Composter

Hi Fellow Composters ! Thought I would share our simple compost operation. DH built this several years ago and it works great for us. He used dog panels and 2x4's and steel fence post. It consist of three seperate bins or he can slide in more 2x4's in the middle of any bin to make even more seperate stages of compost. As he fills up the particular bin he is working on he adds more 2x4's, when he is using out of them he slides them out and just rakes it into the wheel barrow. Of course when the pile gets lower than the wheel barrow he has to shovel at that point. We usually have a bin from the past year, present year and the one we are using out of. Works beautifully. We layer, but we also have a chipper/shredder that he usually runs the leaves, any shrub trimmings etc. through before he puts it in the compost bin. No additives, no extra water. We can get away with this because we have the three compartments and by the time we start on a new bin it has set long enough to be ready.

Very innovative!
Is it turned, or do you pile it in & let it do its thing?
Do you have to cover it to keep it from getting too wet in the winter, or is this as issue for the area you live in?
Just curious - sorry there are so many questions!

Great operation daylily lady. Thanks for sharing the picture.

Ruby

Very nice. I tried to get my husband to build a bin for me, but he said "just buy one!". Always his answer. He's really not very handy at fixing/ building, therefore doesn't like trying, so fortunately he makes a good living with his brain, not his hands. I am much the same.

He really is otherwise the perfect husband, and very helpful around the house. And in 28 years of marriage, I have never mowed the lawn- he does. He does all the dishes, often does the grocery shopping, and so much more. He's just not a Mr. Fix-It.

Karen

Oh my gosh!!!! I will take him. ha-ha Even though my hubby came from a family of intellectuals, he IS Mr. Fix It. He just tends to get lazy at fixing things sometimes. He built this bin and recently built another one beside this one, I just don't have a picture of it.

Katye - Yes, he sometimes will turn his last few layers as he goes, but then not always. With this three bin system it seems most of the time it has plenty of time just to lay there and work it's magic.
We just reset a 98 ft. row of daylilies and had plenty of compost from one bin to mix in and do the job, so if he doesn't always get it turned, it just has plenty of time to lay there and turn in to black gold on it's own. The bins do not look very big but I couldn't even guess how many wheel barrows you get out of just one of them!
No, we do not cover it, usually there is not that much moisture around here to worry about a soggy bin. DH has but 16x16 cement paver blocks on the bottom of each bin and with the wire sides they always drain really well if we do happen to get a gully washer.
-an no problem with the questions! This is what DG is all about! :)

rubyw - My DH is like yours the intellectual, but also The Mr. Do It Yourselfer! He can do and fix anything - but there has been many times through the years there just hasn't been enough hours in the day and I had wished he would have been like kqcrna's DH and just bought one or had someone else come in and do it!!

Yeah, daylily_lady, that's exactly what I had in mind for DH to build, but that's okay. Biostack will fit the bill for now.

But he'd better watch out next spring, lol. I'm going to need something for all the manure.....

Hi everyone - compost virgin here. I have never "made" compost and I'm planning to start a compost pile this weekend. I have a spot in the back of the yard that gets lots of afternoon sun and was just going pile everything in that corner, but my neighbors may not like the site or smell of it. And I'm also afraid of attracting critters -- I'm already battling mice, squirrels, racoons and ground hogs. I was going to use a plastic trash can with holes drilled into the bottom and sides. Will that work? Does it need to be in full sun or can I put it in a shady spot? What are the best ingredients for making compost? I was planning on using kitchen scraps (vegatables, egg shells, coffee grinds), garden waste, and dried leaves. So many questions -- sorry!

Oh, one more, what does DH mean?

Michael

Michael,
I'm NO use on answering MOST of your guestions but DH means Dear Husband... you will also see SO significant other, DS Dear Son, DD Dear Daughter yatta yatta! As near as I can figure out the DH stuff came from FlyLady, a rather popular online web to help with all kinds of domestic stuff like organization and cleaning.

Welcome, I keep reading, hoping that I will pick up enough info and find the "perfect spot" to begin my own compose pile. Living on a tiny little lot with neighbors RIGHT on top of me limits my choices.
Pat

I've used trash cans in the past successfully. The drainage is very important, as is air. A piece of holey plastic pipe down the center is a good idea. I never got a hot compost that way, but by spring it was ready to go. Put it where you can get to it easily when it is cold outside. Sun is nice, but close to the door is nice too if there is snow, cold wind, ice.... lol.

No sun necessary. Whether the compost heat depends on the composting processing, C:N ratioo, adequate air and moisture. Sun isn't part of the equasion.

Having food waste in the compost can attract critters. That can be avoided by using an enclosed bin and placing it on hardware cloth.

Compost should not smell bad. Adequate carbon in the mix and a layer of carbon on top will prevent odor. If you lack carbon in your mix, you will know it. When finished, compost should have a good, fresh aroma like a forest.

Karen

I sniff my pile every day, lol. Yummy smell. Can you stir it too much?? It has become my favorite exercise of the day, turning the tumbler.

What are the primary sources of carbon in the compost pile?

If you google "compost ingredients" you will find many. Among those are dry dead garden waste, paper, cardboard, straw, wood... there are many.

Karen

Ok, I have grass/leaf clippings ready and waiting and shredded paper waist (junk mail-non shiney and newspaper). That should fill the bill then right?

Michael, All your ingredients sound perfect. I just wanted to comment on the holes you drilled in the bottom of your plastic trash cans. You really should just cut the bottom off completely. If you place the can on a pallet, you will get better aeration. Also, it's easier to just pick up the can and move it to another spot when the bottom is missing.

