Composting your kitchen and yard waste is smashing for the environment and also produces a rich end-product that's glorious for your yard and garden. If you haven't composted before and are curious about beginning, there are 2 main methods to begin : by either building a compost pile in your yard, or by buying ( or making ) a compost bin. Each technique has its own benefits and downsides, dependent on your present position.
With a compost pile, the primary advantage is the simplicity of making one, and the cost ( free ). All that you need to do is find a place in your yard where you can build a compost pile that's at least 3 feet in diameter ( larger is even better ), and then just start layering green and brown organic matter in a pile, and keep it wet.
You may use the compost pile system simply to compost yard and kitchen waste, and you'll be ready to compost all of the materials you want to compost as long as you've a massive enough space where the pile is built. A drawback of compost piles nevertheless, is they can frequently become unpleasant, and it's for that reason that many house owner find them far from their home ( which also makes them more inconvenient to use ). They also have a tendency to compost materials slower than if you were using a revolving compost bin. You can improve the composting process by turning the pile often, but this may be a chore, particularly if the pile is big.
The benefit of using a compost bin is that it can keep your compost sharply contained, and the materials will probably compost quite quickly within the compost bin so you'll have your compost earlier. This is particularly so with tumbling compost bin models, where you can turn your compost simply employing a hand crank. Frequent turning means quicker composting. If you're an house dweller or have a home with small or not yard space, tiny compost bins can also permit you to compost where you can not construct a compost pile. Since many of these units are quite engaging, you will also not mind having them close to your home, which suggests they are also handier to use to dump kitchen waste. Downsides of using compost bins includes a restriction on composting space, since you'll only be well placed to compost as much material as the compost bin can handle. There's also the cost of buying or making a compost bin.
models are quite affordable, they are still not as cheap as making a compost heap in your back yard for free.
M. M. Day has written numerous articles on home improvement and gardening, including other articles with suggestions about purchasing small compost bin models like a back porch compost tumbler. A back porch compost tumbler is ideal for apartment dwellers and those with little or no yard space, but are still interested in composting their kitchen and yard waste.
If you have started to explore the fantastic sector of gardening, you've probably started composting. If that is the case you will have found out that the compost pile can become unpleasant and clumsy to contain when it is left loose. Many of us find they have better control of their composting efforts when they utilize a compost bin. A compost bin keeps the pile clean, contained tidily in one spot, and makes turning your pile less complicated.
There are a considerable number of options when referring to choosing a compost bin. Which one is good for you? Which Compost Bin is best for You? A few people decide to construct their own compost bins, building them from lumber and hardware, wire mesh or concrete bricks.
These work fine, but unless you have already got the materials, you may finish up spending about as much to build your compost bin as you would if you bought a tiny commercial one. Mull over how gigantic your bin should be, how snug you are using tools, and if you've got the resources needed to build up your very own bin. Sorts of compost bins include one bin systems and systems with 2 or 3 bins. If you don't have a big garden and are creating a typical quantity of compost, a two bin system is a well-liked choice. Tiny areas may only make allowance for an one bin system nevertheless, and that may work fine. Gardeners who find they can generate a good amount of compost and want storage for their finished product may need a 3 bin system. In an one-bin system, obviously the whole contents of the pile will remain in the same place. With 2 or 3 bins, you can keep compost in its early stages in one bin and more advanced compost in the second. If you select three bins, you would store the completed compost in the 3rd one. Besides keeping your compost pile tidily enclosed, commercial bins have a couple of other benefits.
A few of them may be able to insulate your pile and help keep the essential heat locked in so your pile continues to rot later into the season. Commercial bins are customarily more interesting to the eye than home-made bins, and it provides the answer to your composting containment problem instantly. No loitering somebody to "get round to it" and build the bin you want. There are corporations that sell compost bins made of recycled plastics also. Selecting one of those products will permit you to take another step in the direction of safeguarding the environment.
There is not any Wrong Choice so long as your compost bin is well built and permits correct drainage and ventilation, there are no great advantages
to choosing one compost bin over another. It boils down to which one is right for you and your garden. Size, price and functionality are the main things to consider. With just a little thought, you will be able to determine which compost bin will work best for your situation.
Richard H. Composters.com Online retailer of eco-friendly compost bins, compost tumblers, rain barrels, and other composting equipment and supplies.
Lots of novice gardeners believe that their plants and vegetables only need plenty of water and sunlight in order to sustain a healthy and fruitful lifespan. However this is not entirely true as plants also need healthy soil rich in nutrients to be able to survive and grow properly. The solution to this dilemma is composting.
Now, most of us aren't too sure of what the heck composting is or what it even entails - I know I didn't! An easy way to explain it is composting is a way for us to give back to the earth by using organic materials such as food scraps, vegetable scraps, grass clippings, leaves and manure from grass eaters like cows, sheep and rabbits. In general, composting is a wonderfully organic process that benefits your garden and the environment tremendously. In today's article we'll go ahead and talk about the benefits of composting, what you should and shouldn't compost, and some composting systems you should consider investing in.
We all know that when anything dies it starts to decompose - humans, animals, plants, it's all a very natural process. But did you know that in turn, the soil becomes very rich in nutrients and new life starts to grow? That's the true benefit of composting and that's what you want for your garden. In addition to improving your soil, it saves you money, makes for terrific mulch for your garden, and places less burden on landfills.
Before you start undertaking a large composting project, there are a few key things you should keep in mind, like what you can and can't use for composting. Let's start with what you shouldn't compost; this includes weeds full of seeds and/or diseases, pesticide infested plants, wood ashes, lime, barbeque charcoal, meat, grease, bones, dairy products, cat, dog and/or human waste, plastic, metal, glass, branches, wood chunks, anything contaminated, and large loads of soggy matter. Obviously anything in the aforementioned list would have an adverse effect on your compost, or won't decompose properly, especially the bones, but we'll go more into that later on in a future article.
With that said, it's highly recommended that you use grass clippings, leaves, non-diseased and seed sprouting weeds, dead plants, food scraps like fruit and veggie wastes, cow, sheep or llama manure, straw/hay, coffee grounds, and even hair and lint when composting. These items break down quick and easily, giving you the end result that you're looking for.
The next thing that you need to keep in mind is where you're going to be doing all of this composting work. While some don't mind working on their compost heap out in the open, like in the woods or in an open area preferably away from prying eyes (I never said it was a pretty looking process), I suggest looking into a bin or tumbler system. There are a couple of compost bin systems that you should consider: the one bin and multi-bin systems. For the money conscious the one bin system is the preferred method since it is easy and most municipalities even work with manufacturers to make this method available to the public. In addition, it's easy to move about, most can hold heat well and is sturdy enough to keep rodents and other wildlife out. The multi-bin system is for households that produce a lot of waste; it generally does the same thing as the one bin method but it allows you to stockpile your materials in one bin and in the other when more materials become ready. Both methods take anywhere from three to eight months in terms of ready to use compost.
Another method you can consider is working with a compost tumbler, which isn't cheap, but it is small if you're working with limited space. Think of the benefits though: tumblers rotate which keep your compost aerated and generate heat, which in turn means that you'll have a batch of ready to use compost in about three weeks. The wire collector is another option to weigh. Great for garnering up quick, ready to use composting, it's cheap and you can even make one yourself out of rabbit wire or field fencing. However, I don't really recommend it too often because it's easy for wildlife to break in to and it doesn't hold in heat very well. But the great thing about it is after your compost is done and ready, all you have to do is just remove the wire covering.
Do keep in mind the laws of your city. You wouldn't think it, but check with your local government agency to see what your city will let you compost, like food scraps and what not. After all being cited for not composting within the legalities of your city isn't very green. And when choosing the ideal composting system, think about your needs, how much waste you can you'd regularly add to it, how animal-resistant it is, and whether you can easily remove your ready to use compost. I know it's a lot to think about before you begin, but trust me, it's well worth the effort. In our next installment I'll go ahead and talk about the science and art of composting - stay tuned!
*Referenced from Home Composting Made Easy by C. Forrest McDowell, PhD and Tricia Clark-McDowell, 2002.
Having an adequate supply of good rich compost is the gardeners dream. It's got many uses, and all those uses will end in better plants. Nevertheless, composting can be time intensive and tough work. I place a reasonable price on my time, so spending agespiles does not qualify as a worthwhile exercise, at least in my book. Nevertheless , I am doing compost, but I am doing so on my terms. I built 2 composting bins.
Each bin is five feet wide, five feet deep, and 4 feet high. I built the bins by sinking four" by four" posts in the ground for the corners, and then nailed two by 4's and one by 4's, alternating on the sides. I left two" openings between the boards for air flow. The 2 by 4's are firm enough to keep the sides from bowing out, and between each two by four I used one by 4's to save a little cash. The bins are only three sided, I left the front of the bins open so they can be filled and emptied simply.
I started by filling only one of the bins. I put grass clippings, dried leaves, and plant clippings in the bins.
I try not to put more than six" of each material on a layer.
