corner of the yard -- so it will be readily available for top dressing the raised beds.

It will be fun seeing how this works out. I'm really looking forward to warmer weather so I can finish filling the beds and get to the composting moving. We have snow forecast this weekend and into early next week ... after that I am hoping will be a good start time.

[Emiliana]

The great thing about organic stuff is that you can't STOP it from composting--it's all just a question of how fast it breaks down.

I've read that you shouldn't put uncomposted matter (kitchen scraps, etc.) directly in your garden plot soil because composting itself uses up soil nutrients that you want feeding your veggies. Compost first, enrich soil second.

But I read all kinds of stuff so who knows.

[michigan roman]

when i put fresh vegi or fruit scraps in compost i throw a shovel full or two of dirt on them , one to keep insects off . two it makes it decompose quicker imo . three im also thinking in the back of my mind as i live in a suburban area with a million restraunts with dumpsters in back which no doubt lure rats that by putting dirt on the scraps renders them more likely to be non edible to rodents i dont want looking to nest near their new food source . i spread wood ashes and lime pellets on compost for same reason , a 40lb bag of pellitized lime is only like $6 so i always have around . plus if using leaves they tend to make soil acidic and the lime nuetralizes the acidity , so does wood ash . i have a metal 55 gallon barrel i burn branches / logs in from big trees inmy yard then use the ash in my garden

[Lady Green Jeans]

Glad I did a banana search and found this thread. Thanks all for the great info. Want to use as much of my small yard area for square foot gardens so didn't want to give up too much fspace or a compost area. Thinking I will go with a trash can and poke it full of holes and layer stuff. Can roll it weekly maybe and help it compost faster. Just hate to throw away all the good peelings, cores, etc.

[kellybethx3]

Trash barrel souns like a good idea! But if i was to do it id be afraid of animals getting at it /:

[Emiliana]

Most of the year we use a couple of big old compost piles near the garden. But in the winter, when we don't want to haul everything through the snow, we put kitchen scraps in a plastic garbage can with a bunch of holes poked in it. Animals never get into it. Don't know why but they don't. And we have tons of deer, raccoons, coyote, skunks, etc.

[cbowden]

I have started putting my kitchen scraps in our old blender with some water and blending it to a smoothie consistency. Then I just pour this on the soil in my garden.

I've had a compost bin for about a year but because it is so dry here in Colorado it has yet to produce compost. Things just don't break down as quickly. I must be doing something wrong......so I've decided to go the blender route.

Good luck.

[Lesla]

We just sectioned a corner of the yard with some chicken wire and t-posts. We dump everything, all the vegetable kitchen scraps, egg shells, fruit peels, and grass clippings. It's a big enough area that I have a couple of mounds going. One is left alone to decompose, the other is for current scraps. I throw my avocado pits in it, and went out today to find an avocado tree growing. Repotted it, and it is beautiful. I don't know if it will ever make fruit, but what a lovely surprise! I've heard of people having tomato plants growing out of their compost pile, too. Gardening is my passion...I always have something growing.:throwhearts:

[kellybethx3]

I wanna start gardening but i dont have enough room and composting seems hard with all the animals aroundd /:

[babeak]

Look into vermicomposting using worms. I like the Worm Factory instead of the ones I made myself. IT is easy to do. It stays inside for easy immediate access right after you create the scraps.

You might need two bins though. My toddler and I could not put everything into the bins, nor did we want to. Banana peels are a good source of fruit flies. Worms don't like citrus either.

They are a great solution to the moisture issue with dry weather. Have an inside worm bin for a lot of the waste and an outdoor compost pile for the rest. My mom used to make compost piles with cylinders of chicken wire.

I love my worm bins! We are moving though over a long distance and showing the house to sell...so the worms had to go. I wanted to bring them with us, but it is really too much for a several thousand mile move. They are going to a good homes though.

I will restart once we settle down in our new home.

Happy composting.

[DawnD]

I have been composting for about 2 years and I have made some wonderful compost. My shrubs that I put in in 2004 never did much til I sprinkled some finished compost around them. That sure perked them up. I save all my leaves (or as many as I can) so that I don't contribute to the municipal waste. I just pile them up or shred as many as I can to use throughout the year.

