How do you use compost?

[SwishTN]

I want to make the most out of my vegetables, and after juicing there is so much pulp, and I want to know if I can use it as compost in my little herb garden?
And if so, how does one use compost? Having an herb garden is new to me, and juicing is even newer....

Lauri

[Revvell]

You might check with the city you are in. Here, they give away composters supposedly IF one stays for the hour-long class on it. We're planning on getting one soon as we get totally settled in.

Other than that, can't help yet, oh~ Have you googled composting?

Revvell

[SwishTN]

That's the question.... Can I just throw my pulp on the dirt?

Probably not, that would just be too simple...

Lauri

[Revvell]

Uhhh, no. That's not composting, that's throwing pulp on the dirt.

Sincerely, someone here might help you better yet, I'd google it if I were you. Probably faster. OR, go up the the 'nana and do a search. Someone may have asked about composting previously.

Revvell

[rawpriestess]

Hi,
technically composting is layering food, and dirt, and paper, and grass, and food, and paper, and grass clippings, and leaves, and worm compost, and manure, and etc.

You keep it dark and moist and after about a year or so, the enzymes break it all down into wonderful soil.

Kind of like in the forest, you walk along, and you see layers of leaves, and pine needles, and the like, you never see any bear poop, it all is just taken care of in nature.

well, this is the perfect compost.

So, you dig a hole, let's say a 1 foot deep hole about 2 feet square, and you toss is some apple cores, and some carrot pulp and some tomato stems, and some potato peels, then cover it with a little dirt, say an inch or so, then water it down, make sure the dirt is still covering it all, then leave it, then the next day bring out your almond pulp (although you can use almond and veggie pulp in many crackers) and some strawberries that went bad, and some grass clippings from the lawn (although it's better for your lawn to leave them) and some leaves and some newspaper with soy ink, and then you turn it all over with your shovel, and mix it in, and water it, then cover with dirt, and keep it moist.

You just keep doing this, and when your hole is full, you just move over a couple of feet and dig a new hole. By the next year, your compost will be black and thick and wonderfully clean smelling, and you can mix it in your garden

Now, the Vita Mix people say that you can mix all of your veggie garbage with water and make a soupy paste out of it in your Vita Mix and just pour it on the dirt, much like you suggested, however, I've tried this, and all it does is make a big mess, yuck, so don't do that.

Hope this helps.

[levamssg]

If you want to put your vege/fruit remains directly in the garden you can grind them up or add water to them and make a liquid goop ... but you don't just pour it on top. Dig a small trench, put your "compost material" and cover it up.

By pulverizing or blending your scraps, they break down very quickly. Earthworms love this stuff, so that is a benefit to your garden as well.

You can compost scraps indoors with a worm bin (google it, there is lots of info on indoor and outdoor composting on the net).

Good Luck!!

[SwishTN]

I guess you're right, Revvell, that is laying scraps on top! Well, actually it is my pulp....

I also need to learn how to turn the stuff into crackers.....

I can nana that though.....

Unless any of you wise ladies have a simple suggestion??

Can I freeze it until I come up w/a master plan?

Rawpriestess, I saw your post on what could you not get tired of, or what not, and noted you are from Oregon??? I was born in Portland, and moved out here from there!!! (I was raised in Washington, though, in a little town called Longview...) But, you made me miss it!!!!!

Lauri

[sachis2112]

Uhhh, no. That's not composting, that's throwing pulp on the dirt.

LOLOL!!!

Acutally, composting can be one of two basic ways. There's the technically correct way and then there's the way we did it on the farm in the flower beds.

The technically correct way is to mix 50/50 parts of browns and greens. Basically, browns are newspaper (only if printed w/soy ink), hay, dried leaves, dried grass... dry stuff. Greens are your pulps, skins, kitchen scraps in general. The browns start to break down from the interaction with the greens and begin to "cook". Yes, the pile actually heats up. And the heat is good. If there's no heat in the center of the pile, it means that the composting has stagnated and there are a few things you do to kick-start it again... like tossing the pile and mixing stuff up, then turning the hose on it. After 4 months (if your pile properly cooked) you can use it as soil. It should no longer have a smell and should look like black earth.

The way we did it on the farm... We kept a small bucket (like 2 gallons) and then dug a hole in the flower garden when it was full and tossed everything in the hole. It composted underground and the flowers and veggies never seemed to mind it.

An easy way to build a compost bin is just to find 4 pallets and attach them together to create a box. The bottom of the box is actually the ground. This helps beneficial insects get into your pile to help break it down.

[rawpriestess]

I guess you're right, Revvell, that is laying scraps on top! Well, actually it is my pulp....

I also need to learn how to turn the stuff into crackers.....

I can nana that though.....

Unless any of you wise ladies have a simple suggestion??

Can I freeze it until I come up w/a master plan?

Rawpriestess, I saw your post on what could you not get tired of, or what not, and noted you are from Oregon??? I was born in Portland, and moved out here from there!!! (I was raised in Washington, though, in a little town called Longview...) But, you made me miss it!!!!!

Lauri

Was born in Pendleton Oregon, and live (now) in Roy, Washington, I know Longview, beatiful town, and my family still lives in Oregon.

I love it here, mountains, lakes, forests, meadows, clear blue skies, rivers, pretty much any culture you could think of, and next to Canada, the ocean, the Sound, the Mountain, and everyone is really laid back, and friendly, and non-predjudiced. That is a biggy for me.

Come on back, and visit a spell.