So, to Go With the Gardening, How About Composting?I'm Still

[janetupnorth]

So, to go with the gardening, how about composting?

I'm still learning...we have a pile of grass/leaves in our back yard "processing" from last year...I dug into it yesterday and it still has steam coming from it...

Rather than burning the paper coming in the PC boxes, I should run it through my shredder and add that to the pile...

Anyone well-versed in composting to give some tips?

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Re: Composting...

So, to go with the gardening, how about composting?

I'm still learning...we have a pile of grass/leaves in our back yard "processing" from last year...I dug into it yesterday and it still has steam coming from it...

Rather than burning the paper coming in the PC boxes, I should run it through my shredder and add that to the pile...

Anyone well-versed in composting to give some tips?

I'm new to composting too. We had a pile like that, and DH spread it over the garden area last week...but then it rained, so it hasn't been tilled in yet...

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Composting...Well, we'll just keep learning together!

 

[raebates]

Re: Composting...We have a compost pile where we put organic kitchen waste. However, it never gets a chance to compost. It's become a take-out joint for the local vermin.

 

[gailz2]

Re: Composting...

We have a compost pile where we put organic kitchen waste. However, it never gets a chance to compost. It's become a take-out joint for the local vermin.

Too funny, and I bet they love you for it!

 

[raebates]

Re: Composting...Yes, we're very popular among the local raccoons, opossums, cats, dogs, foxes, groundhogs, voles, mice, rats, and such.

 

[chefann]

Re: Composting...DH and I don't compost, but we do feed the local critters when we have bread that's gone stale (or green), stale chips/pretzels, etc. We put them on the picnic table and watch the squirrels and birds come partake.

 

[julia.poe]

Re: Composting...We compost. We use all of our left over vegetables, bread, nut shells, grass clippings, and paper without ink on it. We do not compost like garlic and onions due to the odor. We have a garbage can with an lid that we drilled holes in so the air can break down the stuff inside.

It is sort of neat that one week the can will be pretty full then a few weeks later the can will be down to a half.

This part sounds gross. Any time there are fruit flies or ants you need to add water to the top of the compost to get rid of these. They are not water lovers.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Re: Composting...

We compost. We use all of our left over vegetables, bread, nut shells, grass clippings, and paper without ink on it. We do not compost like garlic and onions due to the odor. We have a garbage can with an lid that we drilled holes in so the air can break down the stuff inside.

It is sort of neat that one week the can will be pretty full then a few weeks later the can will be down to a half.

This part sounds gross. Any time there are fruit flies or ants you need to add water to the top of the compost to get rid of these. They are not water lovers.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Julie - thanks for that info!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Re: Composting...[shrug]Compost Occurs.[/shrug]

 

[etteluap70PC]

Re: Composting...Interesting!!!

I want to start composting!

 

[PamperedK]

Re: Composting...I've had a composter sitting in my back yard for a year now....I don' tknow what to do with it! I've had people telling me I have to put a "foundation" of wood at the bottom and treat it and blah blah...can't I just start throwing stuff in there?!?!

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Composting...

I've had a composter sitting in my back yard for a year now....I don' tknow what to do with it! I've had people telling me I have to put a "foundation" of wood at the bottom and treat it and blah blah...can't I just start throwing stuff in there?!?!

Is it a compost bin, a tumbler, or what?

If it has an open bottom, it is meant to go in your yard somewhere...from what I've been reading in the last week or so...

You can put starter or accelerator in it, but I'd just start heaping stuff in.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Re: Composting...

Interesting!!!

I want to start composting!

Why? There's already a lot of it around here.

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Composting...

Why? There's already a lot of it around here.

Ha..ha..ha...

 

[julia.poe]

Re: Composting...We just started throwing food in, you can put a little dirt in their if you like but if you put wood in the bin, it will take forever to break down.

 

[PamperedK]

Re: Composting...

Is it a compost bin, a tumbler, or what?

If it has an open bottom, it is meant to go in your yard somewhere...from what I've been reading in the last week or so...

You can put starter or accelerator in it, but I'd just start heaping stuff in.

It's just a big bin with an open bottom.

 

[chefshawna]

Re: Composting...I recently bought materials to build a compost bin, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I have a flyer I got from an earth day festival I went to with directions for composting on it. I know some people use worms in there bins to help speed up the compost process. You just start layering things in there, you can use lots of organic materials as long as it's not meats or oils. They said to start by putting some dirt in the bottom and then throw the other stuff on top. Just make sure you turn it every once and a while and the hotter it is the faster it will compost. That's all the info I recieved anyway, I still need to do it myself!

