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Composting forum has been started
Last post 09-02-2008, 8:58 PM by the13013. 23 replies.
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  •  12-05-2007, 11:10 PM 256

    Composting forum has been started

    I'll admit that I haven't ever composted before. It seems simple enough and I would love to try it. I'm kind of fascinated by earthworms and love to find them while digging around in beds.

    I would be very interested in hearing about a composting techinique for a small area. Photos of your composting contraption would be much appreciated.

    Patrick

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  •  12-23-2007, 6:06 PM 282 in reply to 256

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    Green and brown, green and brown. Oh, and add water. That's it. Layer green (grass clippings and such household garbage as fruit and vegetable peelings, apple cores, melon rinds, egg shells), then add a layer of brown (shredded leaves and other woody materials). Keep moist. Not wet, but moist. You need a pile that's at least 3 feet across and 3 feet high to start cooking. But that's it. Turn it now and then to stir in oxygen. If you get it right the first time, your pile will reduce by a third without you even noticing. You don't need any fancy container. Just get some chicken wire, or old wood pallets or whatever's handy. Start small and keep going.
  •  01-06-2008, 11:31 AM 283 in reply to 256

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    there is a great little book called 'Composting for All' published by Green Books

    Tel: 01803 863260; www.greenbooks.co.uk my allotment site web address is

    www.ladymaryallotments.org.uk

    this has lots of tips on composting and a link to Cardiff Organic Gardeners website.

  •  01-06-2008, 11:31 AM 284 in reply to 256

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    there is a great little book called 'Composting for All' published by Green Books

    Tel: 01803 863260; www.greenbooks.co.uk my allotment site web address is

    www.ladymaryallotments.org.uk

    this has lots of tips on composting and a link to Cardiff Organic Gardeners website.

  •  02-11-2008, 10:39 AM 316 in reply to 284

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    Ok you've convinced me! I'm going to start a composting pile. I moved 3 months ago to a house on a wooded lot, kind of rural, where everyone dumps their leaves back along a wooded bank. I'm going to put mine to a more intentional use, and reduce my household trash as well. I'll probably be back here with lots of questions. Like this one - does it have to be up off the ground on pallets, or can I just start on the ground?

    Anne, A YardLover from Virginia
    Read my Blog
  •  02-16-2008, 4:13 PM 322 in reply to 282

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    I learned the hard way not to put kitchen scraps that have seeds in them, i.e. tomatoes.  Embarrassed  You can put coffee grounds (with the occasional filter), and the best of all...CHICKEN POOP.  I happen to have 5 chickens.  Big Smile
  •  04-07-2008, 5:34 AM 450 in reply to 322

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    I also put teabags in.Make sure you dont put meat scraps or dairy products in, velvet
  •  05-22-2008, 6:03 PM 579 in reply to 316

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    Your compost should be on the ground so the worms can get in there and do their thing!!
  •  08-10-2008, 7:23 PM 940 in reply to 256

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    My parents have the best compost piles I have ever seen. They started out with a small space behind their Rhododendron with a pile of compost in which they added all their light yard waste and clean kitchen waste for one year. The following year they started a pile in the corner behind the garage. The third year they picked a spot behind the garbage can holder. By this time the first pile had sat for two years and Dad started screening it and adding it to their gardens. By the end of the third season they were ready to use this space for composting the next year. Well, mom and dad have lived in this house for thirty years and always have a compost pile going, one sitting and one for screening. They have gardens to be envious of.

    Dad never turns his piles, he just lets the sit and cook on their own, when screening anything not broken down gets added to his new pile. I have to say they also have the most amazing earth worms I have ever seen.

  •  08-16-2008, 2:05 PM 974 in reply to 282

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    Is it ok to put weeds in the compost pile? I also read that if you cover compost with black plastic it speeds up the process. Any opinions? Thanks, Billy
  •  08-16-2008, 3:10 PM 975 in reply to 974

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    As a rule weeds added to compost are fine just try to get to the weeds before they go to seed. Removing the seed heads can be helpful, although one thought is that if the compost cooks enough it will fry the weed seeds.

     

    Black or clear plastic will speed things up a bit, in my opinion not fast enough to warrant using a petroleum based product

  •  08-18-2008, 1:24 PM 985 in reply to 975

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    I have added tons of weeds, coffee grounds,  egg shells, and veggie scraps. would a bag of cow manure be good for the pile? Not many brown leaves right now in New Hampshire. Trying to add brown with the green. Thanks Billy 
  •  08-18-2008, 7:33 PM 986 in reply to 985

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    I don't think the manure is what you're looking for. Manure is brown, but not really plant matter anymore. It's really ready to go fertilizer. The brown stuff you want is indeed dry leaves and stems. These give some air space between green stuff so that oxygen can reach into all parts of the pile. Manure just won't really help in the process. So you might have to wait another month or two for the fall leaves!

    Patrick

  •  08-20-2008, 1:14 PM 989 in reply to 986

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    here at my shop we use used 50 gallon pickle barrels for composting in. they have a threaded lid with a diameter of about 12", and are usually cheaply available locally through craigslist or a google search... anywho, we drill a bunch of 1/2" diameter holes in the sides and bottom, add our green waste (always an abundance around here,) some kelp meal to feed beneficials, and roll the barrel a few times a week... i've gotten the quickest compost using this method, less messy than many of the "compost boxes" on the market.

    the other nice thing about the barrel is that when seeds do germinate, its generally fairly early on in the process, and eventually the heat process and the rolling kills them off and adds to the green matter in the mix. 

    manure is great if you've got some redworms that need feeding, we've used a mix of horse and rabbit manures, combined with green waste, and cardboard or coconut fibre for the initial bedding... worm casting production requires lower temps than compost for the worms sake, but otherwise is pretty much just as easy to do, and temp control can be achieved simply by using a wider than tall box, switching sides that material is added to so the worms can go to the other side and hide if it gets a little warm for them...

     


    13013... overthrowing the world one small step at a time.
  •  08-28-2008, 4:22 PM 1027 in reply to 986

    Re: Composting forum has been started

    I add stuff to my compost pile on a weekly basis. I turn it over with a pitch fork weekly also. Is it good to turn it over this much? Or should I let it sit longer while piling stuff on top. Also was wondering, as you keep adding stuff to the pile you eventually have stuff in different stages of breaking down. What do you do when you want to start adding compost to the garden. shovel it through a screen, throw back the rest into the pile thats not ready yet? Thanks, Billy
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