Compost 101

I always am asked Root,How Doo you get your plants so big?well my answer is always the same.Compost Compost Compost,So Heres how the Root loads a bed,first start with a Good size helping of Rabbit manure.

This is both of my Bins,one on right is soil/compost/worms

Bin on the left is old potting soil/peat

First a layer of Doo.

Next a layer of leaves

Then a layer of Peat.

Then a good watering.

Then a layer from bin with soil/worms.

Next a layer of greens.

Little more Doo.

Leaves.

Soil/worms.

Doo

More soil/worms

layer of Peat.

Top with leaves and water.

These are my compost worms,this is as big as they get,notice the yellow egg between them,looks like I will have some more babies this year.

This ends Compost 101

Wow..you must have lots of rabbits! That's a lot of smart pills!
Good lecture, teach.

Why Thank you Shoe,Now I gotta figure out how deep to plant them Worm seeds.:)

Hah...I'll ask my expert. When I got out of the worm-ranching bizness I kept one special worm as a pet. He/she has such a great disposition! And always eager to help. Named "Wiggly-Giggly" cuz she/he is aways so happy it smiles at both ends! ô¿ô

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!Have you ever seen these little guys I have?thats as big as they get,had em for bout 5years,can't remember the name,I just call em my red chinese army worms,They are hungry little devils,you can watch the pile go down.I got some big ole crawlers in there but they must have been shy.:)

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH................that's how it's done!! Now where the heck am I gonna get Rabbit Poo Poo???


"eyes"

"EYES" I have gone to city markets and found people selling rabbit meat,or gone to local 4hs to see who is showing rabbits,This time I got lucky,it's a friend of my neighbors,he shows Lops,you would be surprised how easy it is to get them to let you clean their barns(well maybe not surprised,LOL)

Root.....how long does it take that bin to age where you can spread it around your garden? Do the worms stay in the bottom or do they get spread out in your yard with the soil?
thanks for sharing your info, Root!

In this season they are in the bottom middle of the pile,I'm sure they get spread around,thats why I am trying to get a couple pounds from the up coming co-op,I wish they were getting the little guys,they are real workers,I set the new pile to put my co-op worms in,and I will work the rest of my Doo into the bin on the right,It will be ready anytime in spring,later I will show my screening method,(spring).Root.AKA king of compost,LOL

Those are nice bins you have there. I'll look forward to the next lesson.

Mary when I moved here,the man before me had the timbers as raised beds,all over the yard,Too bad he filled them with clay,so it was easier to pull em up and start over,
Root

Root ~~~

Absolutely great demo. Like taking a class. Thanks so much.

You da Doc!

Adam.

Time to give the worms a snack.

Dig down to the center.

first snack cabbage ,cilantro and stawberries.

More cabbage and strawberries

More cabbage.

Layer of rabbit manure

Recover.

Just fabulous, Root.

My own composting is limited to a small three~tiered worm ranch into which I put kitchen vegetable scraps and coffee grounds.

The wiggler~juice trickling out the bottom of the worm condo (humic acid, blah, blah, pH 6.5, blah)..., has turned my scrawny houseplants into raging beasts. Anything would have been an improvement on the tortures they were suffering before I joined this site.

I wish I could take on a composting project as ambitious as yours, but city life, while having it's upside, also has its limits.

Adam.

In the winter my compost doesn't do much but now hopefully the weather will be warmer and things will start to work. I must take a container to the senior center and ask them to save coffee grounds for me. I went to one of the local grocery stores last year to ask if they would give me their lettuce etc. trimmings somebody else was already getting them. I can't seem to make compost as fast as I use it. Donna

Thanks you two,My compost does not do much work in the winter either,I just dig down to a small area in the center,where my worms go to winter,must be thier Key west of the heap,give them some food to keep em happy,then in a month ,it will be time to start working the bins into each other,
Adam,I also use a small wire ring,to work back and forth with,doesn't matter how big or small,you gotta compost!you can see the difference your tea has made,it only gets better.
Ruth,I can't keep up with my planting in spring,I like to give everything a good shot of Black gold when I plant it,so I will be sitting with empty bins,by the time I am done planting.

Hi All,

Rootdoctor you do know of what you speak but many of us do not have access to rabbit manure. I used to be able to get chicken manure but not anymore. Leaves I can get, both from yard and city. I now have to use grass for the nitrogen but it works fairly well. Do you put kitchen waste in your bins?

I used to use compost bins but find that turning them is more work from a bin than I like. I have started just making piles about 6 feet in diameter and 3 to 4 feet high. When I am ready to turn I just make a new pile next to the orgianl spot. I am lucky in that I have a grinder, I do not grind the first time but do so when turning it. Gives it plenty of air and easy to check moisture content.
I do find some worms in the compost but the red worms don't seem to grow in my medium, guess it is your rabbit manure that does it. When I had chicken manure I would put some in a cut off plastic 50 gallon drum and fill it with water. After stirring it up I would dunk the leaves in it. Gave everything a nice coating with no pockets for odor to form. In the summer I could get excellent compost in three weeks using this system.

Sparks,yes my bins are labor intensive,wish I had a Bobcat to turn them sometimes,LOL,for me it is a lobor of love,I love my plants so I bust my Butt on the bins.
I do use scrapes from the kitchen,mainly greens,I also check with my local market for greens they are getting rid of,since I don't have grass clippings now,I use produce scraps,in the summer it will be the other way around,No brown material to add.this year I saved some bags of leaves to add with my grass clippings.
I also use the method of a wire hoop,I think is close to what you desribed you do.pile leaves and manure in layers in a hoop and move over to turn.I just can't get enough compost!
The small red worms,I bought a few years back,wish I could remember where.