Compost questions

[JacinLarkwell]

So I'm new to gardening in general. Last year was my first year, and it did as well as I could have really hoped for considering I dove in without much knowledge.

This year, I like the idea of compost, but I don't know if it's just my wording incorrectly, but it's very hard for me to find much information. My main questions are

1) difference between brown and green? I know you beed a certain Ratio of one to the other, but I don't know what is in the different groups
2) do you need worms or other critters? I'm looking at a hand turning bin, and I don't think worms would survive in there if I'm being honest
3) how do you know when it's ready? Should it just look like dirt?
4) do you just use it as a dirt substitute if you have enough? Or do you only put it on the top of the soil?

I can link the bin I'm looking at if that would help with questions. A lot of people here just buy new dirt every time they need more, ans that isn't feasible costwise for me where I am right now. I get about as much cardboard and plant waste as I could want, i I figured I may as well try to use it if I could figure out how to compost

 

[SueT]

I have a big cranked bin, and after it gets too full to turn well, I transfer it to this cylindrical one which is open to the ground.

My sister, who has been composting for decades, said the bin has to be big enuf or it won’t heat up. 80 gallons or more. She likes the Mantis metal tumblers which are very expensive. But she has scored 3 or 4 used ones by scouring ads. I once saw one for sale for $75, but it was a 3 hour drive.

Anyway, I like the plastic one just fine, it’s 80 gallons and spins nicely. I just put in the used chicken litter/shavings when I clean the coop every day, and our household kitchen scraps. Plus leaves. I don’t know about the green brown thing.
I am going to use raised garden beds this year and am interested in the hugelkultur idea….putting layers of rotting logs and whatever in first, then soil. My compost will be a vital ingredient . There’s a BYC thread with all kinds of valuable info on this…
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hügelkultur-raised-beds.1604433/

 

[SueT]

2) do you need worms or other critters? I'm looking at a hand turning bin, and I don't think worms would survive in there if I'm being honest
3) how do you know when it's ready? Should it just look like dirt?
4) do you just use it as a dirt substitute if you have enough? Or do you only put it on the top of the soil?

Yeah, I think worms would help, that’s why I transfer to the one on the ground. The bin lets it break down first, thus keeping out varmints.
It will look like dirt if you don’t use big chunks of stuff.
it will be a dirt substitute in my raised beds, adding more on top each year.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I have a big cranked bin, and after it gets too full to turn well, I transfer it to this cylindrical one which is open to the ground.
View attachment 3704414View attachment 3704415
My sister, who has been composting for decades, said the bin has to be big enuf or it won’t heat up. 80 gallons or more. She likes the Mantis metal tumblers which are very expensive. But she has scored 3 or 4 used ones by scouring ads. I once saw one for sale for $75, but it was a 3 hour drive. View attachment 3704416

Anyway, I like the plastic one just fine, it’s 80 gallons and spins nicely. I just put in the used chicken litter/shavings when I clean the coop every day, and our household kitchen scraps. Plus leaves. I don’t know about the green brown thing.
I am going to use raised garden beds this year and am interested in the hugelkultur idea….putting layers of rotting logs and whatever in first, then soil. My compost will be a vital ingredient . There’s a BYC thread with all kinds of valuable info on this…
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hügelkultur-raised-beds.1604433/

I think the one I looked at was 42 gallons for each side, and you could combine both bins if you wanted. I liked the IdEa pf being able to have one being added to while the othet was being turned.

I like the idea if the raised beds, but that requires wood, which we don't really have here other than what we buy for the fireplace

 

[Sally PB]

Compost, compost, how do I love thee?

SO DANG MUCH!!!

Ok, got that out of my system.

Brown/green: What they're talking about is stuff that has a lot of carbon (brown), like fallen leaves, dried grass, shavings from the coop, wood chips.

The green is stuff that is high in nitrogen, like fresh (green) grass clippings. Chicken manure, even though brown in color, is VERY high in nitrogen, as are most manures.

