composting - how to?

[miss djax]

hey there :)

i'd like to start composting. any thoughts on how to best start? i'm looking for easy and cheap.

i've heard that those enclosed tumbler style composters are actually complicated and not to use them. is that true?

and lastly - how do i minimize all the bugs? eeeewww. sorry but i hate bugs

[Anne]

does this place need a gardening forum?

[miss djax]

yes please :)

[Christina]

I'm scared to talk about it in the science forum but I'll be happy to tell you what I do in the Gardening thread (http://www.secularcafe.org/showthread.php?t=318) in the Lounge.

[Anne]

I started a thread to request one...

http://www.secularcafe.org/showthread.php?p=20674&#post20674

[miss djax]

I'm scared to talk about it in the science forum but I'll be happy to tell you what I do in the Gardening thread (http://www.secularcafe.org/showthread.php?t=318) in the Lounge.

cool :D

here's my goal - i want to reduce what i throw away in terms of organic matter, and produce some great compost along the way. i live in the desert, if that helps. and i hate bugs :D one of the things i was attracted to about the enclosed composters that you turn once a day is that there seemed to be a reduced chance of nasty looking bugs. but i have since learned that those things are gnarly.

i have a spot on the side of my house where i can compost, or at least i think i can. its sort of close to the house, is that a problem?

[Anne]

not as long as you can't smell it, AFAIK--- is it in the sun?

[miss djax]

not totally..but it is up against a block fence..it'll get plenty hot over there, even in the shade. summers here are a bitch ;)

[Brianna]

I want to start a compost but I don't know the point would be as I have black walnut trees.

[Christina]

I've never used a bin composter because I have way too much yard and garden waste for that to be practical but they look like they would only work on a very small scale to me. If you're looking to use it mainly for food scraps you should skip the following wall of text : )

I have 2 big square open bins (about 5' x 5') that I use- one for fresh things and one from the prior year. Once I use up what's in the prior year's bin I turn the current one over into it and start the process again. I put all weeds, garden clippings, food scraps other than meat and dairy, coffee grinds, wood ashes, leaves I rake up and anything else laying around that isn't too woody to compost easily.

I try to vary the layers when I can and have a layer of dead leaves, then a green layer, then some ashes, etc., but it doesn't always work out that way since I have no ashes in the summer or dry leaves in spring. Yeast helps it get going so sometimes I put a bunch of bread in there to mold or spray a beer or two over it. I usually keep it covered with a dark tarp to increase the heat and keep it damp to accelerate things and turn it with a pitchfork every few weeks. I don't know if you absolutely need worms but to me they're a sign of a good compost pile. I've never had to buy or add any because we have plenty that find it on their own.

It will draw rodents and raccoons and larger animals like coyotes if you live in a rural area if you put meat or dairy products in it. If you add manure like a lot of people do it will stink and draw flies. Food scraps will draw some flies anyway so you don't want it very close to the house. Yard waste alone doesn't smell bad unless you hate the smell of rotting leaves.

[Christina]

I want to start a compost but I don't know the point would be as I have black walnut trees.

I don't get it. Why can't you just cover the compost pile?

[Anne]

I've been told not to put any animal things in it at all... no fats, bones, meat, etc...?

(other than eggshells)

[Brianna]

I want to start a compost but I don't know the point would be as I have black walnut trees.

I don't get it. Why can't you just cover the compost pile?

black walnut trees have roots... anything with in 45 feet of them does not grow.

it would come up from the soil.

[Anne]

uh--- we had a black walnut inches away from a lilac...

Is there something else at work?

[Brianna]

uh--- we had a black walnut inches away from a lilac...

Is there something else at work?

I can grow some flowers and other trees. I can not grow a vegetable garden and some annuals.

The roots, nut husks, and leaves secrete a substance into the soil called juglone that is a respiratory inhibitor to some plants, such as this tomato that was grown too close to a black walnut tree. A number of other plants (most notably white birch) are also poisoned by juglone, and should not be planted in close proximity to a black walnut.

[Anne]

hurm...

Corn, beans, onions, beets, and carrots are tolerant of juglone. If the garden plot receives sufficient sunlight, gardeners should be able to successfully grow these crops with timely applications of water and fertilizer. Gardeners should plant shade tolerant annuals and perennials, such as impatiens, hosta, and ferns, near large walnut trees.

