A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 How to make a compost bin II

How to make a compost bin II


Here\'s the link to the first How to make a compost bin?

Next is SuzyQ's last post...

First off, I want you to know, that never
happens around here...
You're never being a pain, anywhere's..
when asking a question...

Someone will always be around with a helpin' hand..
anddddddddd, we alllllll started out somewhere's
somehow in composting asking questions..
and if you don't ask them, how will you ever know.
Or learn...???
And our main goal here also, is not only that you learn, but you then turn around and help others
in the spot you are in, once you feel comfortable
doing what you've learned, and enough to help others..

And you can add your tips and techniques's if
you figure out something that may be easier, faster, etc.. in the process and help us learn...

SuzyQ it's by mass not weight. Your right it would make a huge difference depending on which scale you were using. Green grass clipping are so much heavier than dry fallen leaves. I think although I could be wrong that it's the amount of moisture the grass is retaining that makes the difference.

I am having the hardest time not getting out and playing in my compost bin. I know most of the material is decomposed and I want to spread it in the garden and mix it with the clay and plant things in it now!!!!!! I have these childish moments from time to time please excuse me.

Hope you are having fun with your compost.

Suzy...

Great analogy! Only, I do keep adding for a few days. Most of it gets built in a day (unlike Rome) but I do add to it for a few days (even a week or more?) afterwards. At some point I just decide it's time to start a new pile. BUT I would think in winter in Alberta the cake thing would definitely come into play - otherwise you won't get the combo right for it to heat up before it freezes.

That's a really, really great question. I remember having a conversation with one of my health freak friends once about frozen veggies having less nutrients than canned veggies - or something along those lines...I'm guessing that freezing (or thawing out, I'm not sure which) breaks some of the chemical bonds which may deteriorate the quality of the green...but hey, if it's the only way to do it, I'd say go for it. Anyone else have thoughts on froze greens?

Ain' it the coolest? I know, I know, I keep saying that...but it's true!

ME TOO!!!!

lol, Mary!! I LOVE your enthusiastic responses! But that's okay. It hasn't even snowed yet, and here I'm waiting impatiently for spring already. lol.

TK!! That is toooo funny! I jammed a steel rod through the centre of mine to make a hole and tried to talk my 18-yr-old son into sticking his arm in to feel the heat. lol. He gave me one of these...

Hey Thanks for considering them enthusiastic -- that sounds SO much better than wacko! (Though I'm well aware of the fine line)

Geesh I made a hole in the middle of mine today to feed it some yucky lettuce and man it was steamin like blazes. Woohoo!!! Course it was just 3pm when I was out there - so now all the school kids know which one is the crazy lady their parents told them to stay away from I oughta invite the science class over for a lesson!

Nope, Suze, you're definitely not alone in the crazy exciting world of composting...Tell him to be sure that straight jacket isn't synthetic or it won't break down!

Can I borrow the straight jacket until Sunday morning sunup? I am having such a hard time not turning the pile mid week. I got the dusty millers and they can be planted in fall in the south so you know I'm going to try some and save some for an indoor start come January and then a few more for a spring start just encase the others don't survive. Well back on topic I'm trying to get enough compost out of the bin this Sunday that it will give me a total of 5 inches of compost for the top of the bulb bed. That will make the allium and the glads very happy and hopefully that means that I will have a really healthy display of flowers next year. And then there is the compost I want to put on top of the fall bed where I want to put the other fall winter and self sowing seeds I have coming. And did I mention wanting to have some for the bed where I had the tomatoes this year.

Ok definitely wacko here too. Just wait until I lift the canna and steal about half of the contain soil and replace it with compost hehehehe.

it's Sunday can I turn my compost now? ... 6 more hours!!!!!!! Awwwwwwwwww, in that case I'm going to bed. See you all after I turn the compost lol.

Guess what I did this morning. You guessed it. I turned the compost pile. I was a little disappointed. I got 10 gallons of finished compost when I was expecting more like 40 gallons. But what is, is. It was enough to finished the bulb bed so I can plant the dusty millers and the allium when they get here. The others are just going to have to wait a little longer. Fortunately it's early enough that I have lots of time. And if I gather up all the leaves that are falling between now and midweek I'll have a really good excuse for doing a midweek turn lol. I know I am so bad.

Well until next time. Keep that compost cooking lol.

Well I gathered up the leaves on half the parkinglot and stuff them in the compost bin and what was left over I put on top of the reserve pile that I have and then mixed that up good. No reason it can't be working while it's waiting to go in the other pile lol. there is still 90% more green than brown there so it's not like its going to finish decomposing while it's waiting. lol. But it's still smaller than it was before I filled the bin back up to the 95% mark lol. I had to leave a little room for new leaves. It is also over burdened with grass and I just don't want to have to deal with a smell and the bin keeps the moisture in very well so smell could easily become a problem.