If you have all carbon, it will take a very long time to break down. If you have all nitrogen, it will stink. That's why the mix is important. The oft-mentioned ratios are 25 or 30 to 1, carbon to nitrogen. In other words, it doesn't take too much manure to help dried leaves break down.

If you build a pile of vegetative stuff, it will eventually break down. Think of the fallen trees and leaves on a forest floor. But for a garden, you need the compost to stay in its pile, and so that's why they sell compost bins.

You don't need to buy a bin. You can make a pile, put some welded wire fence around it, and that can be a compost bin.

You will hear the phrases "hot composting" and "cold composting." The stuff on the forest floor? That's cold composting. It sits there, various "things" from the dirt get in there (bugs, worms, fungi, a word that starts with "M" that I can't think of or spell*), and they break down the stuff in the pile, or on the forest floor. It been going on since there were forest floors. It takes a long time for fallen leaves to turn into dirt. Years.

Hot composting is the same only different, as we used to say where I used to work. If the mix of nitrogen and carbon are right, the pile is damp, and some air gets mixed in, the pile will heat up, literally. To 150F, sometimes. The stuff in the pile breaks down faster, and you can have usable compost in 3 weeks.

https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2010/05/08/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/
This site will tell you all about making compost, fast. Caveat: It's more manual labor. I do this in the spring with the kitchen scraps I've been dumping in my compost bin all winter, along with the poop I collect out of the chicken coop.

*Ah! Here's the word: mycorrhiza. Fungi in the ground that do amazing things with and for plants.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Compost, compost, how do I love thee?

SO DANG MUCH!!!

Ok, got that out of my system.

Brown/green: What they're talking about is stuff that has a lot of carbon (brown), like fallen leaves, dried grass, shavings from the coop, wood chips.

The green is stuff that is high in nitrogen, like fresh (green) grass clippings. Chicken manure, even though brown in color, is VERY high in nitrogen, as are most manures.

If you have all carbon, it will take a very long time to break down. If you have all nitrogen, it will stink. That's why the mix is important. The oft-mentioned ratios are 25 or 30 to 1, carbon to nitrogen. In other words, it doesn't take too much manure to help dried leaves break down.

If you build a pile of vegetative stuff, it will eventually break down. Think of the fallen trees and leaves on a forest floor. But for a garden, you need the compost to stay in its pile, and so that's why they sell compost bins.

You don't need to buy a bin. You can make a pile, put some welded wire fence around it, and that can be a compost bin.

You will hear the phrases "hot composting" and "cold composting." The stuff on the forest floor? That's cold composting. It sits there, various "things" from the dirt get in there (bugs, worms, fungi, a word that starts with "M" that I can't think of or spell*), and they break down the stuff in the pile, or on the forest floor. It been going on since there were forest floors. It takes a long time for fallen leaves to turn into dirt. Years.

Hot composting is the same only different, as we used to say where I used to work. If the mix of nitrogen and carbon are right, the pile is damp, and some air gets mixed in, the pile will heat up, literally. To 150F, sometimes. The stuff in the pile breaks down faster, and you can have usable compost in 3 weeks.

https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2010/05/08/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/
This site will tell you all about making compost, fast. Caveat: It's more manual labor. I do this in the spring with the kitchen scraps I've been dumping in my compost bin all winter, along with the poop I collect out of the chicken coop.

*Ah! Here's the word: mycorrhiza. Fungi in the ground that do amazing things with and for plants.

Okay. Parents said if I wanted to have a compost site at the house, it has to look nice, hence getting a bin and not just having a pile.

So like carrots and 'fresh' veggies, would that be green then, like grass clippings?

 

[Sally PB]

So like carrots and 'fresh' veggies, would that be green then, like grass clippings?

