Composting

HMP

HMP

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I am interested in getting started in composting, anyone here do it?

Advice or tips?
How to get started?
Do's and Dont's of it?

I dont want to buy one of those expensive tumbler things, Ive seen where some have just used an old steel drum for it. What do yall use?

I think it sort of goes along with the coffee grinds posts, where people talk about using it for a fertilizer of sorts, why not recycle some kitchen waste etc into something usable?
 
I don't compost, but I throw everything organic in to one of the natural areas of my yard. No organics in landfill. The natural area in my front yard must have black dirt 1 1/2 feet deep.
 
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We just have a compost heap out back, no special drums or anything like that.
Two things I have learned with it:
1. Keep as high a nitrogen to carbon ratio as you can. Lots of green stuff (think grass clippings) for every brown thing (think fallen branches) you put in there.
2. Kitchen scraps are goid for the heap. Just keep meat scraps out of it as they attract animals and animal feces.
After this, Im no help lol
 
What all do you throw in it?

Egg shells ok to toss in there?
I assumed vegetables/scraps from them, but wasnt sure what was 'ok' to do and what would be a bad idea
 
draco88 said:
We just have a compost heap out back, no special drums or anything like that.
Two things I have learned with it:
1. Keep as high a nitrogen to carbon ratio as you can. Lots of green stuff (think grass clippings) for every brown thing (think fallen branches) you put in there.
2. Kitchen scraps are goid for the heap. Just keep meat scraps out of it as they attract animals and animal feces.
After this, Im no help lol
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Ok, green stuff is good, got it.

As for the animal feces, I thought (and Ive been wrong MANY times before) that feces did something good for it. I thought that I heard that at one point, but I wasnt planning to poop in it lol.

I was unsure about meat scraps too, wasnt sure if it'd be good or bad. But I rarely have any meat to toss out lol
 
HMP said:
Ok, green stuff is good, got it.

As for the animal feces, I thought (and Ive been wrong MANY times before) that feces did something good for it. I thought that I heard that at one point, but I wasnt planning to poop in it lol.

I was unsure about meat scraps too, wasnt sure if it'd be good or bad. But I rarely have any meat to toss out lol
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You are correct, feces can be good. But they can also carry disease, that's why I've always left out out the meat scraps.
 
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Egg shells are good. Don't put meat in there, or the poo from any animal that eats meat.
 
If you put it in a bin and stir it up or rotate it occasionally, it will decompose faster. I got a bin inexpensively from the solid waste management dept of a county (wasn't Alamance but they didn't ask for ID).
 
I built a 3 sided 3 bin compost heap from scrap wood from a old deck we tore out at the house.

First bin gets everything... Food waste, egg shells, coffee grounds,grass clippings, the hay/straw from chicken coop, paper from shredding, pretty much everything, ashes from charcoal grill,etc. I dont put large branches or pieces of wood, we'll burn and throw whatever ashes are left in the pile.

I try to turn it once a week or so, after its 1/2 full or so I move 2/3 of it to the middle bin, add new to 1st bin, after the 2nd has broken down a good bit, move it to the last bin, last bin goes onto whatever we are adding compost too.

It takes longer because it's open to the air, if I had to do it again, I'd make it 4 sided so I could take off the front to stir and add a lid. Heat and time are your best friends with compost.
It works but just doesn't work fast.

What I stopped doing was we were keeping a old plastic bin with a lid that I'd throw everything thing in till i felt like taking it down.... Talk about gag a maggot, I've smelled rotting corpses that smell better. No longer do that.



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trcubed said:
or the poo from any animal that eats meat.
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Are there any herbivore animals around? lol
Earthworms?
Just looking for clarification on the poo part.


And to someone else's post, I thought that moving it was key to it breaking down, using a shovel to mix it up often.

Also surprised to hear that shredded paper goes in - any kind or what?
 
Cow, chicken, goat, rabbit, horse are all herbivores.

Dogs and cats eat meat. Don't put their crap in the compost. Or maybe you like being sick, in which case...go ahead.

Paper is just cellulose/wood fiber. As long as it isn't glossy or heavily inked, toss it in there, too.
 
We have 3 bins. One open, a 55 gallon plastic drum, and an old trash can. I put holes in the drum and can to help it get air. The drum has the older compost and we turn it every couple weeks. The trash can is the new bin and we try to turn it about every week. It really speeds up the process to turn them. At the end of the year I throw any plants that I pull out of the garden into the compost too.

If you have weeds in your yard the compost need to get pretty hot to break down the weed seeds. Otherwise you will be planting weeds wherever you put it.
 
chiefjason said:
We have 3 bins. One open, a 55 gallon plastic drum, and an old trash can. I put holes in the drum and can to help it get air. The drum has the older compost and we turn it every couple weeks. The trash can is the new bin and we try to turn it about every week. It really speeds up the process to turn them. At the end of the year I throw any plants that I pull out of the garden into the compost too.

