Starting a compost??

[Mom23boys]

Ok, I need your advice/help. What is the best way to go about starting a compost pile? I would like to use it for a garden this spring.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed and NEEDED.

[kimmee]

Kim (quiltermom) knows a great deal about this. I have a three sided wooden box and I throw my leftover vegetable products and egg shells and coffee grounds (basically any biodegradeable food item - except meat products. I water them and turn them with a pitchfork at regurlar intervals - they heat inside and break down to compost. I also put in leaves and hay and grass cuttings - and sheep manure (cuz I got LOTS of that!! ) Its kind of fun to create and it makes nice use of your garbage!! I know some people also put paper products in but I have not read enough about this so I don't.

[Mom23boys]

Thanks Kimmee. I have lots of lumber laying around. I can get DS#1 to build me a box to start with.

[forestdale]

michelle, I'll be including compost making in my vegetable gardening 101 articles. I'm doing seeds today and soil tomorrow - it'll be in the soil section.

[homesteadmamma]

Michelle, start saving your scraps now. Just make sure you don't put meat into your compost.

Kimmee gave you great information. I also don't put paper products in mine because I've read the ink isn't good for it.

We don't have a wooden one though. We purchased one that has a cover and it worked perfect. We were able to use compost both last fall and in the spring of 2004. It was wonderful soil.

Here are a couple links:

http://www.waverley.gov.uk/waste/com...0Compost%20bin

http://www.gould.edu.au/waste_stop/act_11.htm

http://www.mastercomposter.com/ (the best one I've found yet - lots of info here)

http://www.howtocompost.org/ (another excellant one)

[Mom23boys]

Thank you for the links CJ. I will check those out.

I will be on the look-out for your posts Rhonda.

[QuilterMom]

I started a bin/tumbler not long ago. I chose not to do a traditional framed pile due to so many varities of poisonous snakes here and I've read on several sites about snakes getting into the piles. We used a large garbage can based on this idea - http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_soil_wat...378480,00.html


A great article on composting can be found in the April 2001 issue of Organic Gardening magazine. Basically it says........

- Mix 2 to 4 parts fresh green matter (like grass clippings or leaves still attached to the tree) with 10 parts brown dried matter (leaves that have fallen off the trees). Mix in with this a couple of shovelfuls of garden soil (introduces a friendly bacteria doing this).

- Chop and shred if you can - smaller particles will break down faster.

- Keep the pile slightly damp with water (try to maintain the moisture level of a wrung-out sponge).

- Stir or turn the pile.

What's okay to put in:
- Grass clippings, leaves, kitchen scraps (no meat or dairy products), straw, manure (from cows, horses, rabbits, poultry, goats, sheep), coffee grounds, seaweed (rinse under cool running water to remove salt before adding), eggshells, shredded newspaper (but none with colored inks), human and pet hair, pine needles, and sawdust (but not from chemically treated wood).

What not to put in:
- Meat scraps, dairy scraps, colored paper, charcoal ash, coal, diseased plants, cat litter, cat or dog droppings.

[Mom23boys]

Thank you QM. I am looking at the site you linked now. I appreciate your input.

I was thinking about snakes too as we have rattlesnakes, copperheads, etc. I would hate to be surprised by one! I don't care much for snakes! I was thinking about a tumbler. I will have to read more into that too!

[homesteadmamma]

One other thing we found. Crush your egg shells, they tend to take longer to break down when they aren't crushed.

Also nuts don't decompose very well.

Kim we don't have the problem with snakes but we do have a problem with mice. Thats one reason we went to a compost bin purchased from Canadian Tire.

[Mom23boys]

Yikes! I hate mice too!! I know I am just a wimp. I hate when those little critters figure out how to get in my house and run across the floor. Oh, the joys of living in the country!!

Thanks for letting me know about the egg shells and nuts CJ. I am sure I will have lots of egg shells to add.

[forestdale]

michelle, if you can afford a tumbler, or can make one, that's the way to go as they make fast compost. We have lots of snakes and other wildlife here but have never been bother with snakes in the compost. But if I could afford a tumbler I'd have one.

Good luck with your compost. It really is worth the effort.