The green part yes, the orange part of carrots, less so. I think. It has to do with the nitrogen content.
https://freshfoodconnect.org/blog/c...MIpPjLnPqOgwMVXmhHAR0uIANVEAAYAiAAEgIoGvD_BwE
This webiste has some more info too.

Parents said if I wanted to have a compost site at the house, it has to look nice, hence getting a bin and not just having a pile.

Yeah... I can understand that. But you will throw out a lot less "garbage" when you compost. A lot of the "icky" stuff can go in the compost. We have a small bucket by the kitchen sink for all that stuff. Coffee grounds, stale or moldy bread, leftovers that are too old, veg trimmings and ends, etc...

 

[JacinLarkwell]

The green part yes, the orange part of carrots, less so. I think. It has to do with the nitrogen content.
https://freshfoodconnect.org/blog/c...MIpPjLnPqOgwMVXmhHAR0uIANVEAAYAiAAEgIoGvD_BwE
This webiste has some more info too.


Yeah... I can understand that. But you will throw out a lot less "garbage" when you compost. A lot of the "icky" stuff can go in the compost. We have a small bucket by the kitchen sink for all that stuff. Coffee grounds, stale or moldy bread, leftovers that are too old, veg trimmings and ends, etc...

Yeah. My work throws out an insane amount of compost able food every week, which is probably the main reason I would even have enough to do so. We don't really throw much out that isn't inedible at the house anymore. I'll Definitely check the website out rhouhh

 

[Cammo77]

The world of composting is as simple as chicken genetics I'm sorry to say....but in saying that it can be done simple ways. The topic of composting is a massive rabbit hole but I think if you start small you will get a feel for what works for you. To steer you in the right direction though can I ask do you want to or would you like to grow everything organically or happy to grow more conventionally?

 

[TooCheep]

So like carrots and 'fresh' veggies, would that be green then, like grass clippings?

Pretty much any reasonably fresh, softish vegetable matter can be used in compost. The things I would avoid are poison ivy (for obvious reasons), whole wood (takes too long to break down, though wood shavings are okay).
I don't use meat either. It will compost okay, but tends to attract meat eaters that I don't want anywhere near my chickens.
Ignore the green/brown distinction. I find it more confusing than helpful. Chicken poo and coffee grounds are considered "green" due to the higher nitrogen content.

Yeah... I can understand that. But you will throw out a lot less "garbage" when you compost. A lot of the "icky" stuff can go in the compost. We have a small bucket by the kitchen sink for all that stuff. Coffee grounds, stale or moldy bread, leftovers that are too old, veg trimmings and ends, etc...

This is one of the major ways I've cut down on trash. Garden waste, kitchen scraps, etc. are now considered to have some value rather than be thrown into a landfill somewhere.

Yeah. My work throws out an insane amount of compost able food every week, which is probably the main reason I would even have enough to do so. We don't really throw much out that isn't inedible at the house anymore.

That can be a very good resource. I don't produce enough green/nitrogen waste, so I end up getting free used grounds from a local coffee shop each year. I've heard that Starbucks will have bagged grounds available, but I use a local Panera and bring them a bucket and bags to make it easy for them to collect. I even tell them to throw the filters in there along with the grounds as the paper will compost and I want to make it as easy as possible for them.

The world of composting is as simple as chicken genetics I'm sorry to say....but in saying that it can be done simple ways. The topic of composting is a massive rabbit hole but I think if you start small you will get a feel for what works for you.

Yes. You can get into it as deep as you want. I use two simple systems. (1) Use deep litter (fall leaves) with my chickens that I scoop out twice/year and use to top off my raised beds and even sell some to my neighbor. (2) Have cold compost bins (I'm lazy) that I fill once/year with garden waste, some leaves and coffee grounds. This latter compost I generally use around my berry bushes and fruit trees. Both work well.

I could probably optimize the latter compost system by injecting mycorrhizal fungi, making compost tea, following exact nitrogen/carbon mixtures, hot composting, etc., but I've found that these two lazy systems work quite well without the extra effort.