 

[rennea]

Re: Composting...I would love to compost to but am worried about not doing it correctly. We also have had a real bad mouse problem in our yard in years past! (Thank God for Moth balls)

So with the farm crates that we get delivered weekly we receive a composting bucket that we put all our scraps in and the next week the bucket is returned with fresh compost. Yayyyy!

 

[raebates]

Re: Composting...Rennea, that's much faster than making your own.

 

[rennea]

Re: Composting...

Rennea, that's much faster than making your own.

I think so and so much easier Every 2 weeks we get a little bucket back and I think that should be more then enough.

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Composting...Wow, that's a nice service Rennea.On the worm composting, do a little reading before you try it...it is a little different that just composting in a bin and you have to give them air and adequate "stuff" per amount of worms.

 

[luvmytees]

Re: Composting...we have a pile, I'm thinking about enclosing it somehow

I add mostly kitchen waste-
fruit/veggie peelings and waste
egg shells
coffee grounds/filter

dont add meat or dairy products

then I just cover w/ leaves,grass clippings

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Re: Composting...

I would love to compost to but am worried about not doing it correctly. We also have had a real bad mouse problem in our yard in years past! (Thank God for Moth balls)

So with the farm crates that we get delivered weekly we receive a composting bucket that we put all our scraps in and the next week the bucket is returned with fresh compost. Yayyyy!

Wow, just like the old milkman!

Well, sort of.

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Composting...

Wow, just like the old milkman!Well, sort of.

My parents still have the door in their house... Nothing like milk in a cold glass bottle...same with Coke...not the same in plastic...

Spoiler

Yes, I FAINTLY remember that...

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Re: Composting...

My parents still have the door in their house...

Nothing like milk in a cold glass bottle...same with Coke...not the same in plastic...

Spoiler

Yes, I FAINTLY remember that...

My great-uncle was the milkman in our town. I still remember getting milk in glass bottles, and leaving the empties for him to pick up!

 

[chefann]

Re: Composting...Both of my sisters have milkmen and dairy delivery. Which is quite a coincidence since they live several states apart (CO and WI).

 

[rennea]

Re: Composting...We get our milk in glass containers, just not delivered.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Re: Composting...

Both of my sisters have milkmen and dairy delivery. Which is quite a coincidence since they live several states apart (CO and WI).

That's a pretty big route!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Re: Composting...

My parents still have the door in their house...

I wouldn't recommend using it as a compost chute.

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Composting...

That's a pretty big route!

He probably knows this guy whose truck hit 1M miles last year:

http://www.local2209.org/million/defaultmillion.asp

Of course, Frank delivers seafood, not milk...

 

[janetupnorth]

Re: Composting...

I wouldn't recommend using it as a compost chute.

That'd be a pretty crappy use of it...

 

[chefann]

Re: Composting...HA! And I didn't say they had the SAME milkman.

 

[buckeyefan08]

Re: Composting...

We compost. We use all of our left over vegetables, bread, nut shells, grass clippings, and paper without ink on it. We do not compost like garlic and onions due to the odor. We have a garbage can with an lid that we drilled holes in so the air can break down the stuff inside.

It is sort of neat that one week the can will be pretty full then a few weeks later the can will be down to a half.

This part sounds gross. Any time there are fruit flies or ants you need to add water to the top of the compost to get rid of these. They are not water lovers.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Do you have any holes drilled in the sides? How do you get the "stuff" out of the bottom of the can when it's ready? Do you stop for a while and then use it all at once or do you pull from the bottom?
I'm confused, can you tell?!:blushing:
I want to start doing this but I live in town so I need a bin to compost in. I looked at them on-line and they are kind of pricy. I don't want to spend $50-100 on a bin if I can just get a plain old garbage can.

 

[gailz2]

Re: Composting...I went to a seminar yesterday on composting by our local cooperative extension (I don't know if they are nationwide or just local to NYS). They had 3 different bins -- the black type you buy (if you use this, take the lid off in the summer), a large one made out of fencing (cover in the winter, at least for us in "snow country" and the third was three bins of wood (move compost from bin 1 to 2 to 3, etc. All 3 take about one year to compost down materials.They did say to crush egg shells. Basically in the layering of the piles (like lasagne they said) to use a 2 to 1 mixture. Always start with sticks on the bottom (for ventilation I guess), then layer food products (veggie cuttings, etc.) spread out with 2 times as much brown materials (wood chips, paper shreads, sticks, etc.). I know I'm not good at explaining all of this, but it seems pretty easy to do and you can pick a variation that fits your needs and neighborhood. They even showed us one type to keep under your sink with worms in it (covered). Yuck. I guess it is good for apartments they said. If you use a garbage can, I'd definitely put a lot of holes in t he sides and bottom for drainage. They said we do need the summer rains to help the process, but not to let too big a pile of snow accumulate.

 

[buckeyefan08]

Re: Composting...Thanks for the tips!