Who composts ?

[myright]

As some of you may know I moved into a new house a few years back and have started my gardening vegetables in my yard. I built a decent sized raised bed this year and plan to double the size of it in the spring. It kills me to put food scraps in the garbage.

At the end of this growing season I put the plants and left over veggies back into the soil and also added a few weeks worth of veggie scraps from my house into the soil. I then added about two inches of soil on top of all that and today cut my grass for the last time this season and put about two inches of clippings on top of all that.

This may be overkill for this year and I have been thinking about staring my own compost area to create my own soil and fert. It would need to be in a box NOT in a pile since I live in a subdivision.

Who here composts? Is it worth the effort and does it smell like crap all summer long? I don't want rodents in my yard so is that an issue as well?

 

[Thomas Linton]

I do.
YEs.
No.

You need to save up leaves from Fall. (Your neighbors may actually package them up for you and leave them on the curb.). Layer the leaves with the wet stiff from summer and sprinkle in a little dirt over each layer to add the little buggers that break down the foilage.. There is no odor and the material composts faster than just leaves. The result is Garden Gold. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Mix it in with the sold when planting. Mulch the plants with it when it gets warmer to hold in moisture and add nutrients.

Oh, watch for trees and shrubs sending their roots into the compost bin. They know a good thing.

 

[SouthernCross]

Who here composts? Is it worth the effort and does it smell like crap all summer long? I don't want rodents in my yard so is that an issue as well?

I compost for my vegie patch :thumbup:.

I reckon it's worth the effort. Adding the composted organic material will enrich your soil and certainly improve the productivity of your vegie patch.

It won't smell if you keep turn it once a week to keep it aerated. This will also speed up the composting process

Adding a bit of garden lime and a source of nitrogen (ie cow / chicken manure or blood and bone fertiliser) will also speed up the composting process.

Only put in vegetable material (ie vegie scraps from the kitchen, lawn clippings, old flowers etc). Adding meat scraps will attract rats.


Hope this helps


Kind regards
Mick

 

[myright]

I compost for my vegie patch :thumbup:.

I reckon it's worth the effort. Adding the composted organic material will enrich your soil and certainly improve the productivity of your vegie patch.

It won't smell if you keep turn it once a week to keep it aerated. This will also speed up the composting process

Adding a bit of garden lime and a source of nitrogen (ie cow / chicken manure or blood and bone fertiliser) will also speed up the composting process.

Only put in vegetable material (ie vegie scraps from the kitchen, lawn clippings, old flowers etc). Adding meat scraps will attract rats.


Hope this helps


Kind regards
Mick

How large of a compost pile do you keep?

 

[beckerhead]

I do a pile, but it is out back, and out of sight. Mine never stinks at all. I use mostly fall leaves, and grass clippings, and watch the moisture. I also have a massive supply of worms living in it which really helps alot. I swear by compost for my garden, and worm castings as a topper around my plants, as well as worm casting tea for drenchings on my plants in summer. I use no pesticides, no herbicides, and have no problems. My garden has spiders, ladybugs, and praying mantis as watchdogs, and it truly works. This summer I only watered my plants maybe 3 times due to healthy compost/worm casting laden soil. I also circle my plants with that slip together plastic edging material, it keeps the water and food where it belongs, and allows me to mound the plants pretty deep for good roots, and heat stress protection. I may sound like a fuddy duddy, but gardening is super cool fun to me.

 

[SouthernCross]

How large of a compost pile do you keep?

1 cubic meter.


Kind regards
Mick

 

[hollowdweller]

I like to do what I call the "instant garden"

I clean my barn and lay out a patch and then cover it with a mixture of goat manure and the alfalfa hay they waste as they eat. Then I add lime and cover with black plastic. Spring you remove the plastic and have a wonderful bed of compost.

When I moved here my soil was clay. You could till it up, it would rain, and cement again.


Now with over 20 years of goat manure and old bedding from the barn with a lot of alfalfa mixed in my soil is amazing.

 

[myright]

I do a pile, but it is out back, and out of sight. Mine never stinks at all. I use mostly fall leaves, and grass clippings, and watch the moisture. I also have a massive supply of worms living in it which really helps alot. I swear by compost for my garden, and worm castings as a topper around my plants, as well as worm casting tea for drenchings on my plants in summer. I use no pesticides, no herbicides, and have no problems. My garden has spiders, ladybugs, and praying mantis as watchdogs, and it truly works. This summer I only watered my plants maybe 3 times due to healthy compost/worm casting laden soil. I also circle my plants with that slip together plastic edging material, it keeps the water and food where it belongs, and allows me to mound the plants pretty deep for good roots, and heat stress protection. I may sound like a fuddy duddy, but gardening is super cool fun to me.

