A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 composting newbie

wow. a ton of great composting info here. i liked weezie's comment about everyone doing it differently. just a few questions here...

i have a relatively small yard and plan for a small veggie garden in the spring and as many flower/decorative plant beds as i can get away with.

it's october now. an ok time to start a compost pile?

what happens if it freezes over the winter?

can i use one of those great big rubbermaid containers w/ drainage holes and the regular lid that goes w/ it?

just how 'scientific' is this composting business, anyway?
as long as i alternate dry brown w/ moist green stuff and water/aerate regularly, is that ok?

we've just done our last mowing of the season, so there's lots of clippings on the lawn and plenty of dried leaves, so it seems like a good time. what advice can you all give?
thank you so much!!!

Welcome to The Garden Helper Talulah

I will summons Weezie,...the almighty Queen of composting for you!

HI Talulah,
Welcome, and glad you joined our very nice Cyber Community here!!!

DID SOMEONE SAY, COMPOST??? COMPOST????
OH MY GOSH!!! THAT'S MY FAVORITE SUBJECT!!!

There's lot's of other gardener's here that also do it too!!!

Yes, there are several styles of composting,
depends on how much work you like or want to do to it..
You can leave your ingredients layered on top of each other in a huge pile in the "Back~40" and never touch it, just keep layering on top after a bit, stop using that one and start another one, under it will be the most luscious dirt you've ever seen.... with no work other than layering, but may take a year, or two or three, but no turning, just layering...

You can work a compost hard, and if you start it at the right time, when you're first mowing lawns when leaves are falling from the trees in the fall.
IT's OPTIMAL time to start!!!
The combination of the fresh cut grass and the chopped brown dry leaves, it's instant starter!!!!
Green grass is the gas and the brown is like the wood, and it's instant heat and the pile starts to COOOOOOOOOK!! Decompose....

And even if you get a late start, start it now, it'll marry the brown and green, yes, it freezes in the winter, solid, but when it's time in the spring, it'll start right back up....

Composting can be tricky in the spring, if you're a new gardener and your compost pile is either in a wet spot or with too much green *which turns to a slurry like if it's mostly green and can smell* to correct it add more brown and dirt, either from a previous compost pile *WHICH IS OPTIMAL, because it is full of the "good guys" already in there ready to go to start composting the new pile*

It'll do fine in the spring and take off re~cooking even if it frost over the winter....

Turn as often as you like, if you're in a hurry for compost, or leave and it will do it naturally but will take more time.....

Again, that's where I say it depends on your style of composting,

have I put you to <img border="0" alt="[clappy]" title="" src="graemlins/clappy.gif" />
I tend to over do it sometimes....

I am not too sure of that one, almost sounds like a sandwich container??????
or do you mean one of those big green compost bins?

Will answer any more questions that I can,
if you need more answers!!!
sometimes I get side tracked on answers, but if I forgot a section, or need more info, let me know!!

Weezie

thank you weezie!
the container i'm thinking of using is a big hard plastic container about 2.5 ft deep, 2 ft wide and 4 ft long - it has a snapping lid (but isnt airtight)

i was thinking i could punch holes in the bottom of it and maybe even store it in my garage over the winter. even if i left it outide, thinking the lid would help keep creatures out of it and contain any smell that might eventually arise.

just seems a lot easier (for my hubby anyway, who wouldnt want to have to mow around yet another 'thing' in the yard) if that makes sense.

also, i've seen stuff about 'starter' products. would that be something like powdered 'yeast' or is it even important?

thanks again!
-t

Now I know what you're talking about, didn't think of one like that!!!
Hmmmmmmmmmmm>??>
Not sure........

Almost sounds a bit in the lines of Vermaculture..
Have you looked into that for the winter months???

Weezie

I'm going to my kids' class right now, and pickin' the other one up after, so I will be out for a bit, but I do want to get back to this....
So, I'll be later in the afternoon and evening...
So much to talk about!!!

hey weezie... hope you got the kiddies home ok. for the first time ever, mine gets to ride the schoolbus home - yay!

anyway, i wanted to tell you where i got the idea for using a container (since i only wanna have a little compost pile)

it was from this post, talking about 'tea' which i dont think i'll do, but i was intrigued by the idea of using the big container:
i think this was from 'jiffymouse' (you all have such cute names:)

