Any tips about composting would be welcome. I have a bin about 4'x4'x4'. I've read lots of information some conflicting and would like to hear from those who have done it. Thanks, Gardengater
My take on composting is that it is no rocket science . Stick to the basics and you would be all right . Good compost should have a balance between the greens and the browns , besides that you need to take care that it is not too dry or not too wet . If it is too wet put more browns and if it is too dry add more greens and/or water . If you put too much green stuff together or say grass clippings the stuff will mat down, the pile will go anaerobic ( decomposition in the absence of oxygen ) and will start to stink . So you need to turn it a bit to aereate it . No meat and diary product , most people stay away from cooked food , I've never had a problem . Don't worry just start the pile and you can always fix it .Good luck .
Thanks for the encouragement, ARV. This is about what I've been reading. Some sites can make it too complicated. I want to go entirely organic if I can. Appreciate the advice. gardengater
I stick to only veg and leaves and grass clippings...plus some coffee grounds and tea bags. I don't like the idea of bread and other cooked food. turn it every so often...you can buy compost helper at garden centers that aides in the decomposition of the scraps...and you can add earth worms to your pile. The only cooked veg that I put in are baked potato skins and corn cobs.... Egg shells are great as well.
You know Gardengater--I have done quite a bit of reading upon this subject and interviewed a number of folks...as well as tried all sorts of methods myself. Arv is right about it not being rocket science. For instance if you piled all your refuse up in a mound in the far corner of your garden and did nothing to it it would compost. It might take longer than if you followed some sort of regimen...but it would compost. Mu personal opinion is that there are (for me anyway) only a few things that I find important: --I never use chlorinated city water (unless I have let it stand open for 2-3 days). I use rain water or water out of the canal next to the lottie. The reason for this is that composting is a microbial process and the things that the city puts in the water to make it potable can kill many helpful microbes. --I turn the compost about every 10 days to re-introduce oxygen into the process. --When putting fresh green material, I always try and mix that up--such as a sprinkling of grass, comfry leaves, selected weeds, hedgeclippings. --I make sure that there is always a bit of 'carbon' in the form of dead/dry plant material. --I make sure that I have a thin layer of regular dirt at intervals. --I put worms in the bin because I feel that there is no greater aid to the composting process. I find them when I am digging on my plots from time to time. --Finally I feel that it is very important to snip-up the waste that one puts into the bin (even the dry stuff) so that the organic material will more easily and thoroughly compost A couple of things that are not essential to everyone: --I do not put roots, seed heads, diseased foliage or any tomato or potato waste in my compost bins --If it's been a particularly cool and wet season I use a sprinkling of blood meal, bone meal or plain old urine to speed-up the process and to get a more evenly composted pile. -- Some folks add calcium in some form to their bins possibly because compost by nature tends to be acid and has loads of nitrogen. I do not really know the reason for this, so it's not something that I do regularly anymore. I have done this before, but noticed no improvement on other methods.
Okay, thanks for the tips. I won't put in too many kitchen scraps as we have close neighbors and I don't want to offend. The only thing we use in places in the yard is fire ant killer and I will avoid collecting those grass clippings. I'll look for that compost helper, Gardenmama. I didn't even think about treated water. We have well, but is chemically softened. I'll let that stand. Haven't added any tomato plants or squash, just some fennel and cabbage leaves. Thanks all! Gardengater
Gardengater: WATCH the chemically treated (softened) well water! The softening agent is SALT and letting it "stand" won't help like it does with chlorinated water! Is there anyway you can catch rain water in a barrel for use on compost pile? I'd REALLY look at that option. I have a barrel composter and use chopped up comfrey leaves as an accellerant. They really work, plus add trace nutrients to brown/green mixture base. Sister, who works for a major nursery Back East and has been pile composting for YEARS, said another excellant accellerant is adding the cheapest dry dog food you can find! I added a 3-pound bag just recently to barrel, it has totally "melted down" and compost is almost ready (takes about 2 months per batch in the thing)! Grass clippings are pesticide/herbicide free; crushed bagged leaves were left from last year; old soil came out of expired containers; comfrey was this years' crop; then added more green matter as I ate from the garden; and turn the barrel 3 times daily as directed. Is much quicker than a compost pile, but results are a sweet smelling, black and RICH compost the plants thrive on! I also added some dried blood, bone meal,pellet stove ashes and dehydrated steer manure for an "extra punch". NO meat scraps, NO diseased plants, and try to avoid a lot of weeds (dandelion GREENS and plaintain greens are excellant additives tho', add iron and trace minerals). You'll have compost! and your plants will thank you for it!!
Thanks so much Weeds and Seeds. I save this and try to model my compost making as close as I can to yours. It sounds the quickest and nutrient rich. Gardengater
Something i do, when i am pulling dead leaves off of the already exsisting plants that are there, i just poke a hole in the ground and stick them in. Think about it, you have worms there, dirt, already compost that you added as a starter. Over the winter months when i can't plant nothing there, the material goes to compost already there waiting for the next season. It works! At least for me. I have never bothered with a compost pile that i have made on purpose. But i do have a pile in an area that i use for all those dead branches, or plants that get pulled from nature, old dirt from container, ect. I just let nature do its thing, and i will grab from that too.
There is a great article about composting in this months "This Old House". It tells you what to put in and what not too as well that keeping it moist is very important.But not too wet.
Thanks girls; So many good ideas. Is that "This Old House" on PBS? I thought I had all the garden programs covered on that channel. I will keep all these suggestions for sure. Gardengater
GG, 'This Old House' has a magazine out about the PBS projects but also covers more info than just the building projects.
Composting can be REALLY simple if you simply get wood chips from a local tree service. They are typically chipping up branches all day long. By getting the chips from branches, you're getting both brown and green matter in a pretty good mix. You can either allow it to compost in a pile or you can spread it as a mulch over whatever area you would eventually spread it over and let it compost there. It WILL break down and it will improve your soil. No tilling necessary and minimal effort.