Not an old fuddy duddy at all. I'm 30 and love gardening. I love the idea of being able to walk out into my back yard and pick some food for dinner. I love maintaining it. I'm still learning though.

I can't really do just a pile since I'm in a subdivision on a third of an acre. I can, however, build a small box that that I can compost in. I've got to check local laws/regs, but I'm sure that there's nothing in there against composting.

I normally mulch my grass clippings right back into the grass, but I can start bagging. Also - we don't get leaves since this is a new subdivision and there are really no large trees as of yet.

I like the idea of the plastic edging around the plants - This year my tomatoes were horrible. They all split before they got big enough to harvest. My grape tomatoes did great though.

 

[myright]

I like to do what I call the "instant garden"

I clean my barn and lay out a patch and then cover it with a mixture of goat manure and the alfalfa hay they waste as they eat. Then I add lime and cover with black plastic. Spring you remove the plastic and have a wonderful bed of compost.

When I moved here my soil was clay. You could till it up, it would rain, and cement again.


Now with over 20 years of goat manure and old bedding from the barn with a lot of alfalfa mixed in my soil is amazing.

I have about 10 inches of top soil followed by some veggie scraps spread evenly followed by another inch or two of top soil then a few inches of grass clippings on top of all that.

Would I benefit from covering it? I'm in DE.

This may sound gross to some - But would I gain anything or is it safe to use the poop that my dog lays down? Obviously I'd like to use it in a compost pile instead of directly into the bed.

 

[SkunkWerX]

I have been composting for many years, right now I have a pile big enough to cover a standard pick-up truck. That's what happens in the fall.

Your pile will stink if you put "bad stuff" in it, like meats, dairy, and other undesireables.
A pile can get an ammonia smell, but, you would have to be actively right there, turning the pile to smell it. It usually indicates the reaction is going anerobic (lack of oxygen), and you need to turn it to get more air into the pile.

Formula: You need green stuff and brown stuff. More brown than green.
i have seen a lot of ratios , by weight, by mass, by type,
truth is, just combine green stuff with brown stuff and try to have more brown stuff.
A pile of dead cut lawn grass, left in a pile for a few weeks, will show you why you don't really want that.

Brown stuff is: fall leaves, wood chips, straw, sawdust, etc.
Green stuff is: cut lawn grass, horse or cow manure, veggie trimmings, etc.

You need moisture, and you need air. A compacted pile won't "cook" well, it will take a longer time to break down. Fluff it up, and stir it once in while ( and add moisture) to re-invigorate the process of breakdown.

the bacteria that break down plant matter can be found everywhere. The best palce ot get them is the forest floor. dig down an inch or so, and scoop some of the rotting matter that has collected and use that to innoculate your pile with a good starter helping of the bacteria. Even without innoculation they will grow and your pile will break down, but, if you can start it up with rotting plant matter, it gives you a head start.

I also throw in some fertilizer and lime when I am mixing. The fertilizer adds some nutrients, but also adds the oxidizer which boosts break down. The Lime adjusts the Ph, here in the east things are more acidic, so we need to add some base. The closer the pile is to nuetral Ph, the better it will compost.

Note: If this is for an "eating garden" do not use any fecal matter from a meat eating animal like dogs or humans. Their stool can contain micro-organisms you don't want in the food supply.

The pile should indeed, be one cubic Yard, or meter, approx. 3'x3'x3'. That is the minimum amount of mass needed for a pile to actually "cook" and complete the process.
If you don't have that much plant matter, try mixing up what you have, and placing it in black plastic trashbags in the sun. they will heat up. The down side is that you will have to open them once in while to stir and let some air inside.

When I am finished with the compost and it has broken down, I sift it with my home made motorized sifter, it will screen about a Yard of fully broken down compost in 10 minutes.

Here is a short video of my sifter sifting some plain old dirt mixed with compost. It makes sort of a topsoil.
Homemade Dirt Soil Sifter

 

[myright]

A lot of good information there, Skunk. That sifter you've got there is sweet!

My pop has a good bit more property than I do so I may try and talk him into getting a pile going in his yard and just have me maintain it.

 

[Lycosa]

Good for you! A lot more folks should compost.

