Composting 101?

[HealthyinMN]

I've been telling myself that I really should start composting as we end up with quite a bit of vegetable/fruit waste, egg shells and whatnot - however, we haven't stayed in the same area to really get serious about it.

Who knows how long we'll be in this house, but think it is time to stop making excuses and just get started! My concern is now that we are heading into the winter season, we won't have any lawn clippings or leaves to add in.

What would be a good way for us to get something going? I have admittedly done little research as of yet... it is a little overwhelming when searching. I have read and watch some information that talked about indoor Vermi-Composting where you use worms, but I just don't know!

So, do you compost? Have any tips or suggestions?

[merley]

I have been researching the same thing. My friend uses the worms and she gets the most beautiful compost as a result. She says that you need to bring in the worms in the winter. At least in the garage if not in the house.
From what I have read little happens in the colder climates during the winter. I am planning on starting in spring.

The library had lots of interesting books. I found instructions on making your own composter out of Rubbermaid bins or plastic garbage cans. I found a composter in a Gardeners catalog that I am planning on getting in spring.

If you find a way to start in winter I would love to know about it.

[ktg0930]

I have a plastic compost bin, called Earth Machine. It's about waist-high, somewhat dome-shaped, with a lid. I got it when my (previous) county sold them one day. I've had it about a year and throw whatever I can in it, and add some leaves, etc., when I remember. I haven't gotten any compost from it yet, though, so this may not be the most helpful information. But I think that you can start composting anytime, even heading into winter. You just probably won't have any usable compost in the spring.

[bobmark226]

Joe, I think you might find this page at Gardener's Supply of help. They also stock an excellent line of composters of all sorts.

http://www.gardeners.com/Composting-Made-Easy/default/5061.page

I look forward to what I'm sure will be an outstanding gardening blog! ;)

Bob

[PamN]

From Martha Stewart, Composting 101 (http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=e3c276ecfd22f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCR D&autonomy_kw=compost&rsc=ns2006_m1) :D

We're lucky to have woods in back of our house so we just have a pile at the end of the driveway where we dump peels, eggshells, etc. -- some goes to the raccoons, some to the deer, and some actually makes it into compost. At first we were pretty religious about mixing green stuff and brown stuff together, turning it, and watering from time to time. But eventually, it all decomposes anyway (no smell), and we dig a tunnel into the bottom to scoop out compost.

We had to put a wire fence around it when the neighbor's dog took to digging through for tasty bites, but before then, we didn't bother with any kind of enclosure.

[lindrusso]

Hi Joe. :)

I hope you're in your new home longer than your last one!

What will you be using the compost for, gardening?

I have just started a compost heap, so I am a major newbie, but I can share what I've found out so far.

You're right - the amount of information out there is overwhelming! But I don't like to fuss a lot with things, so for me, the easier the better. I decided to take start with the least amount of effort and see how that goes, making more effort if I don't get results. This way I can figure out what is the last amount of work I really need to put into all of this. I just know that the easier it is, the more likely I will be to keep it up.

Taking a suggestion from someone on these boards (I forget who!), I made a super easy compost container out of straw/hay bales! I'll try to post pictures later.

I have some grass and leaves thrown in there to get some mass and have been adding my kitchen scraps as I collect them. To collect, I have a compost container, but you can also just throw scraps in the freezer until you're ready.

One thing I got confused about is the whole 30:1 ratio for carbon (or browns) to nitrogen (or greens). I thought this meant like 30 parts browns to 1 part greens - this seemed so lopsided! But I finally found a site that explained it for me in plain English - here's an example: Leaves have a carbon:nitrogen ratio of about 60:1, while grass has a ratio of 20:1. To get the 30:1 ration, you would mix 1 bag of leaves with 2 bags of greens. (Ahem, as I'm typing this out, I realized I had it backwards in my head! As I said, NEWBIE! :rolleyes: )

To keep things simple, I'm just tossing stuff in and maybe I'll turn it once in a while. Some of the sites really get into the whole science of it - ventilation, measuring the temp of your heap, etc. Like I said, I'm just taking it one little step at a time to experiment and see just how much work is really necessary. I think I may need to rebuild my pile after winter though, and add some twigs and brush underneath to increase ventilation. I'm afraid that my hay bales will not let enough air to circulate......