I guess our tree was just small enough... and we had mostly hosta and ferns under it...

[Christina]

Anne, I've read that using animal products other than eggshells can introduce unhealthy bacteria but I don't know much about it. I don't do it because I don't want to draw coyotes to it.

Brianna, have you thought of raised beds? You could put a barrier at the bottom so that the roots of the veggies didn't hit the original soil. Most vegetables don't have huge root systems so you can grow them in pots too.

[miss djax]

awesome - look what i found you can buy from the city of phoenix for 5 bucks!!!

http://www.phoenix.gov/SCANPIC/trsh19.jpg

what a way to recycle..

i really love living here :)

[Christina]

That's great. I bet they offer free or low cost composting classes too. They do here. It's all an effort to reduce waste that ends up in the landfill. We can also dump truckloads of green material at the dump for free and they turn in into mulch and compost.

[Brianna]

That's great. I bet they offer free or low cost composting classes too. They do here. It's all an effort to reduce waste that ends up in the landfill. We can also dump truckloads of green material at the dump for free and they turn in into mulch and compost.

I got some raised beds. I might do some more.

[Anne]

apparently it's also rain and dew off the leaves that kill plants...

[miss djax]

That's great. I bet they offer free or low cost composting classes too. They do here. It's all an effort to reduce waste that ends up in the landfill. We can also dump truckloads of green material at the dump for free and they turn in into mulch and compost.

i know they have the classes for 10 bucks at my farmers market...love that you can drop off green stuff and they mulch it :)

so should i get more than one of those composters? should i fill it half full then start turning it, etc? and then start using the second as a filler?

how long should it take me to have compost in the first one? i'm thinking if i keep using bin number 1 to fill up, then i'll either have to sift the whole damn thing or it'll never ALL be compost....is that right??

[Brianna]

That's great. I bet they offer free or low cost composting classes too. They do here. It's all an effort to reduce waste that ends up in the landfill. We can also dump truckloads of green material at the dump for free and they turn in into mulch and compost.

i know they have the classes for 10 bucks at my farmers market...love that you can drop off green stuff and they mulch it :)

so should i get more than one of those composters? should i fill it half full then start turning it, etc? and then start using the second as a filler?

how long should it take me to have compost in the first one? i'm thinking if i keep using bin number 1 to fill up, then i'll either have to sift the whole damn thing or it'll never ALL be compost....is that right??

If you don't turn it. It takes a bought a year to break down.

[miss djax]

i'll turn it - but if im turning it and still adding organic matter to it, how long til i get compost? i was curious if having 2 composters would be the answer to that. one is breakin' down, and one fillin' up :D

is that how it works??

[David B]

i'll turn it - but if im turning it and still adding organic matter to it, how long til i get compost? i was curious if having 2 composters would be the answer to that. one is breakin' down, and one fillin' up :D

is that how it works??

Worms help. Talk to my sister Cath about it - she knows quite a lot about composting.

David

[Anne]

IIRC, it depends on what's in it and how much heat it gets.

grass clippings take little time, sticks longer...

My MiL just got an electric thing that takes 2 weeks, though...

[Brianna]

i'll turn it - but if im turning it and still adding organic matter to it, how long til i get compost? i was curious if having 2 composters would be the answer to that. one is breakin' down, and one fillin' up :D

is that how it works??

As soon as you start composting you start the breakin' down process. You just take dirt of the bottom.

[Christina]

i'll turn it - but if im turning it and still adding organic matter to it, how long til i get compost? i was curious if having 2 composters would be the answer to that. one is breakin' down, and one fillin' up :D

is that how it works??

This is the main issue with bin composters, I think. The cheaper models have one chamber that you turn around and it's never all done at once because you keep adding new things to it. The next step up from that has screens that the composted material is supposed to fall through as you turn it but from what I hear they clog easily. Most people use two. You can fill up one over the first season and then don't put anything new in and start on the second one when it's full. Keep turning the first one and depending on what's in it you should have usable stuff in anywhere from a few weeks for very small amounts to 6 months or more when you have a lot of it like I do. That should work fine if you can get 2 of those barrels, although you might have to get on a stepladder to turn it with a pitchfork or shovel.