I need help with Compost

[momof3]

We live in a fairly rural area and I have decided to have a garden this year, I know our soil is terrible (rocky red clay) so I decided I would start composting as a way to boost my chances of success.
I found a clear spot amongst some brush in the yard and decided it would be an ideal place to put my pile.....WRONG!! I have put at least 2 5 gallon buckets worth of stuff out there and today I went to check on it and the entire thing except a few egg shells was completely gone!!
Growing up my Grandpa had a nice sized compost bin that he built out of bricks and cinder blocks, however I don't have a source for cheap bricks or cinder blocks so I am wondering if anyone has other suggestions, would a plastic garbage can with a lid work??

[hunybee]

yup! sure will. i do compost in a 5 gallon bucket lots of times. i go to the bait store, and get a few containers of worms, and dump them in with some dirt and the refuse. stir it up every so often. make sure they have enough water with it (although it should be fine). make sure you have some drainage holes on the bottom so it doesn't get too wet. the more worms you add, the faster it will turn to compost. you should have seen the worms a few weeks after i started mine in the summer. they started out as little, pathetic, skimpy worms, and they turned out looking like they were from a nuke waste site, all mutatedly ginourmous. they propagated like mad, and there were babies and eggs everywhere

[jolara]

We have done ours using leftover 2x6's to make a 3'x4' support. I covered the top of it with 2mil. plastic sheeting and boards over the top of that. The javalina loves to chomp on our kitchen scraps so I ended up putting a piece of chicken wire over the pile but under the plastic. I still keep the extra pieces of wood on the top as well as our pitch fork. So far this has worked to keep them out. Kinda dorky, but it works. :mrgreen: I have to keep the plastic on ours to help control the moisture content because our temps are so erratic out here.

You can also use 4 rebars or wooden 'posts' and surround them with chicken wire. Lay another piece on top to deter critters.

I suggested to my sister who lives in Colorado to use the garbage can method Huny described. A big plastic can (I prefer locking lidded ones), drill some holes in it for aeration & drainage and make sure to turn it often either by rolling or something to turn it with like a pitch fork when it gets full.

I'd love to do the worm composting but our summers are too hot...we end up cooking them or they wiggle away to cooler soil. :?

[RENMAN358]

We use four (4) pallets tied together with hanger wire.
Lined with hardware cloth, to keep critters out.
Covered with a pallet , covered with 6mil BLK plastic.
ONLY vegetable stuff. NO animal stuff.Shreaded !
I rotate to a new one each spring for at least a year
to digest. Several turnings are suggested.
Junk alphalfa has better nutrients than horse manure
but MORE seeds !:-?

[Deemy]

Another thing that you can do is dig it right into your garden. I do this plus hace a compost twin barrel in rollers put out by garden Way.

[Spike n Ree]

This is a list from MOFGA's fact sheets

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

http://www.mofga.org/Publications/FactSheets/tabid/133/Default.aspx

[Indigo]

Mom, I sure can sympathize! I've had land that grew rocks, trees and hay real well but ohhhh the garden... what an ordeal to get that soil ammended! I became a compost fanatic, doing multiple huge worm composting units and processing a lot of critter waste (from horses, sheep, chickens, etc ) through the lovely wigglers! God bless them, they are a wonder. I also had non-worm compost piles (but of course the worms would show up - but it was more traditional) and I've built many, many compost bins over the years. Pallets work out beautifully and can often be had for free. For such things as leaves, grass clippings, etc - a roll of hardware cloth or chicken wire anchored to a T post can work well also. Keep in mind that if you make it bigger you can get enough biomass to heat the compost up, which will kill weed seeds if you can get it hot enough. Even better if you have some livestock manure you can add to it.

I used to have compst piles that were so huge I turned them with the loader bucket on the tractor. Talk about black gold! But I've had small ones, too. I've even made some dandy worm compost bins out of big rubbermaid containers...ones that were sized like a foot locker or larger. Those work better, imo, than garbage cans, because you have a greater surface area. Worms will do most of their feeding in the top several inches. Drainage holes are essential...not just along the bottom but along the sides, too, for aeration if you have a system that is more closed and has less surface area to mass. If you do the bin system with worms, keep in mind you can also make wonderful 'worm casting tea' Plants love it.

Indigo

[2dollarbill]

I think I heard it in an old Dr. Quinne Medicine Woman show once that an actor said, "There isn't one speck of dirt that hasn't passed through the belly of a worm on earth". I loved that.

2DB

[Cascade Failure]

I once made the mistake of putting a compost pile to close to some bush. Left a year's worth of yard and kitchen stuff there and waited. I year later I went to use some of that compost and it was just to tangled with roots from the bushes! Future compost piles have either had a floor of some sort or quite a bit of distance from the nearest large plants.