To address your concerns about starting now: I have all the grass I could ever use (I bag some when we mow), but we have no leaves. I read a tip where you can call your township or city office and see if they have free leaves or mulch available. Our town has a pile and I have been hauling away bags and bags of leaves so that I have some on reserve next spring when I want to start gardening again (I use the leaves and grass for building my lasagna garden beds - another easy method I'm trying out). So, if you need leaves, you might try calling your town or city office. As far as greens go, maybe you can look over the lists on the websites below and see if there's anything you could score from someone or place near you.

It's been fun to read about what you can compost. I'm sticking with mostly kitchen scraps and coffee grounds. I'm skipping stuff like pet hair, dryer lint and vacuum bag contents because some sites aren't so hot on composting that kind of thing.

Here are some sites that might help:

Site that explains the ratio (http://www.compostinfo.com/tutorial/ElementOfComposting.htm)

List of things you can compost. (http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm)

Compost Guide (http://www.compostguide.com/)

Intro to Composting (http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/soil/2000042647001285.html)

So, cozy up with your laptop this winter and do some online reading. It's fun! I'm turning into a bit of an eccentric, I'm afraid. Before I found the leaf pile at my township office, I was trying to figure out ways to get leaves - I asked my neighbor if I could rake his yard, but that wasn't going to be enough. Fortunately I found township source - a method that didn't involve embarrassing my kids - like having them jump out of the car and pick up bagged leaves off of someone's curb. ;) I've also heard of people who hit up places like Starbucks for their coffee grounds. I haven't done that yet, but give me a little time........ :D

Good luck! Let me know if you start one and what your experiences are. I'd love to trade tips, etc. :)

[Robyn1007]

OMG, that list is hilarious! Unpaid bills? Finger and toe nail clippings? Grocery receipts? Wool Socks? Snow?

Thanks for posting Alysha, it's been a crazy day and I needed that.

[lindrusso]

OMG, that list is hilarious! Unpaid bills? Finger and toe nail clippings? Grocery receipts? Wool Socks? Snow?

Thanks for posting Alysha, it's been a crazy day and I needed that.

Isn't it weird? :D

It gets you thinking, though. Like my shredded paper from shredding documents with sensitive information - now I really don't have to worry about them - they'll just become compost! :D

When I told my DH about the dog and human hair, he said EW! EW? Um, honey, were you planning on EATING the compost? And by the way, didn't we just spread manure all over the garden a few weeks ago???

I decided not to compost a lot of the weird stuff - some of it can take a long time to break down and I have no plans to buy an outdoor shredder or anything like that. But how fun would that be - a good shredder? I'd be taking down my cereal boxes and all sorts of stuff!

[Molli526]

I started my compost "pit" this fall. We have a vacant lot next to us, that had a huge mulch pile almost 4 years ago. We used the mulch for the past couple years and noticed this year it was starting to compost. I added some of the compost/mulch to my garden a la lasagna style. I have added leaves and lawn clippings to the pit and have been saving my food scraps to add to the pile.

[Pony]

Alysha, thanks for your post. Very helpful. :) We are using your attitude as well.....little work/energy for now. But you have done more research than us!

I have lots of waste and put it in the plastic bags we get for the vege's at the grocery store. I leave it in the fridge until it is full and then put it in the compost area in our backyard. Right now, it is just a pile with some wire around it. My husband puts some leaves and grass in it as well. We are not measuring anything right now and not doing much w/ it. It is cool to see how much this stuff shrinks. :) I have a huge bag of coffee grounds in the fridge right now and need to do something w/ it!

