DIY Composting

[wyoDreamer]

Sumi, Are you searching for the word : anaerobic ? meaning without oxygen

If the compost pile doesn't have enough air flow and get enough oxygen, a different micro-organism (which is anaerobic) takes over the composting and causes the pile to stink. One of the side products of anaerobic digestion is ammonia and another is methane - think swamp gas. This can also happen if the pile is too wet.

 

[sumi]

Yes, yes, yes! That's it! Thanks!

I'm not a native English speaker, so I sometimes "lose" words and terms

.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Yes, yes, yes! That's it! Thanks!

I'm not a native English speaker, so I sometimes "lose" words and terms

.

I am a native english speaker and I "lose" words all the time!

I have a great respect for those that know more than one language.

 

[sumi]

I used to speak 3, but through lack of use I lost 1. We have 14 languages spoken here in S.A. so we have to speak more than one. Knowing 3 is handy!

 

[3forfree]

I have used 4 pallets for a compost bin. three are nailed or screwed together for the sides and back and the fourth is loose for the front. As things get working inside I remove the loose pallet and using a pitch fork, take everything out of the bin, then fork it back in as my way of turning it. The 4 pallets are just a way of keeping the composting material in one spot and being able to pile it alittle higher than not having anything around it.

 

[canesisters]

There is a bait shop near me and a while back I stopped in and asked them for a few doz. worms to compost with. They told me that I wanted a different kind of worm than what they had. .....?.....

 

[ShakeragSusan]

If they have redworms instead of just nightcrawlers, they should work well.

I am just beginning to read about bokashi composting. The whole process takes 1 to 1.5 months! And it doesn't smell bad. It is sort of like fermenting milk with a specific culture to make yogurt. It is fermented, but since you use a starter, it is fermented with what you want instead of whatever stink producing thing happens to be around.

I think it's well worth looking up Bokashi.

 

[smilingcat]

Nothing hard about composting. you just need to have a reasonable size pile started. That is about the only requirement.

Minimum size of the pile (compost heap) should be at least a 3-4 cubic feet from my experience. My pile has been just a pile on the ground without any structures to corral it. I also tried with a Thick plastic 1/8 inch thick plastic sheet with holes in the side to corral the pile and we even have a tumbling barrel. My piles tend to be around 1-3 cubic yards. It works much faster.

If you got the money and don't care about the cost or don't have any space to just have a pile on the ground, buy one of these contraptions. I prefer just the pile on the ground. Its much easier to turn over the pile when its just free standing. I throw a tarp over it to keep the rain out. Here in pacific northwest it rains too much and it would drown out the pile.

When I lived in Southern California, I also had a freestanding pile and after about 6 month it was crawling with red wiggler worms. I didn't buy them. They just appeared. Probably the eggs were in bird droppings.

Few things about the compost piles you create.

If it stinks, its aneraobic compost. upside is that it will have more nutrient than a aerobic compost. Downside is it stinks to high heaven. Aerobic composting doesn't stink, its smell is mild and smells earthy. downside is it doesn't have as much nutrient as the anaerobic composting.

So if the pile stinks, spread it out dry it out and when its not soggy wet, reform the pile. If the pile is just sitting there and not warm, then it probably needs some water to moisten it. The pile should be moist. If its moist but still not getting warm, the pile is either too small or don't have enough nitrogen. Add chicken poo, Clean out your chicken coop of the litter and add that to the pile, add fresh green grass clipping. If you add grass clipping make sure it mix it with the pile so it doesn't mat down. Grass clipping is too fine and if it mats down, it goes into anaerobic compost and stinks.

Things you can add into the pile:
kitchen waste except meat and bones unless you don't mind racoons and other varmints visiting your pile.
natural hair such as when you brush your cat, dog, or farm animal.
any unwaxed (non-glossy paper) without any print or if its printed with soy based ink.
yard waste as long as it has no disease.
I've thrown in tree branches up to inch in diameter anything bigger and it gets chipped. leaves of trees, potted plant without the soil.

Things you do NOT put into the pile:
cat poo, cat litter, dog poo and human waste.
dead animal/bird that was sick.
If you had cut off a branch with some sort of canker don't put it into the pile. It needs to be burned.
If its from a tomato plant with powdery mildew or any disease. burn it or throw it away.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO ADD SOIL!!

Lastly if you are new to this, go to a library and check out a book on composting. Best book is by Rodale or at amazon
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rodale-Bo...dp_kinw_strp_1?_encoding=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Compost is so much better than Miracle grow or any other chemical fertilizer it is worth doing.

 

[dancingflower68]

Will worms eat the chicken poo? I'm afraid of having a regular compost pile because of the fire issue, plus I don't really have that much stuff to put in it. We have a gardener for the lawn, and he takes the grass clipping away, and I only have 3 pullets, so there is not a ton of poop.I might be able to manage a worm bin, but only if they will compost the chicken poo. I think I should probably do some research!!

 

[Javafan]

Way to keep it simple. Makes me want to try. I also have 3 chickens and I would think that the shredded pine litter with the droppings would be OK to add to the pile. Another thing I would really like to know; we too now live in Southern California and are plannign to move (hopefully next year) to beautiful British Columbia. Looks like just what you did. How are you handling the weather change?