You do not want twenty-four" of grass clippings in the bin and you must alternate layers of green and brown material. If required, keep 1 or 2 bags of dry leaves around so that you can alternate layers of brown waste and green waste.
When we root cuttings we use coarse sand in the studios, so when it is time to pull the rooted cuttings out of the terraces, the old sand goes on the compost pile. In our small backyard nursery we also have some plants in boxes that don't survive. Instead of pulling the dead plant and the weeds out of the container, and then discarding the potting soil back on the soil pile, we just dump the entire container in the compost bin. This adds more brown material to the mix, and is far simpler than separating the soil and the weeds. Once the bin is full, the guidelines of composting say that you need to turn the material in the bin every couple of weeks. There's no way that I have enough time to do that, so this is what I do. I pack as much material in the bin as I will before I start filling the second bin. I pile the material as high as I probably can, and even let it spill out in front of the bin. Then I cover all of the fresh material with mulch or potting soil, whatever brown material I can find. Then when I am out working in the garden I set a little sprinkler on top of the pile and turn it on really low, so a little spray of water runs on the material. Since I have got a good water well, this does not cost anything, so I let it run for no less than 2 hours as frequently as I will. This keeps the material damp, and the moisture will cause the pile to warm up, which is what makes the composting action occur. After I have the 1st bin fully full, I begin to use the second bin. As the material in the 1st bin starts to break down, it'll settle and the bin is not heaped up, so I just keep digging the material that I piled in front of the bin, up on top of the pile, till all the material is either in the bin, or piled on top of the heap. Then I just leave it alone, except to water it sometimes. The watering isn't mandatory, it just speeds the method.
Because I do not turn the pile, I can not expect all the material to decay fully. The material in the middle is going to break down more than the material on the perimeters, but almost all of it does break down reasonably well. The very next step works well for me because I have got a small nursery, so I keep a bunch of potting soil on hand at all points. But you can really do the same by just purchasing 2 or 3 yards of shredded mulch to start, and piling it up near your compost bins. If you do this, you'll always have a supply of good compost to work with.
Shredded bark, left in a pile will at last break down and become great compost. The potting soil that I use is about eighty percent rotted bark. I make potting soil by buying fine textured and dark hardwood bark mulch, and I just put it in a pile and let it rot. The secret is to keep the pile low and flat, so it doesn't shed the rain water away.
You need the mulch to stay as wet as practicable this may lead it to break down reasonably fast.
So I keep a bunch of rotted bark mulch near my compost bins. When both bins are utterly full, I empty the bin containing the oldest material by piling it on top of my rotted bark mulch. I make certain the pile of rotted mulch is wide and flat on top so that when I put the material from the compost bin on top of the pile, the compost material is only five to ten inches deep. My mulch pile could be twelve ' wide, nonetheless it may only be twenty-four to thirty inches high. When I have all of the compost on top of the pile, then I am going around the fringe of the pile with a spade, and take some of the material from the perimeters of the pile and toss it up on top of the pile, covering the compost with at least six" of rotted bark. This will cause the compost material to rot the remainder of the way.
After you get this system started, you never need to use all the material in the pile. Always keep at least two to three cubic yards available so you have got something to mix with your compost. If you use a large amount of compost material like I do then you need to buy more material and add to your pile in the late summer or fall, when you are done using it for the season.
Around here lots of the supply corporations sell a compost material that's already broken down very well. This is what I buy to contribute to my stockpile. But I try to be certain that I have at least three yards of old material available, then I will add another three yards of fresh material to that.
Then in the spring I will empty one of the compost bins and add the compost to the head of the pile. The pile of usable compost will be layers of material, some more composted than others.
Sort of like a sandwich. So what I am doing is chip off a chunk of the pile from the edge, spread it out on the ground so it's only about eight" deep, then run over it with my tiny rototiller. This mixes it together completely, and I spade it onto the potting bench. Having a heap of rotted compost near your compost bins is brilliant because if you've got a lot of leaves or grass clippings, you can throw some rotted compost in the bin to maintain that layered effect that's necessary for the composting process to work fine.
Sure this process is a little work, but it sure is nice to have a place to get rid of organic waste anytime I like. Then down the road when I have beautiful compost to add to my potting soil, I am grateful to have done the right thing earlier, and I know that I have wasted nothing.
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter.
Have you wondered about what the secret of how to make compost is? Knowing the significance of compost is a start - compost is crucial for improving soil quality and growing healthy plants. Composting is a way of doing your bit for the environment by utilizing waste kitchen and garden materials that may instead go to dump to make something valuable.
The secret - well it's all in the preparation - as usual! Right method proper materials right mix avoid pests inspire compost making organisms right moisture level time selection of the right technique is vital, whether to utilise a compost pile or heap or a correct composting bin. It is simpler to make good garden compost in an enclosed composting can. But with concern for detail either technique can work fine.
If you selected to go for a compost can, while you should purchase them, building a composting can is much more gratifying and you can use recycled wood or brick / stone etc materials. So come on - find out how to make a compost can as well as the way to make compost. What-ever strategy you ultimately select you want a mix of the proper components, some 'green ' and some 'brown ' when making compost.
Too much green material ends in a slimy pungent heap that doesn't break down well. Too much brown material ends up in a dry heap that nothing or little changes in for ages. So the balance needs to be right. Many folks think making compost pulls pests like rats, while it can ; this is only though adding the incorrect ingredients.
Avoid pests by never adding beef / fish waste to your compost. Inspire the natural 'compost maker ' organisms like worms, woodlice, small fruit flies, fungi, bacteria that flourish on a good compost pile helping to swiftly produce good garden compost. Many of those organisms are the same as make leaf mildew and incorporate organic material into the soil in nature. To start the method you might need to prime your compost can with some partially broken down compost from a chum, or make sure the heap / bin has contact with good soil beneath.
The organisms have to come from somewhere - no organisms = no compost! Then keep 'feeding ' them material to destroy down into compost and their numbers will grow. Mix your heap / bin constantly to keep an aerated clammy mix that suits fast composting. Now you have boned up on the fundamentals, dig deeper and learn the best materials to utilize and the best techniques to make compost.
Then start a second composting bin / heap next to the first. Leave first to break down and add new material to the second. Once the 1st is ready, take out the good compost and put any somewhat composted material on the second heap. Now add new material to make the first heap again permitting the second heap to smash down. See how planning and preparation helps! You'll have serviceable compost in anywhere between eight and 52 weeks dependent on your conditions and methodology, so make certain you learn all of the best methods to making good garden compost.
Remember - good compost should be crumbly, dark brown in color, fresh smelling and moist.
I hope you enjoy your gardening like I do.
Happy gardening - fun, great exercise, satisfying and wonderful to eat!
Colin is a keen vegetable gardener and garden compost maker with many years experience, with a compost heap and 3 compost bins.
To find out the details of compost making follow the link on how to make compost you can also learn how to make a compost bin and the best ways to make good garden compost.
'Mature ' organic compost is a natural and easy choice for untangling those issues.
An application of 'mature ' compost, together with continual applications of compost tea, will improve the general health & energy of your landscape. It'll also lower your general upkeep & water prerequisites for the summer & afterward. Compost is just good for your folks, grass, & gardens. Every day afterward as the soil becomes more alive. Even bigger improvement will be spotted with further compost and compost tea applications. It's simply the most natural choice available. Mature compost is safe for you and also your family. It contains nothing bizarre or lethal. Your garden & grass will be safe for you, your kids and your pets to use during and straight after application.
Compost improves your grass & gardens ' drought tolerance and decreases watering needs by enhancing the plant's root systems and the soils ' capability to keep water. Mature compost can safely be applied around pools and applied straight into pools, streams and brooks without a degree of risk to the environment. It also promotes & creates an environment in which birds & butterflies prosper. Your grass & garden will have less weeds, insect pests or sicknesses. Compost permits the soil to gain strength naturally and the plants grown it'll naturally flourish. Compost gives you more fit and more enticing soil, grass, trees & plants. You'll need no artificial chemical manure or poisons. Co Can using compost save me time, cash & work? Yes! You won't need to bag the grass clippings or to get rid of thatch as compost aids in their quick absorption. The compost will also cut the amount of water required.
Compost improves the heat and drought toleration of your grass & garden thus decreasing loss and replacement costs.
Healthy plants simply need less upkeep. These facts alone save you much time, money and work. Does compost improve the heat and drought toleration of my plants? Yes! The organic materials in compost, in association with the rhizobacteria and rhizofungi, naturally loosen and aerate the soil. This permits bigger water & root penetration. The same combo works together to encompass and hold moisture in the soil by making soil aggregates. Soil aggregates are a commonly occurring microcosmic system that rhizobacteria & rhizofungi produces in order to keep themselves from drying up and dying.
The plant roots grow into these aggregates and are supplied a natural reserve of nutriments and water that otherwise would have diffused from the soil. What's compost? According to Webster's compendium "a blend that consists mostly of rotten organic material and is utilized for fertilizing and conditioning land." Correctly composted material is heated by the decomposition process and doesn't have any weed seeds, nor, will it burn your plants as chemical fertilizers do.