Thought I'd check in and let you know how the straw insulation in going so far. It's dropped below freezing at night already a few times and I've even waken to frost on the ground. Oh well, what can ya do?
~Suze~

Well, today I went lasagna-ing out in front of the house. Picked up 2 bales of straw yesterday at a local winery for $4 apiece. Good deal for the size -- they're bigger than the normal 'holiday cubes' and stretched a LOT further than I expected. I only used 1 and had more than enough to go around. Now to figure out what I'm going to plant there!

Suzy, glad to hear about your experiment! As soon as I can pick up some post-halloween straw or hay I'm all over that idea! The way the weather has been, I've still got at least 2 full mowings left this season, and plenty of leaves to come. So, I'm looking at 3-4 heaps before frost. Woohoo!

Hello ladies!

I have a question you may consider silly about composting, but I am needing to ask it anyhow.

If composting in an area where bears are known to liv, will it attract them to the compost pile?

Thanks in advance for your help

Shirl

I am no expert at all, as I JUST started my new obsession with composting.

But I have bears here..and a Mama bear moved my whole composter.

You must make sure to never put meat or grease or anything like that in it...or it will definately attract bears

Hi Shirl! Welcome to the wonderful world of composting! Someone mentioned in another post, somewhere...not sure where it is now... that a bear's nose is like a hundred times more sensitive than peoples so they can smell food for miles...which can be your compost bin. Like Noxzema said, I would definitely not put meat, fat or oil (dairy, etc) in your heap. Not only because of bears, but other pests like mice and even neighborhood pets. Whenever I put any food in my heap, I never leave it sitting right on top -- I always take some soil, finished or semi-finished compost and sprinkle a bit on top, to hold down the smell (even if *I* don't think it smells) That might help keep the bears at bay.

Bears are not something you want to mess with. So my suggestion would be to keep to grass clippings and leaves that are not edibles. Bears are omnivores and enjoy veggies as well as meat. Just check out the berry bushes in your area if you don't believe me lol.

I have a question also....I am moving into my first house. Its a rental for a couple of years while we save to buy one but it won't stop me from planting and I have a huge, tree-ringed back yard and a landlord who said I could plant anything I wanted. (I tested his limits, I said, Raised veg bed? Yep. Garden path? Yep.) My question is this; if I rake up leaves now, can I save them to incorporate into my compost later? I won't get up there until the first week of November and in zone 5b that means regular frosts already so I don't think I have time to start anything meaningful before winter sets in. I just wondered if I could rake em up and cover them somehow and save them.

Hi Shieldmaden! Welcome to the forum - and to composting!

YES!

What some people do is, rake the leaves and mow them or shred them (if possible), and then bag them and store in the shed/garage until spring. You can also leave them piled up in the yard if you don't have storage for them - may be covering with a tarp would be beneficial, but it might be just as well to leave them exposed to the elements. I'm not sure on which would be best, but I'm sure Weezie or Longy will know for sure, and one of em will be along before long!

Thanks for your replies! I asked the question because something said be careful if you move to bear country with composting! LOL

Their noses are very sensitive to scent for sure! A couple of yrs ago while I was still living in B.C Canada, I had a huge black bear literally rip half of the garage door off, to get into the garbage in there. He was after some KFC bones which I had wrapped in plastic and then tied up in another plastic bag and placed into the garbage. I was just not sure if the composting would attract them or not. Thanks again for your help!

Lol maybe I will try Vermicomposting if we do move to land where bears are ( buying land in the spring). Have any of you tried that out?

Shirl

Well I got the bin turned but I think it is going to be stinky this week lol. I had two loads of grass clippings which is way more than 25% of my space even compacted. but I just couldn't convince myself to haul them over to the compost pile. After moving the dry clippings over to the bin to use as brown lol. I guess I'm a bit whimpy today. The pain in my arm for the last couple of days has got me not wanting to do much. But at least it should be plenty hot and brakedown quickly as a result. And I still managed to get 3 pails of finished compost out of the bin. There was plenty more but it got mixed in with the new grass clippings and there was no way to separate it so I had to let it go back in the bin. Hopefully it will help the grass clippings break down and all of it will be finished in quick time lol. I think this is the last mowing of the season so now it's all going to be leaves and slow cold composting after this. Not that I mind I'll take it anyway I can get it. I just love compost lol.

Good Morning Everyone!