 

[Will Power]

In my view, you cannot really grow veggies or fruits at home WITHOUT the addition of organic matter/compost to your soil.

It improves texture,drainage and fertility as well as plant vigour.

In Europe and Scandinavia, composting has become a big thing& I'm sure that in N.America you can buy commercial composting bins too.These have advantages in that they are generally ok at keeping off rodent attention if they have a mesh at the base.They also keep the compost at a good even temp-heating up very well in summer and yet they don't stink or attract a horde of flies It is CRUCIAL to keep rain out, too much water and the compost stays cold&turns into a sodden box of slime:barf: The micro organisms that generate rot won't work so well and you need to keep turning it all the time if it is not covered.

Compost bins should be narrower at the top to accelerate the rotting process,and make it easier to get the stuff out from a door in the base.Ideally you should have 2 bins on the go. What to put in? Most things that have been alive (your neighbours),household scraps,veggie peelings,orange skins,egg shells,contents of vacuum cleaner bags(much dust hair and skin!)tea bags coffee filters etc. Cold wood ash if you have an open fire,ground bones. I have access to rabbit droppings which are excellent:thumbup: If your neighbours kids' keep pets ask for the contents of cage cleaning, rabbits,guinea-pigs especially. The addition of animal droppings greatly enhances the quality of the compost and the speed (I've been known to scour nearby fields for cow-pats,not a wonderful task but fine manure...) of decomposition. You can add lime from time to time but be aware of your soil and plants' ph needs (alkaline or acid), commercial compost accelerator works well too.Leaves are generally a welcome addition too, except some types-conifers and Horse-Chestnut or very woody stuff. Don't overdo grass clippings, they are OK if added in smallish amounts-but avoid any grass that has been sprayed with fungicides or moss killers these are harmful. Grass clippings do heat up well and CAN attract egg laying snakes Another useful addition comes in the form of earth-worms, when digging, toss a few in the bin,these are your mates as they speed up rotting and decent compost is often full of earthworms eager to get to work in your veggie patch!

Actually, it becomes an interesting sideline in gardening and your plants and yields will benefit enormously. Why chuck away all this useful organic material? Good luck.

 

[HomeBru]

Good ideas so far, I'll add a couple:

Those black plastic composting bins ('bout the size of a garbage can) DO work and are perfect for a smallholder wanting to compost kitchen waste and the occasional extra organic "stuff".

If you're just looking to manage your food waste, look into vermicomposting or a worm farm! The castings that they will make from your food scraps are superb!

I let my grass clippings lay as well unless it's been really wet and the grass was too long. If I end up leaving windrows when I mow, it goes in the compost.

The more attention you pay to your compost pile (aerating, turning, moisture, etc.) the faster it will break down. You CAN just pile it and leave it, but it might take a year or two or three...

I built a composting system from old pallets. The whole thing is four pallets "wide" with pallets as walls to make three bins, the center bin is two pallets wide and two end bins one pallet wide each. I have friends drop off their grass in one end and shredded leaves in the other end and mix it all with the kitchen scraps in the middle. Every spring, I dig out the middle section and spread it on the garden and then mix the two end sections into the middle as "starter".

my $.02

 

[silenthunterstudios]

I've thought about doing this. Never got around to it.

 

[myright]

I've thought about doing this. Never got around to it.

Me too. I think this will have to be a next year project. Since my yard is new, I don't really have anything back there except for the garden and some horseshoe pits - no trees.

I'd hate to have compost bin be the focal point of my yard.

 

[Lycosa]

If you want rodent control, install a screech owl box.
Google, screech owl box.

 

[hollowdweller]

Note: If this is for an "eating garden" do not use any fecal matter from a meat eating animal like dogs or humans.

My friend Helen uses her own manure in her compost. I've eaten her produce without ill effects but she's a vegetarian so so she probably wouldn't qualify as a meat eating animal:thumbup:

 

[myright]

If you want rodent control, install a screech owl box.
Google, screech owl box.

This quote cracks me up. It's from a site that discusses building a screech owl box and the placement of it.

In fact, when the young are near fledging, some unusually spunky adults may swoop down at people or pets who wander too close, even raking them with their claws.

 

[fujita yuji]

>Is it worth the effort
Yes
> does it smell like crap all summer long?
No
> I don't want rodents in my yard so is that an issue as well?
No rodents came so far. If they come, my trap will treat them.

Introducing owls are great idea if it works. I love them.