Composting?
- Thread starter PanchoHambre
- Start date
larry_stewart
Member
Being a veggie, I got a lot of scraps left over and i have a decent sized garden, so i do compost.
Anything vegetable like potato, cucumber, carrot peels, cut off ends of zuchini or whatever , orange peels...and things like that. In addition I add egg shells too. Apparantly the calcium is good for the tomatoes and other plants. I try to keep it as far away from the house as possible ( as it attracts raccoons, opposums ...). I dont use one of those bins, but just a pile. Ill bury the scraps in the dirt . As long as the scraps are covered, there is no smell. Ideally in a sunny area,as things will decompose quicker and more efficiently. Some people add layers of straw/ hay. Ill also work in some of the bedding from my chickens. Oh yeah, usually my chickens have first dibs on the scraps. The rest goes to the compost pile.
In addition, the town i live in collects all our raked leaves in the fall, and provides all the town residents with compost. They compost the leaves, and in the spring they have this huge pile of compost that we can go and pick up.
The compost bins are probably easier to use in a smaller yard, and more protective over mice, rats, squirrels ... I just never got one though. Maybe this year i will.
Anything vegetable like potato, cucumber, carrot peels, cut off ends of zuchini or whatever , orange peels...and things like that. In addition I add egg shells too. Apparantly the calcium is good for the tomatoes and other plants. I try to keep it as far away from the house as possible ( as it attracts raccoons, opposums ...). I dont use one of those bins, but just a pile. Ill bury the scraps in the dirt . As long as the scraps are covered, there is no smell. Ideally in a sunny area,as things will decompose quicker and more efficiently. Some people add layers of straw/ hay. Ill also work in some of the bedding from my chickens. Oh yeah, usually my chickens have first dibs on the scraps. The rest goes to the compost pile.
In addition, the town i live in collects all our raked leaves in the fall, and provides all the town residents with compost. They compost the leaves, and in the spring they have this huge pile of compost that we can go and pick up.
The compost bins are probably easier to use in a smaller yard, and more protective over mice, rats, squirrels ... I just never got one though. Maybe this year i will.
Calicolady
New member
Composting is the best way to fertilize.
You can do as little as a garbage can w/lots of ventilation or as much as you want.
Ideally, doing 2 piles is best. One active and one (almost) done.
It takes about a season/year to really get things going.
DO NOT put protein stuff in it. But ANY organic stuff is desirable. IE; egg shells-washed, coffee grounds, green trimming and brown matter-leaves, branches, newspaper-nothing with heavy dyes.
No smell, but you'll have to turn it about once a week. And you'll be amazed at the heat eminating from it.
Water it if it looks alittle dry and to get it started.
Try this source:
http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com
I don't know what else to answer, so if you have any questions, ask away.
You can do as little as a garbage can w/lots of ventilation or as much as you want.
Ideally, doing 2 piles is best. One active and one (almost) done.
It takes about a season/year to really get things going.
DO NOT put protein stuff in it. But ANY organic stuff is desirable. IE; egg shells-washed, coffee grounds, green trimming and brown matter-leaves, branches, newspaper-nothing with heavy dyes.
No smell, but you'll have to turn it about once a week. And you'll be amazed at the heat eminating from it.
Water it if it looks alittle dry and to get it started.
Try this source:
http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com
I don't know what else to answer, so if you have any questions, ask away.
Calicolady
New member
I did buy them up north. Down here they would boil!
homecook
New member
GotGarlic
New member
We used to compost, but it's a lot of work turning it over; when DH started having problems with his shoulders, we quit. It doesn't have to take a lot of space - DH made two "bins" by driving six 4x4s in two rows into the ground, He then used chicken wire to make two separate areas and wrapped the entire thing in chicken wire, and then covered the outside with lattice painted green, to make it a bit more attractive.
We used only vegetable matter in it, and never had a problem with any kind of vermin - they're attracted to protein. If you don't want bugs, though, forget the whole thing - worms and other bugs, as well as microbes, are what break down the veggie matter into usable dirt. It's great stuff, though. We used to mix it into the veggie garden each spring. Now we just buy some and mix it in.
We used only vegetable matter in it, and never had a problem with any kind of vermin - they're attracted to protein. If you don't want bugs, though, forget the whole thing - worms and other bugs, as well as microbes, are what break down the veggie matter into usable dirt. It's great stuff, though. We used to mix it into the veggie garden each spring. Now we just buy some and mix it in.
Mr. Green Jeans
New member
GG, have you tried vermiculture? Give DH a break and let the red wigglers do the work. You get the castings for the garden. A well managed "herd" <What do you call a bunch of worms any way?> will consume 1/2 their body weigh per day of vegetative matter/paper/cardboard. here's a good site from Wazzu: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/mrcworms.htm
Yes we compost, DW does most of it and has a bin for it she got in a trade with a friend who sells them and rain barrels. We did a small garden for her, she gave us the composter and rain barrel.
Up until then DW just had her own pile going.
Up until then DW just had her own pile going.