Good luck Joe. Thanks for asking the question as I will learn from it.

[lindrusso]

Pony - I'm glad it was helpful - I was rambling and in a rush, so I was afraid I'd made a jumbled mess of my post. :)

Pam - Thanks for the Martha link. I see that she suggests just the opposite of what I said above for the ratio - "3. Stick to the 1 part green to 2 to 3 parts brown ratio. Excess green matter causes compost to develop a strong odor; if this occurs, add more brown material and a sprinkling of compost bioactivator to aid decomposition, and turn well." That's the ratio that keeps sticking in my head, even though the other site says otherwise. By instinct, that's what I did in my lasagna beds. Kind of confusing when sites don't agree, but I'd go with Martha - she knows her stuff.

One thing I have found for sure in researching gardening is that if you ask 10 different people, you will get 10 different opinions, each claiming to be the authority. I'm just taking the relaxed approach and trying not to over-think things.

I read somewhere else that in order not to get too bogged down in the ratios, you can just use a 50:50 ratio and still have good success.

If we get a nice day in the next week, I might move my pile and add the brush underneath now instead of waiting until the spring. I've even read that you can stick PVC that has holes drilled in it in the middle of your pile to ventilate. I'll try the free sticks and twigs first.

My pile isn't as high as it probably should be to get a lot of composting going on, so I may try to add a bit more stuff.

The one thing I'm still confused about is "harvesting" the compost. Pam mentioned digging a tunnel, but I don't think I want to do that. I'm planning to just poke around and if I see any composted matter, I'll move the top layers off, harvest and then re-assemble the pile.

I forgot to mention that the leaves from the city are especially nice because they have been shredded. I get all the leaves I want with none of the raking and/or mowing (to shred). The grass - that I have to work for. ;)

[Pony]

If we get a nice day in the next week, I might move my pile and add the brush underneath now instead of waiting until the spring. I've even read that you can stick PVC that has holes drilled in it in the middle of your pile to ventilate. I'll try the free sticks and twigs first.

I've seen Amanda's (sweetpea) composte pile and she has a PVC pipe in hers.

Oh, I stole leaves from my neighbor. They were bagged up on the curb. :) They wouldn't care, but I felt funny doing it. :p

[gertdog]

I take a very laid-back approach as well. We have a Rubbermaid bin (left here by the previous owners) which I'm not fond of, but it does the job for now. Most kitchen scraps go in. I also add some garden waste, coffee grounds, and occasionally wood ash from the fireplace. Sometimes shredded newspaper too. At the moment mulched leaves and grass clippings are going into new lasagna beds, which works for me since the bin is too small for that much volume.

I don't worry about ratios, and I end up with decent compost each year. One trick I've learned is to sift through the compost pile with a pitchfork- that helps separate large pieces that haven't broken down from the ready-to-use stuff. I pitch the large pieces off to the side, shovel out the good compost and use it, then pitch the large pieces back into the bin.

Many Starbucks have a bucket in the store where they put bags of used coffee grounds- you don't even have to ask, they're just there for the taking. I've never gone there specifically to get grounds, but if I'm there for a cup of coffee I pick up some grounds. :)

[HealthyinMN]

Thank you guys for a wealth of good information and links! :) I'm excited to get something started and glad to have this to read through.

We're hoping to turn some of the backyard into a garden area, but don't have much to work with as a lot of it is fairly steep. I have a feeling it will be more raised beds that are a little closer to the house because of that, but we'll see - I'd be happy to do anything but mow that area next year though!

[lindrusso]

Many Starbucks have a bucket in the store where they put bags of used coffee grounds- you don't even have to ask, they're just there for the taking. I've never gone there specifically to get grounds, but if I'm there for a cup of coffee I pick up some grounds. :)

Hmmm....I'll have to check it out.