Does compost smell bad? No! Not if it is completely 'matured '. We counsel that you only use absolutely composted material. Entirely composted, organic material smells similar to rich ecological garden soil. If it smells like everything else, don't use it, as it is not mature and could cause harm to your grass & garden.
Not all composts are made similarly and we suggest that you absolutely research the source of the provider. Truly mature, "organic", compost is totally safe & harmless to your folks and the soil in which the plants grow. What is Compost Tea? A straightforward definition of compost tea is it's a water extraction of organic compost that's brewed in a corresponding way that your morning tea is made. It includes natural soluble nutrient elements and a great variety of constructive, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. It's a completely organic, living, synergistic miniature that introduces replenished life to the soil and plants. From our many years of expertise we've found that compost tea supercharges new compost applications. How does compost / tea help to suppress illness causing bacteria and fungi? The rhizobacteria ( good bacteria ) controls the expansion of the "bad" bacteria by keeping the soil aerobic so the 'bad ' bacteria can't live & flourish. Similarly the "good" fungi battle with the "bad" fungi and keep them in hand also. Healthy soil makes for healthy plants in a rather similar way that quality food makes for healthy folk and animals. What do favorable bacteria do for plants? Constructive bacteria make necessary soil mineral elements available to the plant by decomposing organic material and making improvements to the properties of the soil. Trees, flowers and gardens that have a sufficiency of rhizobacteria live for longer, need little or no chemical treatment, as they suffer with only a few illness issues.
How does compost / tea reduce thatch? "Thatch" is just a layer of dead un-decayed plant material. The rhizobacteria breaks down the thatch into organic humus that's then reintroduced naturally into the soil to feed the grass. Why don't you use chemical manure? Manmade chemicals sterilise the soil and make more applications of chemicals positively required.
This is like putting your plants on continuing life support. They may stay hardly alive, but they can never prosper. Your lawn & garden will suffer from continual issues which may need more water, anti-fungal agents, herbicides, pesticides & ever larger amounts of manure.
It is extremely crucial that you do not use man-made chemicals on your grass or garden. What about weeds? Long-term use of compost and compost tea while avoiding chemical manure can forestall weeds naturally. According to Dr. Ingham of Soil Foodweb Inc. : "Weeds all require heavy levels of nitrates, so nitrogen manure basically selects for weeds, If you drop your nitrates to less than ten ppm, the weeds leave. When you have mycorrhizal fungi without delay feeding plants, you can drop soil nitrate levels below that threshold level and thistle, johnson grass, and nightshade all vanish. If you have got good calcium levels, you lower the composites, because they can not endure calcium. Next time you need to get shot of crabgrass, mix egg shells into the ground." Reprinted from the Maine Organic Farmer and Gardener. Dr. Ingham Puts Soil Life to Work - Maine Organic Farmer '99 ' We also endorse regular Corn Gluten meal applications. Corn gluten meal is a helpful, natural, pre-emergent insecticide that works well in controlling weeds and seriously compliments the use of compost and compost tea. What about insects? Any naturally healthy environment has a great need of bio-diversity. Chemically treated gardens create a bizarre and imbalanced state. Using compost and compost tea rather than chemicals promotes natural bio-diversity and a successive expansion of favorable insect populations. The advantageous insects live upon the damaging pests & naturally keep them from overpowering the garden ecology.
In urban settings, it's often important to reintroduce advantageous insects into your grass & garden from outside sources. How long will it take to get results? You can get results inside 2 weeks after the 1st application of compost. Using a mixture of compost & compost tea, we have seen leads to as fast as 4 a week in the growing season. Your grass & garden may continue to improve.
If you like gardening and don't like using composts brought from stores, a spinning composter might be the very thing that you need. It saves you bunch of cash too. You can gain even from the materials which otherwise would ended up in a dump, It makes your job of composting at home as most simple as practicable. All you have got to do is add all of the obligatory ingredients to the composter and add air to it. Next what you do is spin the box with the handle provided and you get loaded manure for your plant and plant garden.
In comparison to the traditional composting strategies the spinning compost bin can cut back your work to a significant extent. In the normal composting you've got to fork over the lots of compost continually which can often be quite tiresome. But with the spinning composter you've just got to roll the drum on occasion and your composting will progress with that. Some of the spinning compost tumblers actually have a base which may be used to collect compost tea. The compost tea is essentially the juice of the compost which has been prepared. A spinning composter has a countless advantages . The 1st being it is easing out the entire task of composting in comparison to conventional techniques. That implies you are reducing the work load to less than half when you're bringing a spinning composter home. This device is great in preserving the moisture. With this device you wouldn't have to fret about your compost getting dry or getting exposed to the elements. The compost pile in a spinning compost bin is highly clean and straightforward to reach.
Because of the regular turning of the rubbish pile ants and rodents keep away from the compost which is a typical problem in the event of heap composting. You have to know how laborious the standard techniques of composting can be. The spinning composters get rid of this problem too. If each other thing is right then spinning composters can prepare compost in as less as 3 weeks. No longer have you got to attend for months to use your own compost. Spinning composters are generally available in the market. These devices are user-friendly, sturdy and simple to scrub. The spinning composters are compact and simple to maneuver. There are a number of brands and each has its own range of composters available. You can make a decision from the different sizes and design as agreed by your duty.
For a smaller garden which needs less compost you need a smaller sized composter. If you've a giant garden and need bigger quantity of compost, a massive sized composter is your duty. There are some good brands available. You can go thru an inventory of them online, go thru the reviews and select the one which suits your needs the most. Spinning composters are a genuine eco friendly way of gardening. You needn't spend money on costly manure now. All you need to do is get your own spinning composter.
Maybe more vital than what sort of garden composter you select is where you really put your garden compost can. You want it to be somewhere that's favorable to both the method of making garden compost AND, most vitally, to you. What to Put Your Garden Composter On?
The main reason is that any composting bin should be put on the ground ideally on bare soil. Your garden soil holds all of the micro organisms that'll be required to turn your garden waste into organic compost. The simplest way to guarantee they make their way into your heap of organic material is by letting it touch the soil. If you can face up to it clear the ground of weeds or grass before placing your compost bin. If you do not you might find weeds blooming within your bin in the early stages of filling. Do not be disturbed though they will shortly be smothered by the compost pile so this isn't an imperative job. Putting the rubbish pile on bare soil suggests that as it cools, and decomposition slows, the worms can find their way in. Never put worms on your compost pile yourself. If the heap is too hot they can perish and then you have taken away a garden mate from your soil, with no benefit to the composting bin in any way. Worms will find their own way in when the time is right. If you don't have any bare ground on which to place your garden composter you tin of course put it onto concrete or slabs.
This may slow things down a tiny so either utilise a compost activator or throw one or two spades full of soil into the bin at the beginning.
Again don't add worms to the compost bin. Even sited on concrete those worms will unbelievably make their way there when the time is right. Don't site your garden composter on wooden decking unless you actually don't mind it becoming damp, stained and sure to finally rot.
Where to put the Garden composting bin? Obviously your garden is totally unique to you and so I will not tell you where your garden composter should be located. there are a couple of things to be aware of. * Will the Garden Composter be a blemish? * Will the Garden compost can be simple to utilise - both for filling and emptying? * Will the composting bin be enticing to kids or pets? * What about fruit flies and gnats? The opening choice is frequently to find a garden compost can as far distant as practical from the house. That way you do not see it ( they are frequently not the most beautiful things to have a look at ). But, are you the type of person who is ardent on traipsing thru a muddy field with a bowl of kitchen scraps? If you are all hunky dory. If however you are certain to lapse in your composting needs if the bin appears too far away, put it somewhere nearer to the house. A basic wooden fence obstructing your composting bin from view can be a perfect place for some pretty climbers so that even the most gruesome bin becomes a garden feature. Whether you selected to compost all of your organic home waste or simply your plant peelings, make sure you get yourself some way of storing that waste inside. A plastic bucket with a lid, under the sink makes a convenient holding ground for household organic waste which you don't have the time or wish to dump in the composting bin as yet.
There are even crocks designed particularly to hold kitchen scraps. These make composting kitchen waste a lot more tasty and many come with carbon filters which guarantee no nasty smells surround the Kitchen Worktop Composter regardless of how infrequently you make it to the end of the garden to clear. In warm climates fruit flies and gnats could be a bother, interested by the moisture and food in a compost can.
If you usually try and cover any new kitchen scraps with garden waste like grass clippings it'll help. But, when you lift the lid of your garden composting bin the chances are that you will get a face full of gnats in the summer months.
If this is a concern to you confirm your composting bin is away from kitchen windows and doors to deter any insects you annoy going to the within of your house. Though you want that composting can to be convenient to fill, do not forget about emptying it. If you're certain to wish to turn your compost pile ensure there is a ton of room near it, to make the job simple. If all of your composted material will be heading for a specific area of the garden ,eg the vegetable patch, site your bin there.
Any composting bin which is working well as it is chock-full of variety shouldn't be especially stinky to you and I. Some animals however have a way more advanced sense of smell, so are probably going to have an interest in your garden composting bins.
