Compost
 

I've been working on obtaining materials for my compost this week. I have grass clippings, oak leaves, horse manure, cow manure, and coffee grounds. I guess I'll mix it together in my piles unless has anybody has suggestions. :woohoonaner:

Re: Compost
 

Use 3 parts greens(grass)- 1 Part Browns(Oak leaves) works for me. Mix in some manure and throw in the grounds. Mound it up and turn it every couple days. Have you looked to see if any of the local towns/cities are doing the free compost thing. It is a trend across the country. The locals can bring their leaves and grass clippings and they compost it. They get grants from the gov. to but the equipment to spray and shred it. Some even sift it and get all the chunks out. It considered recycling. I get mine by the truckload. Bet I've got 3000 lbs. or more for free. Might check into it.

Re: Compost
 

Were you just going to mix it and spread it, or put it in one giant pile to cook down into mulch?

Re: Compost
 

Thanks guys. Nate, I live in a small city so there is no recycling that I know of. Well there is, but you drop it off and it goes to the parks.

Richard, I wanted to cook it down into mulch/compost. Any suggestions?

Re: Compost
 

Might check the surrounding area's. It would be worth the drive. My populations only 15K.

Re: Compost
 

Yes, so mixing it up is a great idea -- especially break up clumps of manure and get it distributed throughout. You need a corral to keep it in which you can make out of inexpensive garden fencing or rails (scrap wood) and stakes. The sides of the corral should "breathe". The level of this corral should be slightly raised so it will drain after a rain. And if it drains towards a garden area, all the better. A rectangle is a good shape. You will want it to be larger than the amount you are composting. You can mix your materials in it. Pile them up so that about 1/4 of the corral is not being used. A good height for the pile is 3 feet. Then once a week, rotate the material to fill the empty space and leave empty space in the other end. A pitch fork is great for this. After you "turn" it, wet it down on top if the material seems too dry. Slightly moist in the middle is good, soggy is bad.

With your ingredients, I wouldn't worry about buying compost starter. In a month or two you might want to add some alfalfa meal -- or just as good, a 1/2 gallon of scrap bits from the bottom of a bin of hay bales.

If you add more material, be careful as Natedog points out about the amount of green material. 3 parts green to 1 part brown is good and easy to eyeball.

The coffee grounds are very acidic. If you add more, I would limit it to 1/2 cup for every 4 bags (four 25-30 gallon bags) of grass clippings.

I would also take it easy with steer and cow manure. Horse manure is much better! You can add 1 part horse manure to every 1 part of clippings or other vegetative material you throw in there. Rabbit and goat or sheep poop is o.k. too.

Throw vegetable table scraps into your pile too, but never meats.

If you start having problems with rodents, throw one "place pack" (bait package the mice have to tear open) inside the corral in a corner next the pile after each time you turn it. Wild rodents are surprisingly shy eaters.

Re: Compost
 

how about a compost cage Richard?

I use fairly stiff 15mm bird aviary mesh and the diameter is about 1.5m

To turn the compost - I can be lazy in the early stages and just roll the cage over - later I have to lift the wire over the heap and find a place close buy to shovel the old stuff into the cage again



click to biggerify

Re: Compost
 

I'm lazy too. I don't know how often I will turn it.:ha:

Re: Compost
 

Seems that I remember not to use oak leaves in compost due to tannins and tannic acid that results after rain. Other than that, go for it.

Re: Compost
 

Composting is simple thing that some people have tried to make hard, particularly people who want to sell books on composting.

Mix it as best you can, stick the pile somewhere and let it rot down. When you get a wild hair go out with a pitch fork and mix it a bit. If you are in an area that gets heavy rainfall have something to throw over the top so it doesn't get soggy (aka smelly) and the goodies don't leach out.

Another option is sheet composting. Mix it up, spread out, and let nature do the rest. I have seen this method used in botanical gardens. BTW - This is also the method mother nature uses.

Either way, composting is simple.

Re: Compost
 

Well, I'm not selling any books on the subject nor do I think others here are either! :D

True, its a matter of how fast you want it to cook. In Dean's location, if you tend it weekly, you'll get compost in months; and if you tend it monthly, you'll get compost about once per year.

Wow, that's great. I love the size of it. Dean could make such a thing cheaply with "welded wire fencing" sold in rolls at big-box and agricultural supply stores. Chicken wire is to flimsy for something that rolls.

A thread on other composters starts here: http://www.bananas.org/f9/composter-3407.html#post27718

Re: Compost
 

I use some garden fencing I cut to 4' circles. It's not as fine as chicken wire. I try to get out there and turn as much as possible. With the brutal heat lately it's been less.

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I have used 3 free pallets as walls(they breathe too). Pile up the stuff and let it go, turning sometimes.

Re: Compost
 

just as porkpi i also use pallets, but i run a 3 year cycle. first bin is all the fresh stuff which i let sit all summer, and then next spring i move it to the next pallet, and then the next spring after that i move it to the last bin which i can empty or let build as needed. Cause i'm too lazy to keep turning it all the time and i'd rather not hurt my back. o.O Of course i'm not worried about getting a ton of compost right away so i can afford to wait. And if needed i can get the free local compost as well.

Re: Compost
 

Hey Dean,

I have a friend in Illinois who adds llama dung to his compost. He grows orinoco and has a goldfinger. Gets great results. If you can get it, give it a try.

Re: Compost
 

I'll have to look for it, Kenzie.

Re: Compost
 

Sorry for not being clearer. I was not accusing anyone on the board. The point I was trying to make was composting is pretty simple stuff. There are all kinds of ways to complicate it, some yielding interesting results, some not. But if one just wants to do simple trouble free composting, as it appeared the poster wanted to do, it could be just that, simple and trouble free.

Another simple method I didn't mention was pit composting. Dig a hole, throw some stuff in, and cover the hole back. Nature will do the rest. I use this method in my veggie beds. I have 4 beds, 4' x 8' each. I rest one each year in rotation. During rest year, I just dig holes all around in the bed and bury organic matter here and there. A couple of months before I put it back in service I till it up nice and good with my little Mantis tiller, and then repeat before planting.

I also do pit composting around trees when I want to deal with a small bit of stuff like kitchen waste. Just dig a hole in the dripline of one of my trees, bury and cover.

Re: Compost
 

I agree. I have been doing this for years! It is free and it has helped my soil stay happy:02:. Many times they will deliver for a small charge $30 to $50 for several tons. You could also check out mushroom farms. They many times give free compost away as well. Good luck.

Re: Compost
 

I had a pile of wood shavings (livestock bedding) and the center got so hot that it began to smolder . I wonder if one could use a compost pile,somehow attatched, to help heat a greenhouse ?
Any thoughts?

Re: Compost
 

Oh good idea...of course you would have to heat the pile for the "cultures" or bacteria to become active. We had the same thing happen a few years ago. It was so cool!!!!