Composting Cycles

I have this conundrum you folks might be able to help me sort out. I have a barrel composter, and it seems to be working reasonably well unlike some of the results I have read about here. What I don't know is: If I keep adding more kitchen scraps all the time, how will the cycle ever finish? It seems that the compost will always be in a state of decomposing.

It occurs to me that maybe people who are successful at this have three piles:

1. Done and waiting to be distributed
2. In process [aka in lock-down], do not add any more scraps; and
3. Dump in scraps, etc, turn, add more, turn and so forth until it becomes #2, wherein #2 has progressed to #1 and we begin a new #3.

Is this about right? Or what?

Signed:
M Confused

Hummmm, no comments from anyone? [wringing of hands, sobbing into a soggy towel]

Please don't cry.
I think you're right, judging from the pictures of successful composters like sofergig and JamesCO. At least two piles. This happens to me all the time,"Oh, just one more load of lawn clippings....I'll use it in the spring instead of this fall"

Mary, get a dry hanky. That was one of my problems with the barrel type, though it's not the same kind as yours. Yeah, I think you'll never get done if you keep adding. Maybe you can start a pile, then when what's in the barrel is finished, load the (started) pile into the tumbler. Kind of get a cycle going. I'm going to try again with the tumbler, though my first two tries were abysmal. But I think I'll just take some half done from the pile and load it in there.

(I refuse to give up, after what I paid for the thing!)

Thanks claypa and brigidlily. I'm going to begin a new pile on the ground, stop adding to the tumbler and let it finish up. then when the barrel has finished, I'll move it out to the garden, put the 'outside' pile into the barrel and try for two piles going pretty much all the time, see how this cycle goes. My hanky is drying out now. Whew! thanks again for the feedback.

Yep, I use two bins, 'though I'm thinking I "need" a third. :)

This message was edited Oct 18, 2006 12:37 AM

I have the same kind, but I have a square one too. How do you keep the fruit flies away?

"Done and waiting to be distributed"? WHAT?!? Are there people that have finished compost just sitting around waiting? ;-) I tend to use mine before it actually hits the "finished" state so this is not an issue for me. If I did want to hold onto some compost I have some plastic 25 gallon bins I could use.

About 6 years ago I picked up a compost bin (one of the black plastic ones). I used that single bin for a few years, but I had the same issue you mention. A few years ago I picked up a second bin and that has helped out a lot. I can then let a bin sit for a month or two without adding more material. I find that my two-bin system can turn out about 1 yard of compost a year.

I am considering building a larger bin that I could use just for leaves. I like the idea of using the enclosed bins for food scraps and the plastic bins are a fine size for the final compost state. I could collect lots of grass clipping over the summer, if I had a better supply of browns.

- Brent

Funny Brent. No, I don't actually have any 'done and waiting to be distributed', I was paraphrasing a bit. as a matter of fact, I have been scooping out handfuls of "not quite done". I'm glad to see others with the same conundrum.....it's satisfying somehow.

I'm thinking of doing a straw bale kind of enclosure directly on the ground for my 'second' pile. I think it was a post here on this forum. The person said to make a rectangle of straw bales and cover with tempered glass. I have lots of leaves and other brown matter I've been saving up to start my 'cycle' so I always have some compost on hand.

How much is one yard?

One yard, as I understand it is a cube, one yard in each direction i.e. a cubic yard. It is a common measurement for selling soil, gravel, compost, mulch, etc. I have no clue how it is measured except for the fact that tractors with a front in loader, have a known size of bucket when full ( 3 yards is a number I am familiar with.).
I don't quite understand the need for a composter. I tried one and decided it was a royal pain and gave it away. I put my compost on the ground and friendly neighborhood worms moved in and began munching on the compost. Before long the pile was half its previous size and the residue was lovely humus.
I don't say compost bins don't work. My question is, why bother? If you don't put meat or anything that will attract animals, your compost should be fine. Mine is.
I do have 3 square wire bins, and I use them, but I don't think they do as good a job as the piles on the ground.
My 2 cents worth!
And no, I never have any compost waiting to be used. The bottom line is there is never enough compost -- at least in my experience. Just keep making it the best way you can.

I used to just compost in open piles, but when we moved to a 1/4 acre suburban lot my wife put a kibosh on the open piles of rotting waste. The two compost bins (one Earth Machine one SoilMaker) do a decent enough job of containing yard waste and producing compost. In a typical year I produce about 4 batches of compost with each batch being around 5 cu ft. A cubic yard is 27 cu ft...so I guess to produce a yard of compost with my setup I would have to be aggressive about gathering and tending my bins.

Sheet composting and lasagna gardening are other methods for producing compost without having more bins. I will pile a lot of shredded leaves (and sometimes collected grass clippings or Starbucks coffee grounds) in my veggie garden this time of year. It will be broken down by planting season next year. Some of it gets mixed into the soil and some gets harvested and used in other beds.