If you have weeds in your yard the compost need to get pretty hot to break down the weed seeds. Otherwise you will be planting weeds wherever you put it.
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Yep.......what he said. If your compost doesn't get hot enough it will not kill the seeds. I never put compost in a raised bed unless it is store-bought sterilized.
 
How hot we talking?
 


This Utube is almost the same as I have made in three gardens I have had. They work GREAT! Cost only the expense of screws. I make three of the ones he makes and put fresh small stuff in one big stuff in one and finished compost it the other. I have never made the doors on the front like this guy But I will do that on my next ones I will build in a few weeks. A bagger for your mower will help give you more material for making compost faster. It will also keep the Brown and Green mixture in better check. I have always had to water my piles. They just do not seem to stay damp enough to work off and stay hot without moisture. Careful not to over water as this will cool down the pile. Turning it is the best way to get faster compost.

Again in order to kill seeds and other harmful items use the three bin process. #1 large pieces you cannot chop up with your mower. ie: finger size sticks, stalks etc. Add dry leaves and grass clippings on top of this stuff. #2 Kitchen scraps, like others have said- no meat and no citrus. Add some grass clippings and other garden waste. . Bin #2 will start to brake down first. Keep it turned and moist. It will steam from the heat in the cool mornings like your breath in the wintertime. When bin 2 is about complete- all decomposed dark and smells sweet like earth, Take about half and put in bin 3. Then mix some of Bin one into bin 2. Keep turning and adding. Soon 60 days or so you should have about 50 lbs of usable compost in bin 3 that is sterilized and weed free.


Biggest problem with any compost system. Herbicides!!!! Stop using roundup and other glyphosates NOW. They will get into the compost and you will transfer them to your garden and the plants will die or will just not grow over a foot or so tall. Do not use manure from a source you KNOW does not use glyphosates. Cows - horses, goats sheep...... will eat grass and weeds with these chemicals and they will transfer them to your compost. Regardless of what others may say- You do not need manure to make great compost.

Earth worms- I have naturally had worms in some of my bins. This is great. f I were to add worms, I would do so in bin 2 after it has begun to work off good. You can add shredded paper and this will help the worms grow. With worms you can never let bin 2 or 3 dry out.And you need to be sure and keep food for the worms in these bins. Such as kitchen scraps, dry leaves and shredded paper.

Egg shells are good. Eggs are not! I like to save the egg shells separated in the kitchen. When I am ready to go to the bins with a load- I put the sells in the blender with a little water and whizz them a while first. They break down easier and distribute easier.


All kitchen scraps except oils, meats, citrus are ok. I keep a small bin - an bout 2 gal size in the kitchen.Dump everything in it and transfer to the pile when full. I use a bagger on my lawn tractor. Everything goes into the compost pile. EVEN garden clippings and clean up around the yard.
 
Wow, yall are great!
 
Also, what is the harm in citrus?
 
I have heard that some folks put citrus in their composite. Its just common sense to me. Citrus contains sodium ascorbate/citric acad or Vit c. This is a natural preservative and will retard decomposition.
 
I use a ~12' length of 36" welded wire fencing to make a circle. Fill to the top with a 70/30 mixture of leaves and grass clippings, and mix in kitchen scraps as it rots down. No poop, meat, dairy or oils. Add coffee grounds, teabags, vegetables, eggshells, fruit, pits, nutshells, etc. Turn every couple months and also add whatever worms you can find in your yard to the bins. I use two of these bins and alternate. As one gets close to finished I start using the other and stop adding scraps to the old one.

Mine don't get hot enough to kill seeds but that doesn't really bother me. Plus the birds love it when I turn the bins and pull out a bunch of grubs for them to eat.
 
If you are in a hurry for compost and are close to Greensboro, the city of Greensboro will sell you nice compost for $20.00 a ton. I loaded my dump truck (7.5 foot by 12 foot bed with 1.5 foot side boards, I'm guessing about 5 yards or so) today with a little less than 2 tons for $38.00 and some change. This load is going to my brother's garden spot.
 
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Heavy Barrel said:
If you are in a hurry for compost and are close to Greensboro, the city of Greensboro will sell you nice compost for $20.00 a ton. I loaded my dump truck (7.5 foot by 12 foot bed with 1.5 foot side boards, I'm guessing about 5 yards or so) today with a little less than 2 tons for $38.00 and some change. This load is going to my brother's garden spot.
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Be warned, last time I did that it was ridiculously high in nitrogen apparently. Stunted my garden and turned everything yellow for about a month. We limed and watered it well. Finally eased up and had a decent seasons. Soil looked great though. And no problems the next seasons with that soil. But it did it to both mine and my step dads garden.

We turned both bins yesterday. The oldest one was completely full last time we turned it, 55 gallon drum. This time it had broke down and dropped 6" in the drum after 2 weeks. We have stopped adding to it and hope to use it this spring. The other trash can is our current add barrel. I need to get some stuff out of the open pile and add to it this week.
 
