Composting?

Steph0871

So now that H and I finally have a house and a huge back yard, we want to start a compost.  Anyone have any recs on where to start? Any tips?

We're in the NW metro if that makes a difference at all.  

littlemissflip

You might try googling to see if your city or county has a website with composting resources.  To distinguish from municipal composting services, try the terms "home composting" or "backyard composting" and your city's name. For example, here's a compositing site for Dakota Co. that has some basic info: http://www.co.dakota.mn.us/EnvironmentRoads/EnvirProtect/Composting/default.htm

More detailed information can be found through the UMN Extension Services: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG3296.html 

I got my compost bin discounted through some program in St. Paul, but it was 7 years ago now, so I don't remember what the program was.  My compost bin looks almost exactly like this: http://tinyurl.com/66ayfxb
But through the city program, I think I only paid about $30 for it. They also sent us a pamphlet called "Home Composting Made Easy", which is a nice friendly little guide to composting.  Here's the website that appears to be associated with that guide: http://www.homecompostingmadeeasy.com/

You don't necessarily need a fancy compost bin to start composting--some people just do it in a large pile in their back yard, or construct simple bins made of wood or chicken wire.  The nice thing about the black plastic bins is that they heat up quickly from the sun, which speeds the compost process.

Composting is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms.  Heat will speed up the decomposition process, but also important are sufficient moisture , and a reasonable balance of carbon and nitrogen.  The simple way to think of it is "browns and greens".  Carbon sources are "browns", like dry grass or leaf litter. Nitrogen sources are "greens"--these are fresh green things and most of the vegetable food scraps you might add. You don't need to be TOO particular about the exact ratios--composting is a pretty forgiving process.  But paying some attention to the ratios (along with just some basic trial and error) will ensure decomposition and avoid problems like bad odors and too many fruitflies, etc.

You generally want to avoid adding animal products (dairy, meat, eggs), as these attract animals and also can really stink.

That's all I can think of for now! Enjoy composting!  It's a great feeling turning "waste" into fantastic garden soil!

 

pattymctatty

It's super easy. I thought I was going to regret it after I started two years ago - but my gardens love it AND it's not that bad.

The compost should have an "earthy" smell and if you add too much browns then it doesn't compost very well, and if you add to many greens then it stinks to high heaven. You just need to balance it out.

Steph0871

Awesome! Thanks ladies!  We also want to do a garden (and hopefully a rain barrel once we get gutters installed), so we'll be all hippy-like soon enough

I've seen other composts that were just fenced in, but I was worried about the Monsterdog getting too interested.  I really like that big bin you posted.  I'll have to watch for something in the city.  I did google and look at our city's webpage (BP), but I only found guidelines for the legality of composts. (so many feet from the lot line, etc.) Thankfully we have a huge yard, so I think we can keep the compost over in the one corner, but it's not completely sunny.

LMF- do you remember when you got it? I know the metro has sales on rain barrels in the Spring; I wonder if that's the best time to look for a compost too?  Stupid question- but I'm assuming you just leave that bin outside year 'round? Does it continue composting all winter too? 

 

 

littlemissflip

Steph0871:

LMF- do you remember when you got it? I know the metro has sales on rain barrels in the Spring; I wonder if that's the best time to look for a compost too?  Stupid question- but I'm assuming you just leave that bin outside year 'round? Does it continue composting all winter too? 

I feel like it was late spring/early summer-ish, but I don't really remember.  You can also make your own plastic bin out of rubbermaid containers and such.  Should be instructions online--I think the main thing is putting holes in it, so that it stays aerated.  The thing I like about mine is that it has a little door at the bottom, so that you can remove the finished compost from the bottom while still adding fresh materials from the top.

But speaking of aerating, turning your compost heap occasionally is good too--you want to mix it up to allow oxygen to get to the little composting organisms.  You can use a pitchfork, or even a big stick or whatever.  We recently purchased something like this: http://www.gaiam.com/product/compost+turner.do and it works really well! 

We leave our compost bin in place year-round and just let it freeze in the winter.  Some people are able to continue adding materials to it in the winter, but our yard is REALLY shady, so our compost is very slow, so we're not able to compost fast enough to keep up with the build-up of winter materials.  We're only able to 3-season compost in our yard.

Steph0871

H got impatient, so we ran to Lowes (we had a coupon from our move.)  We actually picked up a really similar turner for $10! We got this compost bin:

http://tiny.cc/x7end (stupid clicky links still don't work on my computer.)

They only had two choices, that one and one that was like $100 and you could spin to 'stir' it.  We figured we'd try the cheapo one first and see how much we actually use it.

Thanks for the tips! 

littlemissflip

Have fun composting!