I have lived with varied cats and dogs, some of whom absolutely pay no attention to the compost heap and others fixate on that confusing bin repetitively. Most garden compost cans you should purchase are pet evidence. But if you have got an especially powerful dog with a compost fixation think about siting it somewhere the dog hasn't got access to. Open compost cans , for example those home-made from pallets or other wood scraps, should be secured to stop your pets getting access.
Chicken wire is inexpensive and simple to mend round the base, while the lid should be too heavy or better hinged and clasped to stop any pets getting in. The important thing is to guarantee your composting can isn't a 'hassle '. Make it convenient to use and you may use it more. The more that you use it, the more goodness will be returned to your garden and the less waste you may send to dump.
All to often, a poorly situated garden composter can become a neglected, expensive entity, ignored and forgotten. Composting your kitchen scraps and garden waste is a great thing to do, so do not give yourself any excuses not to continue doing it!
I have lots more articles on gardening. Please check out my page and go to my blog from there!
With all of the talk about going green, reducing your carbon footprint and helping to reduce climate change these days, more and more people are looking at the possibility of using compost tumblers in their back yard. I am going to show you some of the benefits of composting here and then look at some of the best methods of creating compost from your kitchen scraps, yard waste, and many other sources.
The benefits from creating compost
One of the most prominent reasons to compost is that you are creating a natural fertilizer for your yard and garden. The nutrients from the food waste and yard waste is naturally turned back into the same plant nutrients that you get when you purchase commercial fertilizer from the hardware store, except that the compost form of these nutrients is completely natural and much less harmful to the environment. Why is it less harmful to the environment? Because commercial fertilizers are made from ingredients that require a vast expenditure of energy to produce them. The main nutrients in plant fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Most nitrogen production uses natural gas as its base ingredient, and then nitrogen is forced to react with the gas at high temperatures and pressure, requiring lots of energy. Phosphorus and potassium are mined from big open pit mines using heavy machinery requiring massive amounts of diesel fuel for transporting and processing. The traditional end result, sadly, is that food waste and yard waste end up going to the landfill.
How it can save the planet
Imagine for a moment if every household in the United States returned every shred of organic household and yard waste into compost on the spot. Actually this is a little unrealistic because logistics, such as lack of area in around apartment buildings, for example, make it an unlikely prospect. But just imagine if three quarters of all households did this. The benefits would be three fold:
1. Tremendous savings in fuel by not having garbage trucks transport tons of organic matter to the landfill. 2. Tremendous savings in energy by greatly reducing the amount of industrial fertilizers used. 3. Reductions in fuel used for mining, processing and transporting industrial fertilizers.
By composting, you are putting an end to the wasteful one-way stream of energy use and putting nutrients directly back into the soil, for your yard and garden to naturally thrive on. By doing so, you are also saving money on expensive store bought fertilizer. You are moving one more step toward self sufficiency by not needing to go to the store and buy something that can be produced in your back yard. And you are indirectly reducing carbon emissions. The traditional and most common method of composting is to simply pile the material up, say, in a corner of your yard. This will work, but there are many disadvantages, such as odors, a messy looking yard, and unwanted vermin feeding or nesting in the pile. There is a much better, quicker, and cleaner way to create compost. That is with a device known as a compost tumbler. The compost tumbler makes it super easy to create the conditions needed to create compost in quick order. Organic matter such as food waste, fruit peels and grass clippings need air and a modest amount of moisture to decompose properly. The composting process also creates heat, and this heat needs to be distributed evenly for the best results. By turning every few days, the heat is dispersed evenly, and air is introduced into the compost, and the process proceeds much more rapidly. In addition, the compost tumbler saves the back-breaking work of shoveling and turning the compost pile.
Buy or Build your own compost tumbler
There are many forms and sizes of compost tumblers on the market, if you want to get one all set and ready to use. Alternatively, if you are on a limited budget, there are also plans available that show you how to build your own compost tumbler. The key features are a container capable of holding a large enough quantity of material to make it worth your while, a method of turning the container, the ability to keep any openings closed off when the turning takes place, and vents or holes to allow air to circulate through the mass. Aerating the compost mass creates optimal conditions for the efficient breakdown of organic matter into fine particles.
Once you get started with using a compost tumbler, you will probably find that two units will work much better than one because once you have a batch started you will want to allow it to complete its process before adding any more raw material to it. By having two units, you have the option of adding raw material to the second one while the first one is finishing its cycle. It will also allow you to make compost in a shorter time as little as two weeks under some conditions! Some of the compost tumblers on the market have two sides, which is basically two in one, that allow you to do this.
It's a lot less work
It's a lot less work than turning compost piles with a pitchfork, I can tell you from experience. Compost tumblers are way ahead of compost bins or piles, in terms of efficiency. The most important ingredient for creating good compost is oxygen, and when you have a stagnant pile you can't easily get oxygen into the middle of it. Sure you can turn it, maybe using a pitchfork, maybe using a compost turning gizmo, but quite frankly it can be really hard. When I compost I compost kitchen scraps, leaves, weeds, spent flower stalks, and bush clippings. Some of those things can be a little rigid and deep inside the pile they end up tangled together and they do not want to budge.
It's becoming mandatory!
No kidding, there are some cities that are now issuing fines for households that don't compost their kitchen and yard waste. In October 2009 a new city ordinance in San Francisco took affect that mandated people either compost at home using a compost bin or compost tumbler, separate their compostables out of their trash into a separate recycling bin, or face fines. Fines for individuals start at $100, fines for businesses start at $500.
Doing our part
By composting, we are setting a good example, for sure. While it may still seem odd to some people, once it becomes commonplace, more people will be inclined to begin a composting program for their household or business. By actually visualizing the amount of carbon dioxide saved from entering our atmosphere, and doing the math for what it would be like to have 300 million people doing this, we can see just how worthwhile it is for everyone to do their part in reducing energy use and reducing greenhouse gas production. Imagine 6000 garbage trucks, all billowing black smoke into the air, hauling our organic waste to the landfill, while we go and purchase yet another bag of industrially produced lawn fertilizer. Now imagine no garbage trucks, and no black smoke billowing into the air, and the compost tumbler quietly doing its part in making our yard and garden lush and green. See the difference?
Worm composting - I am sure you have heard of it, but what the heck is it? Worm composting is a wonderfully efficient way to convert kitchen scraps and other organic materials, cardboard and junk mail into nutrient-rich compost for your garden. Did you know that these wiggly composters can eat their body weight in garbage in a day? That's a lot of composting going on.
Earthworms are very efficient little composters leaving behind some of the richest and most productive compost known. These worm castings or worm compost contain 5 to 11 times the amount of available of N-P-K (N - nitrogen, P - phosphorus and K - potassium) as the soil the worms ate to produce those castings. So how do these wiggly composters do their magical work? The worm's intestinal tract secretions act to chemically liberate plant nutrients with the aid of the microorganisms present in the soil. These wonderful earthworms tunnel through your soil day and night liberating plant nutrients wherever they go.
To be successful at worm composting, it is important to understand the needs of your little composters. If you were to buy 1,000 worms and thrust them into your compost pile, you would likely end up with many causalities. Most earthworms cannot tolerate the heat of an active compost heap. Composting worms prefer a much cooler climate.
Essentially, there are two different methods of composting-hot and cold. Earthworms definitely prefer the cool composting method, also known as the Indore composting method. Composting worms are naturally attracted to the Indore method attacking the compost heap from the bottom. The worms will reproduce quickly, increasing their population several times over. The earthworms mix the nutrients within the compost heap and stabilize them for growing plants.
There are many kinds of earth worms. Red worms and brandling worms are the species usually sold by earthworm breeders. Brandling worms and red worms work very well in a compost heap or manure heap. Field worms and night crawlers are larger worms and will attack compost heaps from the bottom but prefer to retreat into the soil after having done so. Night crawlers and field worms do not like the heat of an active compost pile.
To start worm composting, create a no-heat compost pile using a modified Indore method. Begin by making a normal-sized compost heap-say 4' in diameter, but only make the heap 15"-18" high. Shred all organic material as finely as possible and immediately introduce manure type worms into the heap. The worms will start working right away. This way the heap will never really heat up because the core of the heap will remain exposed to the cooler outside temperatures. There are a few disadvantages to this method. It is time consuming to shred the organic materials for the compost heap, and any grass or weed seeds present will not be killed off by the heat generated by a normal compost heap.
When removing finished worm compost from your compost heap, make sure to leave a sufficient number of earthworms behind for the new organic matter that will be added to the pile. There are a couple of ways to accomplish this. One way is to harvest half of the compost pile leaving the rest behind to start another heap. If, however, your composting worm population is in a fledgling state, you can use the "scalping method." Begin by removing several inches of compost from the heap and wait 30 minutes before removing another layer. The remaining earthworms will be driven back into the compost heap by the sunlight. Repeat this process several more times until you have harvested the finished compost.