I have not used the Greensboro City stuff before but I will warn my brother. I only have a small plot that I sheet compost a layer of leaves in the fall and winter. The leaves have been run through my mower and Trac Vac leaf collector so the mower blades and collector impeller have them chopped to small pieces. I add all the coffee grounds I can get over the winter and till this in in the spring. Makes a very loose and friable soil mixture. Have had good success with this for the past few years.

This year I might add some of the hay and manure from around the hay rings in my pasture. I know this will make a rich mixture. Just need to catch it when it is not too wet. Might wait until fall to add a layer.
 
Be careful of compost and mulch you get from the cities as they sometimes allow cherry into the shredder. Cherry will burn up everything in your wife's flowerbed.
 
Just wanted to update - I have begun.
Im excited to have started this and while we're starting very small (not a lot of things to add to it at first), Im looking forward to having some great soil to use in the flower beds and around the bushes etc as this year goes on!

Thanks to all for the advice and support
 
So I just went out to put a few more things in the pile - there are some ants out there, is that bad or normal or what?
 
HMP said:
So I just went out to put a few more things in the pile - there are some ants out there, is that bad or normal or what?
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I would think normal, but I wanted to share that I lost track of mine for a while and when I decided to check it out, it had turned into a breeding ground for cockroaches. It was disgusting!
 
Yep, normal. Ants will get in there looking for some food. Try to find where the travel direction is from and drop a Terro ant bait on the trail. They will be gone in a day or two.
 
Lafayette Gregory said:
Keep your compost pile turned. Ant Don't like to be disturbed.
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I decided to move mine because of this thread. I turned it a little and out pops one of those little green frogs that stick to the sides of anything.

I need to make conditions more unpleasanter in there.
 
How often should it be turned? There isnt much to mine quite yet, but I'll go out there and turn it this afternoon or tomorrow (that'd be 2 or 3 days)
 
Every couple days is good. I have always found that they dry out if not watered. But not with softened water! The pile needs to stay damp and should steam on cold mornings.
 
Well I turned it today and it was pretty dry on top but not bottom.
I'll keep an eye on it, really dont know what Im doing here but hoping it all works out.

Again, I really appreciate yalls help
 
Ok since this is in survival and prep area I'll cover some less traversed areas.

Human waste can be dealt with.
To the guys that suggest some modecum of safety from herbivore poop; nope, they are warm blooded, eating meat has nothing to do with it. You should never put fresh compost that contains poop on any root crop that you might eat raw. You can put raw poop to the root of a tomato plant or any fruit bearer and you are safe, just make sure it is deep and can't spatter the fruit in a rain.

Well composted poop of any grade is quite safe. It needs to be deep composted and encouraged to reach pasteurizing temperature.

Lime is the key to any good composting operation. It increases temperature which speeds the process, provides much needed buffering in an acidic environment, and is necessary to insure you aren't adding to the acid nature of our local soils.
 
We wanted to start another can so we picked up another trash can. Black and it's flat on one side which makes dumping and turning it easier. Drilled a bunch of holes in it. This size seems to work really well for us. 32 gallons and has wheels if we need to move it around a bit. We ended up getting some month old chicken litter and turned it into the garden and beds. So we are letting the compost cook a bit more to kill the weeds and such. When we turn the new one it is steaming hot now. We turn it once a week and it breaks down really quick.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/INCREDIBLE...ic-Outdoor-Wheeled-Trash-Can-with-Lid/3381468
 
Im planning on picking up a 30g plastic drum this week for this.
Drill some holes in the bottom, start tossing stuff in.

Think it'll be better than the small area I currently have, keep it more organized. Maybe.
its 8 bucks for the drum, so not a lot to invest
 
HMP said:
Im planning on picking up a 30g plastic drum this week for this.
Drill some holes in the bottom, start tossing stuff in.

Think it'll be better than the small area I currently have, keep it more organized. Maybe.
its 8 bucks for the drum, so not a lot to invest
Click to expand...


Holes in the bottom, holes in the sides, a few holes in the lid to let some water in. You want it to breath and get air throughout the pile.
 
Bought the barrel finally.
Drilled some holes (and broke my drill bit,dangit)
Now Im cleaning the barrel out - had some sort of heavy duty cleaner in it.
So I rinsed the heck out of it today, will do more tomorrow (maybe even later tonight)

Hope to start composting in it by the weekend.
 
Ok, top is off, barrel was cleaned out
I transferred the stuff i already had going to the barrel
I got worms! I understand thats good, they help it break down.
And as far as breaking down - it was just slop when I transferred it, which we just had rain yesterday/this morning, and it smelled pretty rough.

But I couldnt really tell what it used to be, which, I guess, is the goal.
Im pretty excited about it all. I'll keep adding to it weekly and hopefully get something good out of it by the end of the summer
 
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