I'm wondering something about the turning process. I've been scooping my entire compost pile out, and then back in, except I put all the outside stuff into the centre when I pile it up again. Is that a little overboard? I don't mind the exercise but I wondered if I should be separating it that much. But I really like to get a good look and see how things are moving along. Such a crazy obsession! lol

I'm also wondering something about the microbe action. Almost everything green I put in is unrecognizable now, but there's still a lot of straw in there to break down. (I did add it all much later though, when I saw the pile wasn't warming up.) Anyway, does it begin to cook slower, or on a lower heat, when the greens are further along? I feel like I really want to feed it more greens to help the straw decompose and produce more heat, but I don't think I should. It must keep working though, otherwise there'd never be any completely finished compost in the pile if I kept adding to it. Oh well, just asking and thinking out loud.

I've been turning it about every five days but I think I may be slowing it down by doing something else. Bad Suzy! lol. I dig into it about every other day just to see if it's still warm... and it is, but if I'm not supposed to do that, can somebody please tell me to LEAVE IT ALONE! lol

I'm so glad to have all you experienced composters to turn to.

Oh! Mary, I came across a little piece of corn-on-the-cob in there, and you are right! There's all these little roots growing out of it. lol. I'm sure glad I haven't been tossing in my weeds!

Thanks a bunch,
~Suze~

Shirl, I've never tried vermicomposting, but I know there are even small containers you can use right in your kitchen (for city dwellers)! Keep us posted with how that works for you, if you try it!

T - You need to come here and light a match under me to fetch the finished stuff from under my pile. I have no energy to get it done - and you're almost relligious about it!

Suzy - I do the same -- take my pitchfork and literally move my pile from point a to point b - and next time back to point a. last time, I was plum out of energy, so I just stirred it up some - I wasn't happy with how that went - it just didn't feel 'turned' to me, so unless I'm really outta energy, I'll turn it completely like I have been (moving the whole pile). When I get to where I just don't feel like it anymore, I'll just do lasagna style composting in place, or plan on letting it sit for a seaon or 2.

I add to my pile every 2 or 3 days. When I go out there and notice that the browns are starting to be unrecognizable, I guess that's when I make a mental note that I need to start a new pile, and just keep that one turning. Once you stop adding, the pile will eventually cool off, but that's not a bad thing - it doesn't have to be hot to render down. You probably have oodles of pill bugs (roley poleys as we called em back in NY). Those guys will do awesome in helping break it down for ya.

Keep digging into the middle if that keeps you happy It wont hurt your pile, especially if you're turning anyway.

As for experienced composters - Weezie and Longy are really the only ones here I think can qualify for that medal. Me and TK both started around the same time - which was probably, what T, May of this year? It's just so addicting that we both plunged right in and learned as much as possible as we went along - kind of like you're doing now. In a few months a newbie will come along and think you're a pro too -- and actually, you're already up there

Hey Suz - what'd ya do with that corn cob? I planted the watermelon seedlings that came up. They didn't make it, but like Longy pointed out to me, worst that can happen is they don't ripen by winter, but then I chop em up and have more greens for my compost! Genius I tell ya.

Yep I think your very right Mary it was sometime around May. Probably if we dug around in the earlier posts we could read all our beginner questions and get all embarrassed all over again lol.

You know me when I'm learning. I ask all the "dim bulb" questions.

Gee Mary, Do I still have matches around here now that I'm a non-smoker? lol, ... just teasing of course I do and a lighter too.

Ok I missed the post of the corn cob could someone please fill me in? Either that or my lousy memory has dropped the information right into la-la heaven.

If you have the space a number of piles is definitely the way to go. I only have the one bin so I've been in need of a sifter because my compost is always in a number of different stages of decomposition all in the same bin. And now I have one woohoo. So at least I can be sure of removing all of the completed/finished compost on Sunday when I turn my pile. That is if I don't decide I just have to turn it tomorrow. And that is sounding better and better if the elbow doesn't give me maximum grief when I wake up in the am.

Have a good evening all and enjoy that compost.

Have I mentioned how much my tomato plants love being covered with compost when they lay down? The silly things are looking better than they have in a month and the only thing I did was pile a couple of buckets of compost around them because they were trying to lay down. I am definitely transplanting the tomato seedlings into a mostly compost soil next year. I bet I have a humugous crop.

I know, I know it's barely fall and I'm thinking about late summer next year already lol. Am I ahead of my self or what?

I remember having the hardest time understanding what was considered a brown! That grass thing really threw me for a loop 'back in the day' Who woulda thunk?!

Suzy dumped a corn cob in her compost heap, and found one sprouting last look.

No further ahead than I am! Isn't it nutzoid? Guess that's why I'm starting to focus my obsession on house plants so that I dont go completely off the deep end (very close already) - but house is filling up fast with greens!