HTH (hope this helps). PC, looks like great pricing on those BioStacks. They should do the job nicely! GL.

Thanks everyone for your advise. I'll let you know how things workouy, maybe I'll have some lessons learned to share with all of you.

A compost virgin .... I am *so* going to shut my mouth, for once!!!

I'm betting $1.00 that you can't, haha.

go for it Pagancat -- I can take it.

MaryMcP - thanks for the tip. Do I need to put something on the pallet to keep the compost materials from falling through the wooden slats? I'm picturing the wooden slat pallets you see at Home Depot or Lowes.

Nah, if you do that you'll lose the air flow you are attempting to achieve. Here's the way it will work:

When it's time to 'turn' the compost in the can, you will slide the can off the pallet, lift the pallet out of the way and shovel up whatever is on the ground back into the can or somewhere. Should not be too much stuff.

Put the pallet where you want it for the next 'cooking' sesssion, could even be right back where it was. Lift the can off the the compost that's cooking, place the can back on the pallet, shovel the compost back in.

This just turns and aerates the whole mess. Water a bit as you shovel back into the can, as needed.

GL, it's a lot of fun and very gratifying. I've been composting about a year, maybe a little more, and my garden is very happy about it. So is my pocketbook!

Thanks Mary ... I want to make my garden happy and my pocketbook too.

Once I start my compost bin, I'll probably have more questions.

Aw, Cathy - you don't know how stubborn I am!

Naw, I've already had my fingers slapped for my use of language, I ain't going there.

Are you sure?...
Hey PC, did you get your biostack yet? and post a picture of happy you with the new addition to the family!

Hi Michaeljo. I started my original in a large plastic trashcan. It was okay for a couple of months and then I needed to move to something larger.

This is such a great topic.

Ruby

*sigh*.... not yet.....

The Smith and Hawkin site has the biostack "on sale" for $103. Haven't priced them anywhere else. I think I'm going with the the plastic trash can for now (cheaper)

A plastic trash can with the bottom removed works great in a pinch - pick it up, the compost falls out the bottom; move & reload. Or make more. Yeah - more is good!
I cut a piece of metal mesh to fit over the top - it deters the raccoons/squirrels/compost thieves.

Jumping on here very late - do the big shops use wooden pallets for making large load deliveries in the US? They make great sides for compost bins - just sink four corner posts (fencing posts work brillantly) and then tie, hammer or wire the pallets to the posts. The pallets are usually going free, and fencing posts are cheap. Takes a couple hours to do the first one, and then very fast after that.

Alternatively, bales of straw stacked 2 or 3 high will do well too, and next year they go down as the first layer for the new pile.

(Boy, I had no idea that Dave's had a compost anonymous group going. How could I have missed this thread for a whole year?)

Aww....Laurie, you are so cute!!! ha-ha

Hey, Good idea for the bales of straw. Here is a picture of what we use.

Ruby

Another one taken last year. We have since built on directly beside this one and at the moment it is about half full. Will begin using first batch soon.

How about a picture of my greenhouse, which is used as a storage shed for the most part.

Ruby

Very nice Ruby. I won't even post a picture of my compost pile (first one just started yesterday). It is VERY arcaic (sp?) looking. I just hope it does the trick anyway.

Laurie, good idea about the wooden pallets. I know a lot of places do get product sent in on them but it seems like most of them send them back for the next shipment. I know where my DH works they do sometimes get things in on odd sized ones though that don't go back. I will have to look into that. Might make my pile look a little better. LOL

I know over here, the pallet people are obliged to arrange for them to be returned - part of the recycling initiative. But if you ask, the shops will often be very generous with them. Using them to build up the sides does help tidy up the heap, but it is also about compressing the heap - if it sprawls it won't heat up as much. giving it walls helps to increase, and retain, heat. I think ruby's use of breeze block is a great idea - keeping in mind that after a good heap is disgorged, the soil underneath will be in great condition. You can just dismantle the block walls and move on, leaving a new planting area. Brillant.

If you want to disguise a pallet-made compost bin, growing nasturiums, sweetpeas, or morning glories up the sides is always nice, and traditionally, the old heap was the place that melons and pumpkins are grown (they like the moisture retentive material and the high nutrient levels. A couple of good pumpkins can cover a heap completely in the summer. Try growing large ones on top, with Jack-Be-Little up the sides - looks wonderful and very productive.

(I just love composting!)

This message was edited Oct 31, 2007 12:44 AM

Thanks for all the wonderful tips and bin construction ideas. Since reading this thread I've become a compost-aholic and itching to start my own pile -- this weekend. In addition to collecting my own kitchen scraps, I asked the cashier at my office's cafeteria to save all of the coffee grinds for me - so far she's collected about a 5 gallon bucket full. And the leaves are falling off the trees here -- yipeee, lots of browns for my compost pile.

Ruby - love your green house.

As far as kitchen scraps go, can I clean out my fridge and add in even the "science project" ones? AKA-moldy!!!

Science projects are especially welcome! (Vegetable origin only - don't suggest adding meat based frig projects - they have a tendency to attract vermin - not nice).

This message was edited Oct 31, 2007 8:23 PM

Thanks for the reminder about meat. I knew that but am sure as I was cleaning out the fridge, it would have escaped my thought process! LOL What a good reason to clean out the fridge. I also need to get ahold of the farmer up the street and get some good manure. He has lots of different animals. :)

compost attacking vermin would be wonderful - I've corrected my sloppy spelling! sheesh.

Can I put the leftover pumpkins in the compost bin -- including the seeds and stems?