New to Composting. Need Help

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Comments

  • Hassena
    Hassena Posts: 345 ✭✭✭

    Good day @SandraKay

    Have you heard of worm towers?

    It sounds like you are making them :)

    I really enjoyed these in the garden. You save many steps by adding the compostable materials directly to the garden. The worms will eat the goodies and poop all over the garden bed.

    We had worm towers in a few gardens, for about 2 years. The bins never filled up. You may not have to harvest the castings.

    Happy growing.

  • kchiarini
    kchiarini Posts: 66 ✭✭✭

    Hi, Amber. Composting is one of my challenges as well, living in the city. I see many people have offered suggestions, and I have no doubt some of them will help you. People here are truly in-the-know and offer their advice so willingly. Good luck to you!


  • karen
    karen Posts: 80 ✭✭

    about worms. I dont know what you are describing as compost worms? are these the the red wigglers commonly used for worm composting. If so I would be careful of how much fruit scraps, especially citrus, as it kills them little guys.- but they love anything apple.

    Me I just gather up whatever worms I find - those big juicy ones - and throw in the compost. as I live in sub tropics I have worms in the ground, in pots, in compost and am truly surprised I dont see them hanging from trees😄

  • karen
    karen Posts: 80 ✭✭

    to the original poster. first, congratulations on starting to compost. I love composting!

    Lots of great ideas from people. I wouldnt worry about straw breaking down. it will be great in the garden. next time use sawdust/wood chips as a mulch, peanut shells if can be had cheap. good mulches break down and add to soil fertility

    frankly unless i want a hot compost i really dont worry about the ratio. I collect shredded paper, cardboard, leaves that I have left to dry on the ground, egg cartons from a friend. if not perfectly rationed it will take several months to break down.

    did anyone mentioning covering the pile? especially now when a black tarp will help enormously to heat it up. If you are using a self enclosed bin it just isnt getting hot enough. a common problem actually. I use a heavy one inch heavy wire enclosure. It is 3'x3' and attached end to end in a circle. I lift it off once a week and turn everything. Oh and BTW dont keep adding to the compost. keep turning but give it a rest from additional stuff for about 3 to four weeks.

    Here is something else you might want to try. go to David the Good's website and learn about compost tea. It is the best when you are waiting for a heap to burn down. Everything you have been adding to your compost can go into a large barrel or garbage can (mine is plastic), egg shells, coffee grounds fruit and veg peels and cores and seeds garden waste and yeah go ahead an throw in some manure. whatever. fill with water stir it up and start using as early as two weeks for fertilizer. the longer it sits the better. after a few months of adding to with scraps and water (from each time i use the tea) I use up all the liquid, gather up the sludge and throw it in my compost. Great just as you decide to rest the heap OR I have just dropped it as mulch on various plants like all the nightshades.Then start again


    Caution I believe that tomatoas are one of the only plants where mulching right up to the stem is OK. Otherwise we must worry about stem burn.

  • tmdaha
    tmdaha Posts: 10 ✭✭✭

    Wow, reading all these ways to compost. I just ordered a bin that turns. But, I'm hearing these are not good. I don't have the room in my back yard to make an in ground compost, plus my dog would eat it all. I'm so confused. I live in Arizona, so its hot most of the time, at least during the day. Should I place the bin, under my trees that get some morning sun, or in shade/ sun?

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    We do bin style compost using old pallets. We use manure and wood shaving bedding. Because of temperatures here in Alaska, it can take a few years to compost it down, We don't turn it or do anything to it, just fill a bin, then start a new one next time.

    Would be faster probably if we turned it or added other things like leaves or grass clippings. Things here are mostly forested or gravel on our place and most of our little village.

    Had never lived anywhere that I had to buy dirt before. We have some areas with a mossy surface then a very small layer of top soil, then clay from an inch or two to five or six feet of it, then we go to gravel and rock and even some boulders down there. Not much for soil that you could plant in very well unless you are wanting to somewhat wild plant things.

  • VermontCathy
    VermontCathy Posts: 1,987 ✭✭✭✭✭

    My compost pile is just that, a pile. No bin, no walls, just throw stuff on the ground in David the Good fashion.

    It takes a year for my compost to fully degrade, in part because winter here is about 5 months long and not much activity happens when its freezing.

    I use a mix of kitchen scraps, garden waste, pulled plants, weeds that don't have seeds, mown grass from the yard, and brown leaves from raking. The result is pretty good, just slow.

    Steve Solomon wrote that fast compost burns off much of the good nutrients, especially nitrogen, so you want to compost slowly anyway.

    Overall it sounds like you are doing things right. Keep it damp to slightly wet, mix in good layers and "brown" and "green" ingredients, and turn it over a few times a year.