Compost piles and heaps are great for attracting worms; however, there are also a number of manufactured worm bins that are great for worm composting. These manufactured worm bins make it possible to compost your organic materials indoors. This type of worm composting is called Vermicomposting. One such manufactured bin is the Worm Factory 360. This worm bin has an improved design, which allows for better air flow resulting in faster composting of organic materials.
Hopefully, you have come to see that worm composting is not as mysterious as you may have thought. If you have not started composting at home, worm composting is a wonderfully efficient and easy way to begin. Also, worm composting is a great way to teach your children about the positive aspects of composting. What child doesn't like a worm?
To learn more about the Worm Factory 360 mentioned in this article, you may want to check out our review of The Worm Factory 360. Remember, "Don't throw it away, compost it."
GoodCompost.com is your source for composters and composting equipment, as well as composting know-how. We are here to help you get started composting at home today. Come by for a visit. http://www.goodcompost.com/
Sure, it’s easy to set up a compost bin and take out leftovers when you live in wide open plains. But what about when you live in a cramped city with minimal space and even less outdoor space? Follow our tips for composting in the city made easy.
Got a fire escape, rooftop, or terrace (lucky you)? Then you have space to compost. Here’s how you do it.
Get a large plastic or metal bucket with air holes (or poke them yourself).
Set it on top of two 2-inch thick blocks of wood so the air holes aren’t blocked. You can set a tray underneath to collect any drippings, too.
Now start your base with leaves, newspaper, finished composted soil, or low-moisture potting soil.
Then gradually add in your scraps (here’s a list of food you can add). Bury them a bit so they break down easier and keep it moist by watering every now and then.
You also want to turn it about once a month. As you get the feel of how the compost should turn out you can adjust by turning more or less.
And in 2-3 weeks, you’ll have amazing soil for your potted plants and mini garden.
You could also incorporate worms … but we’ll start you off simple.
It’s really super easy and doesn’t smell all that bad. If it does, you may be doing something wrong. Visit your city’s governmental website for organizations that hold composting classes and even sell bins in some cases.
If you’re not on board with the whole composting idea, you can still contribute.
Get yourself a kitchen compost container and add all your compostable scraps to that throughout the week. Don’t worry, they have a charcoal filters to absorb any odors so it won’t stink up your kitchen or apartment. Then at the end of the week, drop them off at a local farm, CSA, or compost drop-off center. Just check your city’s environmental page for places to drop them. And if your city doesn’t have
Anyone who prefers to buy their vegetables and flowers from the local grocery store will have a difficult time understanding the gardener's delight digging into a smelly pile of compost, or having a truck load of manure dumped in their yard. Really, who in their right mind, would pay to have a substance excreted by animals brought to their home?
A gardener. One who knows that good manure and compost can be the difference between a lush garden and a sparse, struggling one. And lets not forget the aroma, a gardener will describe the smell of compost or manure, as "sweet", or "rich", the average person, with no interest in gardening, is more likely to use the word "disgusting".
An experienced gardener knows that compost and manure are the life-blood of a garden. It is the primary way to enrich your soil naturally, and provide all the nutrients your plants will need to grow healthy and strong. The addition of compost and manure can transform even the worst soil into black gold, given enough time.
Composting is a natural biological process where bacteria, fungi and other organisms decompose organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings, and food wastes. The resulting product is called compost. Although composting occurs naturally, the process can be accelerated and improved by human intervention.
Where do you start?
In this article the focus will be on composting. If you are new to gardening, knowing how to start and build a good compost bin may seem a little complex, you may ask, "How do I build a compost bin" or "What can I put in my compost bin". Overall, making compost is relatively simple.
We will focus on compost bins and tumblers. Tumblers are excellent alternatives for gardeners living in the city who may not have room for a compost bin, or where city bylaws prohibit open compost bins. Putting kitchen scraps in the compost bin versus the garbage can have the added benefit of reducing foul odors. You will also have the peace of mind knowing you are contributing less garbage to the local landfill.
It is best to have two compost bins, one for fresh compost additives, and the other for use in your garden each season. Using two compost bins ensures you will always have good compost at the start of each gardening season. If you prefer to use tumblers, the same principal applies. One is in development, the other is ready to use.
There are two ways of composting, "Passive" and "Managed".
Passive composting
This is really very basic. You have a compost bin; you throw in all the various kitchen scraps, yard waste and so on. Once in a while, you mix it up; weather, bacteria, fungi and time do the rest. Hopefully, each year, you will have useable compost. Often referred to as "The Lazy Gardener's Compost".
Managed composting
This requires more time and attention than passive composting, but the resulting compost will be ready sooner, and better quality. A managed compost pile is often referred to as hot compost since the pile heats up as it decomposes, thus speeding up the process.
A managed compost bin can be ready in just 6 weeks, however, unless you are using tumblers, in most cases useable compost will probably take 2 to 3 months. Chopping or shredding leaves and other materials will speed up the process drastically.
Most of the organisms that decompose organic matter in a compost bin are aerobic - this means they need air to survive, so air circulation is important. This can be done by mixing (turning the top and sides of the pile into the center) the pile up every 3 or 4 days, or when the compost begins to feel cool. Building a bin with slats allows air to enter the pile from the sides. Using both methods is best.
How fast you produce finished compost will be determined by what you add to your compost, if you chop it up and how you mix them together. Layering is a common technique, but in most cases, redundant if you hand mix the pile.
The temperature of your compost pile is critical - If it is warm or hot, everything is good. If it feels luke warm, decomposition has slowed down and you need to add more materials such as grass clippings, leaves or kitchen waste. If you prefer to be very precise with the management of your compost, a compost thermometer can be used see how well your compost is doing. They are not expensive and readily available. If you can't buy locally, you will easily find them online.
Keeping your compost pile moist is important. Too dry, and the pile will not decompose as quickly. A compost pile should be moist, but not wet - add water or dry matter as required to maintain this balance. To much water will reduce air in the compost thus slowing down the decay process. A good sign of healthy compost is worms. Worms don't like it too cold, too hot, too wet or too dry - they can be used to monitor the condition of your compost.
A new compost pile will begin to heat up within a few days as the microorganisms thrive and your pile begins to decompose. Ideally, your pile should heat to about 140-160 degrees to kill weed seeds and diseases that may be present in garden plants.
Building a compost bin
A compost bin can be made from almost any scrap lumber. It does not need to be pretty; it simply has to hold all the different household and yard waste you will be adding to it. See the image to your right; this is typical of a compost bin.
A good design will be at least 3' x 3' x 3'. This will provide enough mass to generate optimal temperatures. A bin should incorporate removable front panels, usually in the form of boards, which can be removed one at a time. This is important since the weight of mature compost against a single large panel may make it impossible to open. If you want to get fancy, you can add a gate on the front.
There are many ways to build a compost bin, the details of which are too lengthy for this article. However, a simple search on Google using the term "How to build a compost bin" will provide numerous links to websites offering you many ways to go about building a compost bin. One website in particular that offers excellent information and drawings is: http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/hort/g06957.htm This website offers a few alternatives for composting which we do not have room to include here. One is heap composting and the other is worm composting - although worms can, and should be added to any compost bin, regardless of design.
Compost bins need to be turned by hand (mixed) to help with the decomposing process and help recently added scraps decompose quicker. Mixing helps improve overall quality of your compost.
Compost tumblers
You have probably seen these on Internet or at your local garden shop. Basically, they are a round tub, mounted on a frame, or base, designed to turn compost and speed development. Many will also collect compost tea (excess nutrient rich moisture that seeps into the base of the tumbler).
Compost tumblers are perfect if space is limited, or city bylaws do not permit open compost bins. They are also ideal if you have a small garden and do not need a large bin. These bins work by rotating the bin every few days, which can speed up compost development by as much a 3 times. The rotation helps to mix compost evenly and create very good compost.
Pictured is a compost tumbler called the "Envirocycle Composter" which retails at $130 to $160 US.
What can you put in your compost? Grass Clippings (thin layers 1 - 2 inches) Leaves and yard waste Flowers Dead plants from end of season garden Weeds without seed heads Fruit and vegetable scraps Coffee grounds Tea bags Egg shells Citrus fruits (cut up) Pure wool jumpers and socks (cut up) Pure cotton articles (cut up) Blood and bone (with no meat) Shredded newspaper Small amounts of wood ash Do not add the following to your compost! Any Type Of Plastic Foam Metal Weeds with seeds (personal recommendation) Bulbous weeds Weeds with runners Pet Droppings Dead Vertebrate Animals Uncooked Meats Cooked Meats Diary Products (Except Egg Shells) Pig manure (questionable parasites and bacteria) Big woody twigs Evergreen needles (unless you want an acidic compost) Troubleshooting
Composting is generally not a problem and easy to do. However, sometimes things don't progress as expected and this can usually be attributed to a few common problems. Here are the most common problems and solutions: Bad odor There is not enough air, or your pile is too wet. Mix the pile, or add dry materials to the pile. Not decomposing Pile may be to dry or wet. If dry, mix the pile and moisten as you turn the compost. If wet, mix the pile and add more dry material. Compost feels right, but not heating up Lack of nitrogen - add items like grass clippings, manure, and other greens Animals attracted to the compost Are you adding meat or milk products to the pile. Avoid scraps likely to attract animals.
