Composting

[ides]

Who composts? What kind of set up do you use? I want to start composting ASAP but am unsure on what set up would best- or easiest to remove finished compost from the heap. My dad had/has one - it's simply a large circle of chicken wire in the back of the yard. I'm not sure how he gets the good/finished soil out though. There are lots of cool bins to buy but they are pricy and it just seems wrong to use/buy plastic while trying to reduce waste (and make good soil for gardening). Any suggestions?

[HouseofWool]

I do the circle of wire system. About once a season, I pull it off the pile (a pain in the ass job) and move it over. Then, I shovel all of the unfinished stuff back into the compost heap. The stuff closest to the ground is the good stuff and gets spread in the garden. I've not had good luck with the plastic tumblers, they don't do a good job for my yard. I do both yard waste and kitchen scraps, so there is quite a variety of stuff going into the pile.

I'd really like to upgrade to using pallets to create 2 chambers, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

[BonBon]

I'm ashamed to say my composting consists of throwing biodegradables out in the field and letting it rot. (we have a lot of land.)

[Thirteen]

Composting

Who composts? What kind of set up do you use? I want to start composting ASAP but am unsure on what set up would best- or easiest to remove finished compost from the heap. My dad had/has one - it's simply a large circle of chicken wire in the back of the yard. I'm not sure how he gets the good/finished soil out though. There are lots of cool bins to buy but they are pricy and it just seems wrong to use/buy plastic while trying to reduce waste (and make good soil for gardening). Any suggestions?

I have two big plastic bins (irony) with lids on top, and sliding access doors on bottom, to get out the best composted material. I do have to turn it by hand with a shovel, though.
In suburbia, my neighbors might freak if I had an open system.


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[TulipsAndSunscreen]

We bought two rubbermaid trashcans with lids and drilled holes in the top/sides. We use bungee cords to keep the lids on nice and tight. We add stuff to the top of one and roll it as our active compost. The other has composting just sitting there (we roll that one too) but we don't add anything to it so it's the one we pull from for gardening. Once the active compost is full, we empty out the "mature" compost into the gardens and add 1/3 to half the active compost to the mature bin. This way we have a place to add new stuff and a place that we can get garden dirt for.

I will say if you live in an especially wet climate, don't drill many holes in the top or your compost could get soggy - we keep ours under the wood shed roof so it doesn't get too many. We also bought a hay bale after this summer's monsoons because we needed more dry ingredients to balance out the wetness.

Whole thing cost about $30-40 after coupons at Lowe's. It's been working great! Oh, and we found a nice metal ice bucket for $10 at Marshalls that sits on our counter for the scraps. Everything is out of sight and we only have to empty it every 2ish days depending on what we're cooking.

It helped to grow delicious tomatoes and lettuces this summer!

[ides]

Composting

T&S- will you post a pic of your bins? What size are the trash cans? I've been thinking of putting one together with wood and chicken wire but that will take some time and probably won't be done until spring. So, dh suggested we try your garbage can method.

We probably won't put many if any holes in the top. It's quite damp here and it wouldn't have any sort of shelter. We will put holes in the bottom for drainage though.

Anyone have worms in their bin? I know by building one on the ground worms might migrate in but if we use a garbage can do you add some or do they crawl in from the holes on the bottom or do you just do without?

[HouseofWool]

If you do the garbage can method, you are hoping to build up heat so microbial action breaks down the waste faster (it tends to be exothermic, so one the process starts, it is pretty nifty), but that means no worms and it can be tricky to get the right balance of green vs brown. Which is why I like the pile on the ground method better. More insect activity to help the process along.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I will post a pic when I get a moment to go outside. But there are loads of forums online with this method too. We did not add worms although we definitely had some little grubs, etc. migrate in there. I didn't sweat it.

[Sheherezade]

We have a wire form compost pile. We ordered the interlocking wire panels years ago from an online catalog. We have two connected bins - one for newer stuff and one for the old. Lots of worms in there naturally. No matter how you do it, I think turning it is a PITA. We have a pitchfork and we usually just do it once a season - transfer over to next bin and move the oldest stuff on to the garden beds.

http://www.gardenersedge.com/bin-add-on/p/EZEK/

Angie


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[ides]

I did it! Yesterday O and I got a circular saw bit for our drill, a large round garbage can and two bungee cords. I drilled the holes, we placed it in the rear of the yard on some extra bricks and started it off with leaves, chopped up moldy pumpkins and shredded paper sacks.

What do you all use to put scraps in in the kitchen? So far I'm just using a mixing bowl but I'd rather have it covered, since its a bit of an eye soar. Don't really want to buy an expensive bin though metal would be nice.

[HouseofWool]

I did it! Yesterday O and I got a circular saw bit for our drill, a large round garbage can and two bungee cords. I drilled the holes, we placed it in the rear of the yard on some extra bricks and started it off with leaves, chopped up moldy pumpkins and shredded paper sacks.

What do you all use to put scraps in in the kitchen? So far I'm just using a mixing bowl but I'd rather have it covered, since its a bit of an eye soar. Don't really want to buy an expensive bin though metal would be nice.

DON'T cover it in the kitchen- anaerobic bacteria is what makes it stink. Or if you do, make sure the lid is very loose fitting.

[ides]

DON'T cover it in the kitchen- anaerobic bacteria is what makes it stink. Or if you do, make sure the lid is very loose fitting.

Thanks! The bowl I'm using isn't huge so I've already dumped it once. My mom & grandma always emptied theirs at the end of the day. Maybe just an open metal pail would work.

[HouseofWool]

I use an ice cream pail. It isn't pretty, but it works and doesn't leak.

[ides]

I only buy ice cream in cartons. Hummm.

[fluffhead]

I've tried a bunch of methods in the last 25 years, but a heap works best for me. When it's big, I leave it for a few months, turning it once in a while, and start a new heap. By the time the new heap is big, the old one is ready to spread.