- Brent

You are right about the three bins. That is the general philosophy of a 3 bin system. One for raw, one for cooking, one for finishing.

But I have only one pile - but sometimes I wish I had two...

I do alot of composting in place - meaning I place organic stuff directly in the garden or in the landscaping and then cover them with thick mulch. (Its limited by dogs in the fenced in part of the yard though).

My pile - is never done - but I will move the stuff from top over to the side so I can and remove stuff from the bottom that is more done. When I ever I remove stuff off the bottom, the rest of the pile is mixed throughly during the re-leveling. I usually fluff and moisten as I restack. And typically, the day after the fluffing and moistening, the pile will have shrunk immensely - creating more room on top to start adding layers of raw stuff.

I use a fence panel bin that is 4'H x 4' Wx 4'T with hinged sides. I can open a side of the bin, like a gate door and shovel stuff out from the bottom.

I have a lot of compost finished (over 3 yrds) that I will keep sitting all winter cause it only leaches out its valuable contents with our moist winters. I apply only in the spring with the early emergence of plants so they don't get buried. If I put it out now I believe most of the micronutrients, and nitrogen would be lost before the plants would have use of them. ( roots maybe would benefit) but I don't want to waste a years work. Also I use the finished pile to store plants that I need to overwinter from too late purchases in seattle, and other winter garden areas I visit. I want to bury the root ball in the compost to keep it growing. We all should know what a cubic yard is cause most of our large volumes of purchase is based on this. 3' wide/3' long/3' deep = cu yd = 27cu feet

Lots of good info here, especially formula for one square yard. Thanks much folks.

Ya, Sofer, Storing plants over winter is one reason why I would like to have a second bin.

Sorry, have to ask again. How does everyone keep the fruit flies away?
Thanks

I have not noticed any pests at all as a result of composting. In fact the compost smells nice and earthy, doubt pests are interested. Not sure if this is also true about on-the-ground-bin type of composting. Hopefully someone will visit this thread and help you out. Otherwise, you might try starting a thread with that subject.

You should bury anything fruit flies would be interested in in the middle of the pile -- that SHOULD do it. If you're having a problem now, get a plastic container and punch small holes in the lid. Put apple cider vinegar in it. The ffs will get in and drown. Then you can pour the results into the pile.

I dig a hole in the center of the pile where I place my kitchen waste (fruit fly attractants) when start to attract I just cover with compost and dig a new hole. No flies on my pile.

The key to keeping fruit flies (and other flies) away is to keep the pile covered with a thick layer of browns.

I always have a bag of shredded junk mail ready to toss on top of the pile, after I dump my kitchen bucket. And I keep a couple bags (or cans) of chopped leaves (from the lawn mower) next to my pile so I can top it with leaves too.

The only time I have ever had a bug problem around my compost pile is when the green stuff (kitchen scraps) wasn't covered up well with the brown stuff (leaves or shredded paper).

Thanks, everyone. The apple cider works. I put a little cup of it in my barrel composter and most have drowned!

My childhood gardening mentor, old Mr. T, always had 3 piles (bins). New, working and done. I do 2 piles and a big bag. An old large peat moss plastic bag can hold a lot of finished screen compost.
I no longer add kitchen scraps to mine because of the varmints, lots of old spoiled vegetables go in at Fall clean up time though.
My 'new' pile is a 5 foot round of 3 ft wire fence. It seriously overflows in the Fall with all the leaves but as it settles, I pile more in. The 'working' is just a pile on the ground until Spring when I start screening. The 'done' is what I use until the Spring batch is ready. It's nice to have it 'ready to go'.
Andy P

Thanks to all who helped me on this thread. Yesterday we cut the bottom out of an old plastic garbage can and transferred what was in the barrel composter into the plastic tub. Looks like black gold alright. I think it's nearly done and I've been using some of it already for tree and pepper plant transplants. I forgot to put air holes in the tub so we'll have to do that today.

I have a lot of browns that have been stored up in wooden bins for several months and I recently shredded a bunch of newspaper and a phone book so that all went in the barrel to start my 'New" cycle. Yippee, love this stuff. Thanks again enablers!

One way to avoid the fruit fly problem is to keep a worm bin just for kitchen waste. This has worked very well for me.

Maggie

I have one tumbler type composter that I use in the spring and summer an early fall to make compost faster, don't use it in winter. I also have 5 or 6 compost piles going all the time 3 are wire framed that are easy to disassemple and reassemble, the others are just piles on the ground. I do have to disagree,with Steve, and I am probably wrong, But every fall I have the fellow who works for me spread finished or almost finished compost around and on different areas of my 2 acres of garden. I feel like it helps the roots all winter and spring. My compost does not get watered in winter, have to depend on snow or rain.

Donna