Compost is the best natural fertilizer for your garden. In most cases, it contains all the nutrients your plants will need. Compost made with a wide variety of materials, including manure (recommended) is the best.
Anyone who prefers to buy their vegetables and flowers from the local grocery store will have a difficult time understanding the gardener's delight digging into a smelly pile of compost, or having a truck load of manure dumped in their yard. Really, who in their right mind, would pay to have a substance excreted by animals brought to their home?
A gardener. One who knows that good manure and compost can be the difference between a lush garden and a sparse, struggling one. And lets not forget the aroma, a gardener will describe the smell of compost or manure, as "sweet", or "rich", the average person, with no interest in gardening, is more likely to use the word "disgusting".
An experienced gardener knows that compost and manure are the life-blood of a garden. It is the primary way to enrich your soil naturally, and provide all the nutrients your plants will need to grow healthy and strong. The addition of compost and manure can transform even the worst soil into black gold, given enough time.
Composting is a natural biological process where bacteria, fungi and other organisms decompose organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings, and food wastes. The resulting product is called compost. Although composting occurs naturally, the process can be accelerated and improved by human intervention.
Where do you start?
In this article the focus will be on composting. If you are new to gardening, knowing how to start and build a good compost bin may seem a little complex, you may ask, "How do I build a compost bin" or "What can I put in my compost bin". Overall, making compost is relatively simple.
We will focus on compost bins and tumblers. Tumblers are excellent alternatives for gardeners living in the city who may not have room for a compost bin, or where city bylaws prohibit open compost bins. Putting kitchen scraps in the compost bin versus the garbage can have the added benefit of reducing foul odors. You will also have the peace of mind knowing you are contributing less garbage to the local landfill.
It is best to have two compost bins, one for fresh compost additives, and the other for use in your garden each season. Using two compost bins ensures you will always have good compost at the start of each gardening season. If you prefer to use tumblers, the same principal applies. One is in development, the other is ready to use.
There are two ways of composting, "Passive" and "Managed".
Passive composting
This is really very basic. You have a compost bin; you throw in all the various kitchen scraps, yard waste and so on. Once in a while, you mix it up; weather, bacteria, fungi and time do the rest. Hopefully, each year, you will have useable compost. Often referred to as "The Lazy Gardener's Compost".
Managed composting
This requires more time and attention than passive composting, but the resulting compost will be ready sooner, and better quality. A managed compost pile is often referred to as hot compost since the pile heats up as it decomposes, thus speeding up the process.
A managed compost bin can be ready in just 6 weeks, however, unless you are using tumblers, in most cases useable compost will probably take 2 to 3 months. Chopping or shredding leaves and other materials will speed up the process drastically.
Most of the organisms that decompose organic matter in a compost bin are aerobic - this means they need air to survive, so air circulation is important. This can be done by mixing (turning the top and sides of the pile into the center) the pile up every 3 or 4 days, or when the compost begins to feel cool. Building a bin with slats allows air to enter the pile from the sides. Using both methods is best.
How fast you produce finished compost will be determined by what you add to your compost, if you chop it up and how you mix them together. Layering is a common technique, but in most cases, redundant if you hand mix the pile.
The temperature of your compost pile is critical - If it is warm or hot, everything is good. If it feels luke warm, decomposition has slowed down and you need to add more materials such as grass clippings, leaves or kitchen waste. If you prefer to be very precise with the management of your compost, a compost thermometer can be used see how well your compost is doing. They are not expensive and readily available. If you can't buy locally, you will easily find them online.
Keeping your compost pile moist is important. Too dry, and the pile will not decompose as quickly. A compost pile should be moist, but not wet - add water or dry matter as required to maintain this balance. To much water will reduce air in the compost thus slowing down the decay process. A good sign of healthy compost is worms. Worms don't like it too cold, too hot, too wet or too dry - they can be used to monitor the condition of your compost.
A new compost pile will begin to heat up within a few days as the microorganisms thrive and your pile begins to decompose. Ideally, your pile should heat to about 140-160 degrees to kill weed seeds and diseases that may be present in garden plants.
Building a compost bin
A compost bin can be made from almost any scrap lumber. It does not need to be pretty; it simply has to hold all the different household and yard waste you will be adding to it. See the image to your right; this is typical of a compost bin.
A good design will be at least 3' x 3' x 3'. This will provide enough mass to generate optimal temperatures. A bin should incorporate removable front panels, usually in the form of boards, which can be removed one at a time. This is important since the weight of mature compost against a single large panel may make it impossible to open. If you want to get fancy, you can add a gate on the front.
There are many ways to build a compost bin, the details of which are too lengthy for this article. However, a simple search on Google using the term "How to build a compost bin" will provide numerous links to websites offering you many ways to go about building a compost bin. One website in particular that offers excellent information and drawings is: http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/hort/g06957.htm This website offers a few alternatives for composting which we do not have room to include here. One is heap composting and the other is worm composting - although worms can, and should be added to any compost bin, regardless of design.
Compost bins need to be turned by hand (mixed) to help with the decomposing process and help recently added scraps decompose quicker. Mixing helps improve overall quality of your compost.
Compost tumblers
You have probably seen these on Internet or at your local garden shop. Basically, they are a round tub, mounted on a frame, or base, designed to turn compost and speed development. Many will also collect compost tea (excess nutrient rich moisture that seeps into the base of the tumbler).
Compost tumblers are perfect if space is limited, or city bylaws do not permit open compost bins. They are also ideal if you have a small garden and do not need a large bin. These bins work by rotating the bin every few days, which can speed up compost development by as much a 3 times. The rotation helps to mix compost evenly and create very good compost.
Pictured is a compost tumbler called the "Envirocycle Composter" which retails at $130 to $160 US.
What can you put in your compost? Grass Clippings (thin layers 1 - 2 inches) Leaves and yard waste Flowers Dead plants from end of season garden Weeds without seed heads Fruit and vegetable scraps Coffee grounds Tea bags Egg shells Citrus fruits (cut up) Pure wool jumpers and socks (cut up) Pure cotton articles (cut up) Blood and bone (with no meat) Shredded newspaper Small amounts of wood ash Do not add the following to your compost! Any Type Of Plastic Foam Metal Weeds with seeds (personal recommendation) Bulbous weeds Weeds with runners Pet Droppings Dead Vertebrate Animals Uncooked Meats Cooked Meats Diary Products (Except Egg Shells) Pig manure (questionable parasites and bacteria) Big woody twigs Evergreen needles (unless you want an acidic compost) Troubleshooting
Composting is generally not a problem and easy to do. However, sometimes things don't progress as expected and this can usually be attributed to a few common problems. Here are the most common problems and solutions: Bad odor There is not enough air, or your pile is too wet. Mix the pile, or add dry materials to the pile. Not decomposing Pile may be to dry or wet. If dry, mix the pile and moisten as you turn the compost. If wet, mix the pile and add more dry material. Compost feels right, but not heating up Lack of nitrogen - add items like grass clippings, manure, and other greens Animals attracted to the compost Are you adding meat or milk products to the pile. Avoid scraps likely to attract animals.
Compost is the best natural fertilizer for your garden. In most cases, it contains all the nutrients your plants will need. Compost made with a wide variety of materials, including manure (recommended) is the best. Visit: >> www.compost.me.uk
Now, I ask, what more could a gardener ask for.
By Henry Reinders. Avid gardener and owner of http://www.usagardener.com Complete online gardening guide.
Did you know that leaves make great compost? Yes, I said wonderful leaves! Those leaves falling outside your window are a great source of organic material for making compost.
It's true-leaves are an excellent organic material for making compost for a couple of reasons: Since trees usually have extensive root systems, leaves end up being the recipient of all those nutrients gathered from the soil. Leaves are highly fibrous improving the aeration and composition of the soil.
Now, I can hear you saying, "I tried to compost my leaves, but it didn't work." Probably most people have had some negative experience trying to compost leaves. Actually, leaves can take several years to break down if you fail to compost them properly. Don't worry, learning how to compost leaves is not nearly as difficult as you may think. We are going to show you the easy way to compost leaves.
The first question many people ask is "What kind of leaves work best for composting?" Just about any typical leaf works great. Here are some of the most common leaf types:
White Ash American Beech Balsam Fir Eastern Hemlock Red Maple Sugar Maple White Oak
We should mention that if oak or beech leaves are used exclusively the resulting compost will be a bit more acidic making it quite suitable for plants such as rhododendrons and blueberries. You can tone down the acidity by adding some limestone to the leaves as you fill your compost bin or compost pile.
There are two important things that you must do when you compost leaves to ensure that your leaves will compost properly. The first thing is to make sure your leaves are shredded when adding them to your composter, compost tumbler or compost pile.
Shredding your leaves is quite easy. You can mow over them several times before you rake them up. Also, there are a number of manufacturers who make shredder / chippers that work great for leaves. I even had a gasoline powered blower that had a vacuum attachment for picking up leaves, which left the leaves in a nice shredded state.
