Share your Compost Container pics!

[btny9]

What all can I put in a compost bin? I'm new at this. The grass clipping after the crass is cut? Chicken litter? Leftover? Or do I need to start with a specific measurement of some soft?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Here is a good link for getting started. http://www.howtocompost.org/info/info_Top-10-Composting-Tips.asp

You basically want to have a mix of "green" and "brown." If you are going to use this compost on anything you are going to eat then NO dog poop and NO meat. Ever. Chick poop, rabbit poop and worm poop are all great though.

You can put in bedding like pine shavings but they take a long time to break down so it really depends on your goals and what else you have to balance it out with.

There are lots of variations on how to compost -- I recently started composting with red worms and love it. You can make it complicated or keep it simple, up to you. But the most important thing is the balance of green and brown. Green is any yard clippings, veggie scraps, live green plant material, etc. Brown is unbleached paper, card board, leaves, dead plant material, egg shells, coffee grounds etc. The complex way to make sure you have the right balance is to test PH (which I think is really fun, but im super nerdy). The easy way is to look and smell. It should smell earthy and be mixed up well and slightly moist. If it smells acidy or rotty then your balance is off and you need to adjust.

Moisture (moist not wet), oxygen and balance of green and brown and you will have lovely lovely compost.

edited: chicken poop is really acidic so it can off balance your compost so look out for that acid smell and add more material to balance it out or consider worms to break it down faster.

 

[btny9]

Here is a good link for getting started. http://www.howtocompost.org/info/info_Top-10-Composting-Tips.asp

You basically want to have a mix of "green" and "brown." If you are going to use this compost on anything you are going to eat then NO dog poop and NO meat. Ever. Chick poop, rabbit poop and worm poop are all great though.

You can put in bedding like pine shavings but they take a long time to break down so it really depends on your goals and what else you have to balance it out with.

There are lots of variations on how to compost -- I recently started composting with red worms and love it. You can make it complicated or keep it simple, up to you. But the most important thing is the balance of green and brown. Green is any yard clippings, veggie scraps, live green plant material, etc. Brown is unbleached paper, card board, leaves, dead plant material, egg shells, coffee grounds etc. The complex way to make sure you have the right balance is to test PH (which I think is really fun, but im super nerdy). The easy way is to look and smell. It should smell earthy and be mixed up well and slightly moist. If it smells acidy or rotty then your balance is off and you need to adjust.

Moisture (moist not wet), oxygen and balance of green and brown and you will have lovely lovely compost.

edited: chicken poop is really acidic so it can off balance your compost so look out for that acid smell and add more material to balance it out or consider worms to break it down faster.

Thank you so much. Do you just put the red worms in the compost? And how did you start your up?

 

[rendezvous1838]

Is chicken poop considered green or brown?
We have lots of green in the summer from the grass clippings, brown in the fall from leaves. The rest is mostly egg shells and coffee grounds, and the veggie scraps the chickens don't like which doesn't leave much.

 

[daddykirbs]

Is chicken poop considered green or brown?
We have lots of green in the summer from the grass clippings, brown in the fall from leaves. The rest is mostly egg shells and coffee grounds, and the veggie scraps the chickens don't like which doesn't leave much.

Nitrogen is "green"... Chicken Poop is full of "green".

 

[sterling18]

Good thread, i'm going to be starting our compost pile from wood pallets. I'm hoping for the spring thaw to start but i might be able to get some work in this weekend when the temps hit 50.

 

[sterling18]

Nitrogen is "green"... Chicken Poop is full of "green".

so chicken poop and bedding is considered green and brown? If so my girls rock as i'm just looking to start out with the correct material. lol

 

[rendezvous1838]

so chicken poop and bedding is considered green and brown? If so my girls rock as i'm just looking to start out with the correct material. lol

That is what I thought.

 

[rendezvous1838]

My humble pile. Structure is T-posts and chainlink scrap I found somewhere. It is inside the garden surrounded by the 2x4 wire. The plastic on top is only for the winter. It makes for easy snow removal and helps with solar gain during Wyoming's sunny days.
It was frozen solid for the last 2 months but is coming alive! I stirred in the additions yesterday and it is steaming inside despite the edges still being frozen.
I have had this method for 10 years in various locations in the garden.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Thank you so much. Do you just put the red worms in the compost? And how did you start your up?

I started with a x-large rubbermaid container (you want something that doesn't let in a lot of light) and I drilled small air holes in the top and sides. I then put bedding in the bottom that was a little pine shavings but mostly cardboard and newspaper. I bought the worms on craigslist and added them on top of the bedding mixed in a layer of my odd compost. I then made a layer of "food" which was kitchen and yard scraps and then another layer of damp cardboard. You want everything to maintain the moisture of a rung out sponge.

You have to be a little more carefully with what you put in. Citrus can kill them and you need to age chicken poo for a bit before you add it in so it's not too acidic.

I am just starting out. I will let know know how it goes.