My bin is 3 sided 4x8 feet. I bought 5 U posts at Home Depot and a roll of plastic mesh screen all for about $28. I build on one side and turn to the other side. I have another 3 sided area to hold one pile. I keep one to ad to and one that us just "cooking".

I layer leaves, grass clippings, leaves, fruit and vege scraps, leaves and WATER. Keep your compost as wet/damp as a wrung out sponge. It needs water for it to work. Turn the pile as often as you want. It needs O2 also. I also shelter the pile from the rain as I don't want the rain to leach out the nutrients before its finished.

My kids thought I was crazy because I took my kitchen thermometer out to take the temperature of the pile. It would steam in the cool air so I wanted to see how hot it was. I have seen it as high as 130 degrees.

I think that composting is the responsible thing to do if you can along with recycling. We have drastically reduced our garbage that goes to the street. We barely create 1 bag a week.

Happy Composting!

[DebB]

I hear you Dawn about your steaming compost pile. I watched a YT video by John Kohler visiting a green house in Milwaukee, WI and it was heated solely by the compost pile inside! I was impressed! *Ü*

[streetsurfer]

I hear you Dawn about your steaming compost pile. I watched a YT video by John Kohler visiting a green house in Milwaukee, WI and it was heated solely by the compost pile inside! I was impressed! *Ü*
Will Allen and Growing Power. An awesome group. I hope to go visit it this summer and would like to do one of his classes or an internship. I am particularly interested in their aquaponics. I saw a good show about them/him on tv hosted by a lady named patti (moreno, I think). She has youtube videos on raising chickens and rabbits.

I have a compost pile built up at my temp residence. It's been too high in carbon material and is only recently receiving ample amounts of greenery and food scraps. It is finally starting to balance out and should begin cooking soon. I did a lot of brush cleanup when I got here last fall accouting for all the dry brown material, but haven't been to any stables for manure. Over the winter there wasn't much green material to add. it'll finish. It just may be after I am back home and someone else will get to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I'm sure there are some neighbors here who will appreciate it.

[levamssg]

Reporting in regarding my composting experiment ... last spring I rigged up some mesh garden stuff into a circle with some stakes ... about a yard across and put all my kitchen scraps in layered with shredded leaves (from previous years yard cleanup). I didn't shred or chop the kitchen scraps ... they went in pretty much in whole form.

At the end of last summer, I started a new "circle" and left the other one 'cook' for the winter and into this spring. Well, the pile about 3-4 feet high at the end of last summer, and it reduced itself to about one foot. I Just used it to "mulch" my asparagus and strawberry beds ... it is beautiful stuff filled with worms -- nice and dark and crumbly. and NO WORK. I never turned the thing once.

I'm going to let my "winter circle" cook for the summer and winter, plus the summer one I'm starting now, so next spring I will have more beautiful compost. It is So Easy.

[Lady Green Jeans]

Really great information from everyone.

I saw a great composter at Costco for under $100 but have made my own. Drilled columns of holes down the length of a new plastic trashcan and layer it with veggie clippings, grass clippings, wheatgrass bottoms (what is left after you finish a flat), paper, paper towels when I use them. I can take it off the elevated area and roll it once a week and it is coming along nicely. I maybe should have gotten a second one to start so I have a fresh one going while the other one finishes breaking down.

[MysticTree]

I'm lucky to have a large garden and we currently have 2 big bins made from builders' palettes. We collect the old bedding from some friends who keep a lot of guinea-pigs and the bedding from our rescue hens (16 at the moment). All the uncooked kitchen waste goes in but generally I don't add much of our own paper and card as there is a lot that comes with the guinea-pig poo!

I like the sound of your bins LGJ. I'm always amazed at the cost of gardening things when a homemade version is usually fairly obvious - my bins cost nothing :dance:

Making compost is so magical and very satisfying and we can all do some, either on a large or small scale.

[Ariella]

I had some friends tell me i should put cardboard and lint from dryer in my compost. I am doing fruits, veggies, egg shells. i put in a few dead leaves and such. Any pro composters have suggestions on how much non food stuff i should put into my composter for a good mix? how often should i stir it? I am currently doing that once a week, do you think that is enough? Am hoping to get some great dirt! I have 14 fruit trees in my yard and want to get them some really good soil.