The second important thing you must do when you compost leaves is to make sure that you add nitrogen to your compost bin or compost pile. Leaves contain very little nitrogen. It is this lack of nitrogen that causes the leaves to decay slowly. Adding nitrogen to your compost bin or compost pile will help to speed up the decomposition process of the leaves. Adding nitrogen can be as simple as adding grass clippings with the leaves as you fill your compost tumbler or compost bin.
Other sources of nitrogen include manure, dried blood, alfalfa meal, and bone meal. If you are using manure, use 1 part manure to five parts leaves. If you are using a natural source of nitrogen such as dried blood, use two cups per wheelbarrow load of leaves.
Once you have shredded your leaves and found an additional nitrogen source, you simply add your leaves and nitrogen source to your compost tumbler, compost bin or compost pile and keep the leaves moist but not wet and allow nature to do its thing. You will of course want to keep your leaves turned on a fairly regular basis if you are using a compost bin or compost pile.
If you want to make the composting process even quicker and easier, a compost tumbler works the best. With a compost tumbler you are able to easily turn your compost on a weekly basis keeping the organic material well-mixed thereby speeding up the decomposition process. With a compost tumbler you can have compost in as little as 3 or 4 weeks. Two great compost tumblers for backyard composting are the Envirocycle Compost Tumbler and the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler.
Hopefully, at this point you will look on those falling leaves a little more favorably. Taking some time to compost leaves in the fall will result in great compost to use in your garden in the spring. So go outside, rake some leaves and make some compost!
For additional information on composting you may want to read "What Can You Compost?" Happy raking and composting! "Don't throw it away, compost it!"
GoodCompost.com is your source for composters and composting equipment, as well as composting know-how. We are here to help you get started composting at home today. Come by for a visit. http://www.goodcompost.com/
It's pretty basic really, make a pile of mixed up organic (in the it was once alive sense of the word) items. You can use a commercial compost bin or compost tumbler, a homemade compost box of old wood scraps or chicken-wire, or even just make a big pile of compost in a corner of the yard. The important bit is what goes into your compost pile not how expensive it was to construct.
What Can I Compost? Nature is already showing us what we can compost. In its most basic sense anything that was once alive will break down into organic components. So if an item is comprised of 100% natural materials it can be composted. So your goal when composting should be if something was once alive it can be added to my compost pile to prevent its goodness being wasted. Anything once alive will add goodness to your garden when it has been composted.
Now we all have preconceived notions of what can be added to the compost pile and need to work with these. If there is something on the list you do not already compost try adding it. You'll reduce your household waste and increase your compost heap.
* Compost your garden prunings, lawn clippings and weeds. Just make sure the prunings are shredded or broken up into small pieces and lawn clippings are mixed throughout the compost heap. Prolific weeds may be soaked in a bucket of water for a few weeks so they turn into mush which definitely won't survive the heat of your compost pile. Seriously diseased plants such as brassicas infected with clubroot may be burnt first and the ashes added to the plot to prevent the clubroot disease reinfecting your soil later on.
* Compost your vegetable peelings. All your vegetable waste from the kitchen can go straight onto your compost pile.
* Compost your paper and cardboard. All your uncoated paper and card should be shredded / ripped up and added to the compost heap. Don't forget to remove plastic windows from envelopes and plastic tape from cardboard packaging. Laminated papers and cards cannot be added as they'll leave a plastic film which won't break down so keep an eye on what kind of paper and card products you purchase.
* Compost your kitchen scraps even meat and fish. Meat and fish was once alive so will compost down into lovely goodness for your soil too. Just ensure your compost pile is pet proof and put these items deep into the pile, not just left on top for the local wildlife to feast on! Raw or cooked kitchen scraps will break down but if there is any issue with dogs trying to break into your heap cooked bones may be a problem as they are brittle and could be dangerous if swallowed.
* Compost dog waste. Again make sure the composting dog poop is always buried within the compost heap and it will break down fine. Poo (manure) is full of bacteria who love to break down organic items. Introducing manure to your compost pile will bring in these useful bacteria to help speed up the composting process.
* Compost manure. If you have other livestock or access to farmyard manure the addition of small quantities throughout the compost heap will heat things up and speed things along. Commercial organic compost activators are often primarily dried manure.
* Compost urine. This is probably best left to the boys. Urine is full of nutrients which will help activate your compost pile. Asking a gentleman to occasionally wee on the compost pile will do nothing but good.
* Compost human manure. It's no different to any other manure and can be composted very successfully. So if you have space for a dry composting toilet you can reduce your water usage and improve your compost creation in one step.
* Compost wood ash and sawdust. Wood ash from a wood burning fire is excellent added to the heap providing potash and other nutrients. Sawdust added in small quantities through the pile will improve bulk but may slow down the composting action if added too liberally.
* Compost pet or livestock bedding. Whether it be bedding from a gerbil cage or the contents of a hen coop, these natural materials (straw / hay / sawdust etc) will be covered in animal manure and urine and therefore fantastic additions to the compost heap. N.B. most commercial cat litters are not natural and thus not suitable for the compost heap - make sure you read the packet to see if the product is natural and was 'once alive'.
* Other natural fibers. So old woolen sweaters, cotton socks, hair (if you cut your own) or pet fur (if you trim theirs) will break down too. Don't forget to check for synthetic additions to clothing including buttons, zippers or just man-made fibers such as lycra.
Remember! Anything which was once alive, will break down into compost.
How to Compost Unless you're using a commercial container for composting, a rough guide is to aim for a finished heap at around 1m (or 1 yard) cubed. Once you reach your finished size cover your pile with carpet or plastic sheeting to keep the worst of the weather off and leave your heap to do its stuff for six months to a year.
If you're using any kind of manure leave the heap for at least a year before putting it onto your soil. If the heap is working well all pathogens contained in the manure will have been long gone in around three months but its easier to wait longer and not have to worry!
Ensure your compost heap is pet-proof. Make sure the heap is built with a mixture of items so it remains aerated throughout due to the different sizes and types of particles within it. If you're likely to have a surplus of one item such as grass clippings make a separate pile of this which you can then add at intervals onto the heap. Try to aim for a layered approach to the compost heap such as some kitchen scraps followed by lawn clippings, paper, dog waste, ash etc.
If you live in a dry climate add water / urine / washing up water to the heap. The compost heap is full of living organisms so it needs to be moist. Likewise if you live in a wet climate cover the heap to prevent all those living organisms drowning.
Be sensible. You're adding things that are starting to break down - food scraps, animal waste, so observe basic hygiene at all times - keep the kids occupied somewhere else and wash your hands!
It is good practice to cover anything animals might find interesting within the heap. So either dig a small hole whenever adding kitchen waste etc or keep a batch of weeds / law clippings / straw etc to cover the interesting stuff whenever you add it. This will deter animal and insect pests. If you leave a piece of leftover roast chicken breast on the top of your compost heap you would expect a few birds, flies, cats and dogs to take an interest so cover up the interesting stuff! This will also keep the smells in.
Your finished compost will smell like rich woodland soil, crumbly and dark. But obviously if you're adding poo to your pile you don't want the smell of poo around before the composting action gets going. So cover up or bury within the heap, all the smelly stuff!
Once you add your own made compost to your garden you'll never want to buy another bag of the shop bought stuff again and you'll love have less household waste to dispose of elsewhere. So go on get composting. It is the most basic method of reducing waste and recycling. Mother Nature's always done it and now, so should we.
Whether you are an ordinary gardener, or an organic gardener which doesn't use of any sort of chemical additive for fertilization or pest control, a quality compost becomes one of the most important factors in determining the ultimate success of your garden. Compost is one of nature's best mulches and soil amendments. With a good quality compost there is no need to use any sort of commercial fertilizer, and one of the best features of compost is that it can literally be made without spending a dime.
What Exactly Is Compost
Compost is the remnants of any organic material that has been aerobically decomposed. Compost is often also called humus. In earth science "humus" is defined as any organic matter which has reached a point of stability, where it will break down no further and can remain essentially as it is for centuries, or even millennia. So both words, for practical gardening purposes, basically mean the same thing; the end product of decomposed organic matter. It is also important to note that this decomposition is a result of a aerobic process as opposed to an anaerobic process. For example, vegetables placed in an airtight plastic bag will still decompose but will do so in an anaerobic manner since there is limited oxygen available. Anaerobic decomposition is what produces the foul odor that most of us are quite aware of.
The Compost Decomposition Process
The decomposition of organic matter is actually a process of repeated digestions as organic matter repeatedly passes through the intestinal tracts of soil animals or is attacked by the digestive enzymes secreted by microorganisms. Compost is the end product of this complex feeding pattern involving hundreds of different microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, worms, and insects. In reality composting simply replicates nature's natural system of breaking down materials on the forest floor. But fortunately for us, the organic gardener, this process results in a product that significantly improves soil fertility and helps keep the soil in a healthy balanced condition where nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus will be produced naturally.
