Composting ??

debyeb7 · January 2011

Hi everyone,

Hope you all enjoyed your holidays. My husband and I just moved into our house a few weeks ago and we want to compost. How do you recommend starting? Just making a pile outside, getting a bucket? Any info you ladies have would be awesome, I have never composted before!!

Thanks

blue_elle · January 2011

If you don't want to purchase a composter (and they can be pricey!) you can either do the pile method or make a compost bin of your own. We use a large rubbermaid bin with holes drilled in the bottom (for drainage), and the sides and top (for oxidation and allowing rain to enter). The holes in the side should be higher than the contents will be to prevent spilling. You could also use a garbage can. Cans are great since you can roll it on edge to mix the contents. We stir occasionally in the summer and let rest in the winter. Come spring I'll use the finished compost out of the bottom for planting and allow any unfinished compost to remain.

To start a homemade bin, layer some shredded paper and/or dry leaves in the bottom and spritz with water to dampen. As you add material try to keep a good balance of browns (dead material) and greens (live materials/food). Water as needed to moisten but do not soak. Bugs will find their way in and help speed the process as well. Oh, and don't add dairy or meat - it'll attract rats. That's it!

MeowNow · January 2011

My DH built a really good one out of a 55 gallon drum. He built a stand for it and it has a door on hinges and you can spin it around. It doesn't sit on the ground so you don't get a lot of moisture sitting in it. Here is his blog..

blogripe.com (in the green category under DIY composter)

SuperGreen · January 2011

We bought a $25 composting bin from Craiglist. If you look at the backyard photo in my bio (really outdated, sorry), it's the doghouse-looking green thing. We scraped the grass off a segment of our yard, and placed the composter there. The rhyme is "equal parts green and brown help to break the compost down." So we add all our kitchen scraps (those are greens), and shredded leaves or newspaper (brown). You can Google for other kinds of greens and browns. We stir after every addition using our garden shovel, and add water about once a week or so. I have a tub sitting under our patio furniture to catch rainwater, I normally empty that in the compost. It should be moist, like a damp sponge . We got finished compost after about 6 months, and now that it's really going (we're in year 3) I regularly take a tub of compost out of it to add to our raised beds or front decorative plants. Everything is growing like gangbusters, and we've reduced our landfill impact by a significant amount.

We bought this compost crock for holding scraps, I wanted something pretty. But any sealed container will work. Composting is easier than you think!

I wouldn't worry at all about "screwing up" your compost pile, that's not really possible unless you put something that reaallly shouldn't be in there, like meat scraps. They smell when they decompose, and attract animals. Really, you're just making a place for organic material to rot. You can't really mess up letting something rot.

We add kitchen scraps pretty much every day, and a big pile of browns every once and awhile when we rake or have brown paper. We have awesome compost. Try not to think about it too much, it's just rotting organic matter Smile

debyeb7 · January 2011

Thanks for all the help! I know it's not complicated I just wanted an idea of how everyone else does theirs. Can't wait to have my own rotting pile. Wink

SKP82 · January 2011

I have been wanting to start composting for awhile myself. I received a compost crock for the kitchen for Christmas and plan to get the compost pile started this weekend. Here is the one I got and I love it!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B003GI10P2/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=1055398&s=home-garden

Good luck!

tbearsangel · January 2011

We started ours last Spring and we live in Michigan, so it's cold right now... so it still needs some time to actually 'make' compost. We just used old pallets from H's work and made an enclosure to put the pile in. He put a hook and eye closure (rather than nails or screws) on one side to enable us to take it off to stir with a pitchfork. It is open to the elements, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, since the rain keeps it wet, but the cold and snow inhibits decomposition somewhat. I have a little bin that I keep under the sink for kitchen waste. I also just bought a paper shredder that I will shred junk mail and paid bills to add to the pile and reduce our waste as well.

Composting ??

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