///I got a e-letter today from wayside gardens and in it they had a compost tip. I was wondering if anyone had tried this, 'cause I am thinking about it. The way it works is this:
you take a storage bucket (like the rubbermaid or sterlite) and poke holes in the bottom. then you put 2 bricks in the bottom of a deeper one. you put the first one down in the second so that it sits on the bricks. then you put your kitchen compost material in the top one and put the lid on. you keep adding to it and when you need to add moisture, you just pour water over the top. then when you need to water your plants you have the tea ready in a container that is easy to dip out of. then, after 3 or 4 soakings, the compost should be ready to turn into a good mulch. So, what do you think???///

so that's where i got the bright idea - i think i would just leave it sitting outside my kitchen door on the ground

i dont know what vermiculture is - sounds complicated!

worms

Talulah,
We walk to school, we live within a couple of blocks away and it's soooooooo nice to walk with them, and talk and get the exercise. Plus,
I am not in too big of a hurry to put my wee~one's on the school bus, I'm a wwwwwwwwaaaaay over protective I'd give it a try if you like the idea, and you're willing to do it, you may end up pleasantly surprised, and if by chance it doesn't quite work out, *which I don't see why it wouldn't* but don't give up on composting, if you have the will, it CAN be done!!!! And the rewards are AWESOME!!!!
And I love all the peoples' names here, they come up with the coolest names, someday I wish I had a neater one!!! :rolleyes:

I had also wanted to comment on this one,
I fired mine, because the complaining was just getting to be a little toooooooooooooooooo much!
I said, Husband, YOU'RE FIRED!!!
That lasted for about 3 years, he whined so much that he wanted to get back on the mower, he hasn't said one word to me, about not mowing around all the happy crap in the yard.
Sounds like I'm a meanie, but my kids have alot of fun with that "FILLED" yard, and when they grow up, we can "CLEAN it up and CRISP it up"
then. But he's still FIRED from the weed whacker, I draw the line somewhere's... He's a little tooo :p crisp and clean for me!!!

So, again, *got a bad case of the Weezie's this morning*
but PLEASE keep us posted if you do this composting in the bin... we all like to learn stuff here, and whether the out come is good OR bad, we'll still learn...

I would like to know what zone you are in?
It may freeze over in the winter time.....???
NOT SURE, it freezes over here, in zone 5...
(Even when it's cooking, it'll still freeze.)
And if your in that growing zone, it may still freeze for you in your garage, usually because the compost/food scrap's have moisture in them???

Hope this helps a little!!!

Weezie

P/S Worm composting isn't too hard as I understand it. It's very, very rich in nutrients,
I just don't have enough room to do that in my back room, or I'd be doing it too!!!!
LOTTERY TIME!!!

P/S And what WAYSIDE GARDENS is a great idea!!!
With the double buckets...there is a "juice" that happens from worm composting and it does need to go somewhere's, and it's soooooooooo good for your plants...

good morninge weezie
i love your name! is it short for louise, perchance?
gosh, where to start... well, we live in southern Missouri, near the Ozark Mountains - its beautiful and has been my home forever, even when i moved to california for 10 years or so... we do get nasty, nasty winters - ice storms, days and days of at or below zero temps - the works!
so winter is natural, i guess it's natural for my compost pile to freeze - i'll roll with it
i am definelty going to go and look at the link you sent. if it looks promising, i'm gonna do it this wknd after i get back from our local Oktoberfest! but i suspect it'll be springtime before i know if it actually made any composted fertilizer i can use... i'll keep you posted!
on the family front: my honey is just going to have to get used to an 'interesting' yard - this is our first house and i have all kindsa stuff planned for the spring - he can keep the keys to the riding mower, but yeah, i think i or my son will handle 'whacking duties'
speaking of him... i'm only glad for him to be on the bus now b/c, like you, i've been walking or driving him everyday for many years - he's an 8th grader now! this is the first place we've lived where we would even consider doing the bus thing. in CA, you had to pay a couple hundred bucks for a pass and the children rode the COUNTY PUBLIC TRANSPORATION bus! only one of the many insane things about living out there.

so, now we're in this nice, normal school district, w/ a schoolbus stop at the end of the block, a 20 minute ride each way AND teachers and administrators who actually know and seem to care about my wonderful boy. w/o boring you w/ my whole story, i feel truly blessed about the way our life has gone this last year or so - the school situation not the least of those blessings.

ok, i gotta get some work done so i will check in later and definetly look at the worm thing

weezie, thank you for yakking w// me and being so helpful!
have a wonderful day!
-t