Compost Ingredients
Although almost any organic material can be used for compost pile, caution should be used when backyard composting as most backyard systems will not reach high enough temperatures to kill pathogens or deter vermin. So generally pet feces, non vegetarian animal manure, meat scraps, and dairy products should not be used unless you can be sure that an adequate temperatures will be reached.
To ensure proper composting your compost pile needs the right mixture of carbon rich "brown matter" and nitrogen rich "green matter". Brown matter can consist of such items as dried leaves, straw, sawdust, wood chips, and even non-inked paper and cardboard. Green matter can include green plant material such as grass clippings, fresh cut hay, weeds, animal manures, fruit and vegetable table scraps, seaweed's, and coffee grounds.
The Composting Process
This speed by which the composting process will occur will depend to a large extent on amount of effort you desire to put into creating the compost. Passive composting obviously takes the least amount of effort on your part. You simply mix the materials together in a freestanding pile and allow them to sit and rot on their own. This process may take a year or two but eventually you'll have compost.
However, by actively managing your compost pile, you can often get finished compost in as little as one month. You can actively decrease the amount of time it takes to create compost if you're willing to take the time to chop up your materials since shredded organic materials can heat up more rapidly and decompose quickly.
Heat is an important factor in effective composting. Hot composting allows aerobic bacteria to thrive. The ideal condition is for pasteurization to occur in a hot compost. Pasteurization will occur when the temperature reaches 55° Celsius (131°F) or more for three or more days. This will kill most pathogens and seeds. Pasteurized compost is valuable to the home gardener since the pasteurization process is otherwise both expensive and complicated, and adding chemicals to produce pasteurization is not an acceptable alternative for organic gardening.
Compost Tumblers
For many gardeners, space is often an issue, and even you have adequate space in your backyard you may not want to have a large unsightly compost heap. Compost tumblers offer a reasonable and effective alternative to the compost pile. And while the claims of some compost tumblers to produce compost in as little as 13 days may be slightly exaggerated, they do offer several benefits over the standard compost heap and they actually can accelerate the decomposition process because of their convenience.
There are a number of benefits of compost tumblers. First, they are generally easy to use and come in a number of sizes and styles that make the turning of your compost piles much easier. Second, because they are fully enclosed they are pest proof from such common pests as squirrels, raccoons, rats and dogs. Also, because tumblers are in a closed environment it's much easier to retain moisture so your compost doesn't dry out. Also in wet weather it won't get too soggy. The enclosed environment also keeps unpleasant orders inside the compost tumbler (however if you're keeping your compost properly aerated by proper turning there should not be any unpleasant odors).
Whether you garden by more modern means, or are a strict organic gardener, one thing is certain; healthy plants come from a healthy and nutritious soil. By making your own compost (a.k.a. gardeners black gold), not only are you being environmentally friendly and very economical, you're producing your own natural black gold for your vegetables, herbs and flowers and providing healthy, safe, and great tasting food for your loved ones.
Katie Collins is a gardener, mother and writer. For more great articles and advice on gardening please visit our websites at Great Vegetable Gardens [http://www.greatvegetablegardens.com] and Better Organic Gardens [http://www.betterorganicgardens.com/blog]
You have learned the way to make compost. You have made, acquired, borrowed or stolen a compost bin. You are adding garden waste and recycling kitchen scraps. Now the ungainly bit - the wait... How long will it take to make the compost? If you've a moderately massive compost bin ( say one metre cubed ), the likelihood is that you could go on filling it indefinitely. As you add to the top, the garden and kitchen waste beneath will slowly be roting, composting and making humus. As it does this the organic material shrinks.
That leaves you more space on top, to add more garden and kitchen waste. The quandary is, if you never run right out of space for the garden waste, chances are high that you will just go on, adding more and never seeing the advantage of the wealthy garden compost you made! For people with smaller compost bins e. G the beehive compost bin, or a kitchen composter, no such fears.
You may run right out of space comparatively quickly and so instantly stop adding more garden waste and naturally wait patiently for your new garden compost to be made. In your case you'll have discovered pretty quickly you will need at least 2 compost bins! Cutoff point for Making the compost pile Unless you've got a compost bin you simply fill fast you must set yourself a cutoff point for making the compost heap. And, you're going to need to stick to it! The best way to do this, is to make a record of when you started your compost pile. Then, according to available space and time you hope to take to fill it, assign yourself a date when you may stop putting garden waste on that heap. We have diverse compost tons of different sizes from 0.5 m cubed to 1m cubed. For the smaller compost piles I give myself three months in which to make the pile. For the bigger, we give them six months of 'creation '. Once that date is reached we cap off the compost heap and start making another. 'Capping Off ' a compost pile For those using sealed compost bins, this step isn't needed. But if you are making compost out in the open, for instance in a wooden bay with no lid, you want to offer protection to the compost heap from the elements a bit.
- first if its been dry throw on a bucket or 2 of water to dampen the entire heap.
- Then add a layer of thick insulating organic material. Like grass clippings or manure. This may keep the heap warm, and seal in smells so no vermin ( or pets ) are drawn to the compost.
- If you experience torrential rain, cover with old carpet, plastic sheeting or an old tarpaulin to deflect the most heavy rainwater. * Note down the date of 'compost heap completion '.
- Wait! When will the Compost be Prepared ? O.K , so how long you wait for the compost to be prepared depends basically on the following : * Climate - in hotter weather decomposition is quicker.
- Moisture - you want to guarantee the compost heap is damp ( not saturated ) through the time you are waiting for it to turn into total garden compost.
- Content Type - most garden and kitchen waste will break down fairly fast. But specific foodstuffs like bones and egg-shells are pretty dense.
These will take six months or even more to break down. Fertilizer from folk ( humanure ) or animals from non organic farms may contain vet chemical remains. These will be gone in 3 months. But if you farm organically and sell your produce, you might need to stick to Soil organisation guiding principles requiring you not to use such composts ( including non-organic pig or birds fertilizer ) for at least half a year.
Yes, but How Long do I actually need to hang about for My Compost?
As a rough rule. If it isn't getting too cold, and you've been a good garden composter, building a diverse compost heap it should be crumbling hummus in 3 months. You will still see the peculiar egg-shell or bleached bone ( in which particular case throw them on the following compost heap, and smack them up a bit before adding to heaps in the future ), but generally your garden compost will be complete. If you add fertilizer from any omnivores or carnivores and you are uncertain the heap has been working efficiently give the pile half a year before using.
How to tell the compost pile is Working Efficiently. I suggest frequently having an impertinent look under the cover of your compost heap to discover how its getting on. If it appears terribly dry you are able to add some water. If the compost appears extraordinarily wet you can leave the cover off and let it dry out! Your compost should get hot in the first month of you 'capping off ' the compost heap. On occasions the compost can really be dangerously hot so watch out. If you see steam, don't touch it! I've been caught out by roting grass clippings, which break down so quickly and give off such great amounts of heat and steam, to burn the hands when checking the compost heap.
This heat is the thing that quickly kills off any evil pathogens in the compost heap. Those pathogens will probably come from food and fertilizer. They are nothing to stress about while you remember harsh cleanliness rules when handling compost ( you are not going to eat it, now are you? ). Cold Compost Tip : If your compost does not get hot, decomposition will still happen, but may take a little longer. This is very often found in cool climates where the compost struggles to become a fast hot heap. Once the compost has heated, it'll cool again. At about that point - when you see no more steam, you can turn the compost. Turning a rubbish pile Now, some of the people swear you've got to turn compost and others ( like myself ) swear you don't! Personally, if the compost is warming nicely and roting I actually don't see the point.
However a compost heap which isn't turned may run the ( not too heavy ) chance of having non-decomposed matter around its edges. However because we've 'capped off ' the compost heap with garden waste which breaks down simply we should not have that problem! I never turn my compost heaps. Now and then I am doing find the wierd woody bit of matter round the edges of the heap that has not utterly broken down. I do not see it as a significant problem.
I just throw any such bits and bobs onto the following heap. if you truly want to turn your compost heap.
Here is how its done : * Pull everything out of your compost bin or compost making area. * Put everything back in your compost bin, or compost heap area. Not complex in any way. However you must confirm the stuff originally from across the edges of the heap, goes into the middle of your new one. And, inversely all of the stuff originally from the middle of the heap, goes round the edges of the new one. Once the compost heap has been turned, you must find it'll heat up again which may speed up decomposition. Unless you've a compost heap which is free-standing and cold with no organic material you can insulate it or cap it off with, I find turning the heap pointless.
Don't turn your compost heap unless you want to, and are about to do it completely. Otherwise it's going to be a waste of your time for a massive quantity of effort.
When is My Compost Prepared ?
I am hoping this answer helps.
A well made compost heap should be prepared in 3 to half a year. any garden composter will change due to site and contents. How long compost takes to be prepared is highly variable.
If you use plastic or wooden sealed compost bins you may be fairly confident the compost will be prepared in a quarter, as they make sure the compost stays wet and warm.
And when yours is ready grow some lovely potatoes like the ones above!
I have lots more articles on gardening. Please check out my page and go to my blog from there!
