Catch 22 Composting

[jthornton]

So, to sum up, eventually you'll have a finished pile ready to go back into your garden, a pile that's full but still breaking down/heating up and a pile that's still accumulating waste. This is the conventional 3-bin system you may read about. Not necessarily the required way for everyone but an efficient system that's been developed by generations of gardeners.

Ok, that is some good information again. I have 3 bins and I'm going to combine the two oldest ones that I don't add any more poop to. I think I have some direction and a plan now. I've got to copy all this good info and print it out so I can read a few times.

I have a sieve made from some 1x4's and some 1/2" hardware cloth, seems to work well. It's wide enough to fit across the wheelbarrow so a couple of scoops of compost and give it a shake, shake, shake your booty lol and it's empty.

Going to sieve all the raised beds this fall and get the darn tobacco horn worm pupa out of there.

JT

 

[Kiki]

I've got one more thought for you, jthornton. Get some stout straight sticks. Trim off any side shoots and shape the more robust end into a sharp angle. Shove it into the center of your pile. Gather as many of these sticks as you can and keep a small pile of them onhand. Put one in each pile and keep a reserve.

When you want to know how your pile is doing, pull out the stick. You'll be able to feel how hot your pile is at the core and just how damp it is. Shove your stick back in there and keep it in the pile. Add water or turn as you see fit based on the info the stick provides./

Over time these things will decompose too. Just cut a new sharp end when you need to and replace them when there isn't enough left to be useful.

Would bamboo work for this? (The stick)

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I have an active pile and an inactive pile. The active pile gets added to whenever I clean things up, but to be honest with the chickens that's only a few times a year. It's a rare occasion that I have to clean outside the coop and inside the coop there are only roost bars nest boxed and about 4-6 inches of litter.
When I add to the active pile, I dig a small depression, throw in the manure/compost/whatever, throw some straw on it, and then bury it.

Another good way to think of browns vs greens is how does it break down? Does it break down sludgey and gross? It's probably a green. Does it break down slow and sweet smelling? Probably a brown. And the faster it breaks down into sludgey and gross the greener it is.
So for example, manure is green and sludgey and gross when it comes out. A piece of meat will quickly become sludgey and gross, same with most vegetables and fruits. Grass will take time but with some moisture will become sludgey and gross.
A log on the other hand breaks down very slowly and smells sweet as it breaks down from the fungus. The fungus, incidentally, are also a green and break down sludgey and gross. So as the fungi eat and reproduce they're actually bringing nitrogen into the mix too which lets the bacteria work more effectively. (Mushrooms are around 10-13:1 C/N)

For composting we're just trying to make a mix good enough to skip the mushrooms step of decomposing and go straight to the bacteria step of decomposing.

 

[IamRainey]

Would bamboo work for this? (The stick)

I've never used bamboo but I don't know why not. It decomposes V-E-R-Y slowly so that means it could last a good long while. But I'm not sure it will absorb moisture so that would make it a less effective indicator of the moisture content of your pile. Maybe that's why it decomposes so slowly.

A word of caution if you have bamboo in your pile, it can be very sharp. And you won't see it coming if you have your hands in the pile because eventually everything is all the same color. I've been surprised by rose thorns. ...one of the reasons sensible composter don't compost rose canes. Another is that they're subject to too many diseases they can spread through the piles. Our climate is very dry. Our roses don't suffer from many serious diseases so I've chanced it. But I always say I never will again when I grab a thorny cane!

 

[aart]

I've never used bamboo but I don't know why not.

It would work fine for testing the temp.

 

[mixedbreeds]

I stockpile all my stuff then make normally 4 compost bins, they consist of I think it’s 2x3 wire then surround it with black plastic. I also go hit up several grocery stores when I’m ready and grab all there old produce. A layer of shredded leaves, chicken poo with straw in it, cut up produce, coffee grounds and then a layer of the shredded dry grass clippings, then start all over till it’s layered like that till full and water. I do 3 piles that are 4x4 feet and one bigger that’s 6x5 feet. I have a pretty good heart rate going after turning those. It makes enough compost to recharge all my raised beds, corn rows and flower beds every spring.

 

[igorsMistress]

I didn't have the "right" ratios to start but just kept adding to the pile and it started to work. I use 2 methods to compost now because a friend gave me a 2 barrel bin for free.

A word of caution about adding a lot of pine shavings to your compost...it can retard or prevent the growth of some things so be careful with how much you add. Same with some other plants/trees, mesquite for example.

I have a freeform pile that's exposed to the elements. The chickens love to turn it all over looking for bugs. I have to water this pile pretty regularly and reassemble it after the chickens visit, but I took several wheelbarrow loads of good dirt out of there after a few years.

I also have a two barrel bin that I use to compost mostly kitchen scraps, I put my coffee grounds in there. I've added leftovers from bags of soil for house plants and the special mixes for succulents and orchids to get rid of the last little bits. Egg shells and all the junk leftover after I clean out my mealworm bins. Whatever I can find. I give the barrels a spin or three each morning. I have one that's ready for the garden this fall and the other still working.

I keep asking my son for rabbit poop but it hasn't showed up yet

We don't compost human or dog waste, but the chickens get meat so we're breaking the rule...which is crazy because unless your chickens are in a sterile environment they're going to eat bugs, lizards, mice, baby birds, etc so...

 

[IamRainey]

Your note about pine shavings, igorsmistress, reminds me about pine needles and pine cones. They're things that compost v-e-r-y slowly. And they're also v-e-r-y acid and that's a thing to be aware of. (Never heard that pine shavings were acid, BTW.)

I collect them and make a separate pile with lots of pine needles and coffee grounds to get an acid soil that's good for my azaleas, blueberries and strawberries.

We have quite alkaline soil here in on the south coastal Pacific so extra acid can be crucial for the success of acid-loving plants.

None of this means anyone shouldn't compost pine needles. Mixed in with everything else they're just another component, but saved and treated separately they can be very useful. And speaking of useful, uncomposted pine needles make a great mulch for strawberry plants. They keep the fruit safely off the moist soil which speeds up rotting.

 

[shelneu]

Most of our property is pasture so my question is... when we mow, we're getting about 25% grass and 75% weeds in the mix. I'm worried that putting that mix into the compost will eventually cause weeds to grow in our gardens. Or, do the weed seeds die in the compost? If so, any idea how long that would take? Thanks everyone.

 

[Compost King]

When Composting correctly the weed seeds are killed by the heat process. a Compost when done correctly typically takes 6 months. Every bit of that compost needs to be in the center where the heat is produced so you need to get out with the pitch fork or shovel and work it.