My car smells earthy from the leaves at the moment. Next it will be smelling like coffee that I don't even drink....... :D

[gertdog]

My car smells earthy from the leaves at the moment. Next it will be smelling like coffee that I don't even drink....... :D

Indeed- If you do pick some up, bring along a garbage bag of your own to set the bag of grounds in. I learned the hard way that sometimes the package isn't always well-sealed, and my car smelled like coffee for weeks!

[sparrowgrass]

Here is the easy way--buy yourself some chickens. All food waste (except bones, because I don't want the dogs to be tempted into digging under the chicken yard fence) goes right to the girls, along with all the leaves I can find.

By spring, the girls have dug and scratched and pooped and made the very best compost you have ever seen.

[lindrusso]

Here is the easy way--buy yourself some chickens. All food waste (except bones, because I don't want the dogs to be tempted into digging under the chicken yard fence) goes right to the girls, along with all the leaves I can find.

By spring, the girls have dug and scratched and pooped and made the very best compost you have ever seen.

Although having chickens for my own fresh eggs is somewhat appealing, I certainly wouldn't consider raising livestock an "easy" way to compost. ;) :)

Depending on where one lives, I would think a lot of neighbors wouldn't like it much either...........

[newcook]

This is so interesting, I was just thinking about starting composting myself. It made me wonder. Is there a way to flag this thread so as to be easy to find next spring? I wish this type of thread could be made into a sticky, but then again, I suppose over time there would be so many stickies that it would defeat the purpose.

[lindrusso]

This is so interesting, I was just thinking about starting composting myself. It made me wonder. Is there a way to flag this thread so as to be easy to find next spring? I wish this type of thread could be made into a sticky, but then again, I suppose over time there would be so many stickies that it would defeat the purpose.

Well, you could just bookmark it and refer to it in the spring.

Or do you mean that it would be nice to make it a sticky so that people could keep adding information to the same thread?

That's why I like it when people do searches and try to add info to old threads instead of starting new ones - the dreaded "did you do a search?". :) If we keep adding to the same thread, all of the information is in one place and easier to find.

Anyway, you can bookmark it and the rest of us can do our best to try to remember to keep posting to this thread. :)

[newcook]

Well, you could just bookmark it and refer to it in the spring.

Or do you mean that it would be nice to make it a sticky so that people could keep adding information to the same thread?



Yes, I meant making it a sticky because it is the type of subject that is likely to come up every year and that way all of the information would be on one thread.

Now this is probably a dumb question, but what do you mean by bookmarking it?

[lindrusso]

Yes, I meant making it a sticky because it is the type of subject that is likely to come up every year and that way all of the information would be on one thread.

Now this is probably a dumb question, but what do you mean by bookmarking it?

Putting it in your favorites folder. In Firefox, they call them "bookmarks". In IE they are "favorites". :) It won't help us keep the topic from getting lost among the many pages here, but at least you could find it easily later on without having to search for it........

[lindrusso]

So Joe, did you get a compost pile going?

We've been feeding ours all winter long, but I think I'll need to do some tweaking in order to actually get any compost out of it. Time to do some more reading! :)

But I do love having a place for all of our scraps. And now when I clean out the fridge and find something at the bottom of our veggie bin, I don't feel so bad - it's not a wasted, rotten zucchini, it's compost! And the flowers that DH bought me for Valentine's Day - not so sad when they die - more compost! :D

[krhm]

I didn't see this thread the first time around, but I've been composting since December. We had to rent a chipper to get rid of a big pile of branches that had been sitting in the far corner of our lot, and so it just sort of naturally morphed. After reading Alysha's earlier post, though, I'm clearly not making the most of it!

Someone bought me this kitchen compost keeper (http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-93-Ceramic-Compost-Keeper/dp/B000K76CPK) and it's great. The charcoal filter eliminates any smell. I use it like Rachael Ray uses her garbadge bowl.

[Jessnc]

I'm bumping this thread up to see how everyone is doing with their compost and if they have any suggestions for a newbie. We want to start composting, we just don't have anything to compost in yet.