[Yooper]

Hi Folks,

May I make a recommendation about composting/gardening? Whatever you do, introduce some living microbes into your soil! More than anything else, this will make your dirt "living dirt". You can put this stuff in your compost pile, and watch it turn into black gold! Here's a web site where you can buy these E.M.'s (Effective Microbes). I recommed getting the "E.M. Plus".

www.scdworld.com (http://www.scdworld.com)

Something else you'll want to consider is Biochar (little 'condos' for the microbes that last up to 1,000 years!). Easy to make, and great for the garden. Read this short article:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1864279,00.html (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1864279,00.html)

I'll be on Greg Evenson's broadcast tomorrow discusssing these very things. I invite you guys to tune in, and we'll all learn together! It's at 1:00 P.M. Eastern Time. Go to www.republicbroadcasting.org (http://www.republicbroadcasting.org) and click on "Listen Live". Take care, and God Bless!

Other cool web sites: www.dirtdoctor.com (http://www.dirtdoctor.com)
www.highbrixgardens.com (mhtml:{470DEE0A-458B-4282-8707-55703A681D94}mid://00000016/!x-usc:http://www.highbrixgardens.com/)

-Yooper

[TANSTAAFL]

Hi need to know if any of you are from Northern Idaho very close to Canada and even closer to Montana! We are just moving there fro WA where my soil is rich really rich. But in Idaho the soil is poor hard clay and can't even till it. We will be doing raised beds. But I am haveing trouble fining real good compost soil to be delivered....maybe in Libby??? Anyone have any ideas??:razz:

[Petedtom]

Hi need to know if any of you are from Northern Idaho very close to Canada and even closer to Montana! We are just moving there fro WA where my soil is rich really rich. But in Idaho the soil is poor hard clay and can't even till it. We will be doing raised beds. But I am haveing trouble fining real good compost soil to be delivered....maybe in Libby??? Anyone have any ideas??:razz:
have you tried making you own ? Pretty easy to do and well worth the effort.

[Ms. American]

A 5 gallon bucket of green horse apples will give your compost ALL the microbes it needs to make a fresh batch of compost about every 3 weeks. Just ask any horse owner if you can pick a few, and they just might offer you the entire corral! Now THAT'S a gold mine :)

Just mix your green horse apples with dried materials such as old hay, straw, leaves, and even freshly cut grass from your lawn, along with any other vegetation from your fridge, or garden refuse, mix well, water and let it set a while.

In semi arrid areas, you will need to use a rather closed container such as a bin with sides rather than wire, and a loosely fitted top to retain moisture. I used an old freezer/refrigerator and detatched the door. I laid it down so I could fill it (keep it in the shade in a disguised area if possible, or paint it and put some pretty lattice around it to disguise it). I wasn't able to drill holes for aeration but I did use some rather large sticks/branches that I could pull on and move around. PCV pipe with holes in it helps too. You don't want it to go anerobic on you. It will stink some at first as it gets to working, but if you keep it aerobic, it will get to where it actually smells good, fresh, healthy.

Once the microbes do their thing, it's like working with sour dough. You take out the ready compost and add more materials..practice keeps things in balance so that you are cooking a new batch about every 2 or 3 weeks.

Of course once you initially mix your ingredients, add water to moisten, turn it to mix and moisten well, then let it sit. It will heat up, and then begin to cool down...you re-mix. It will heat again and begin to cool...re-mix. Eventually it will quit heating and you will see the changes occuring. It will smell absolutely wonderful...fresh earth....lovely and alive. When its broken down, pull some out (about half) put it to the side to finish if it's not as broken down as you want, or just use it. What's left in the container is the "yeast" for the new batch. Keep her going.

I forgot to say...I did use the lid on the old fridge, but because it wasn't attatched, I was able to set it askew a tad to allow for air circulation, and to keep critters out. It prevented an over abundance of water from entering in the event of rain, and it retained moisture which is crucial in semi arid regions. I also made holes in the plastic liner inside the fridge for drainage.

Agricultural experts (Extension offices for example) will tell you that you can't make compost in semi arrid desert because it's too dry...well, you most certainly can. You just use a more closed container and do what it takes to maintain air and moisture. No biggie.

Worm composting is an excellent means of composting, but you don't use just any old worm for that. There are composting worms (red worms, red wigglers, compost worms..same things, different names). These worms can and do survive in cold weather as long as they don't freeze, and they will survive hot weather as long as they are kept shaded and insulated (fridge composting method works excellent for vermiposting too). No fridge? Hunt down some specialized vermiposting containers on line. Use bales of hay/straw to surround whatever structure you decide to use for raising them in. Basements work, buckets under the sink or in the closet works, under a tree and in the bushes works....ingenuity works. Just keep them out of the sun and keep them moist.

It takes longer to compost with worms than to heat compost, but the product you get is different also. It's an excellent product.

I've not had an opportunity to compost in moist climates yet so I defer to those who have done it.

[Animal Lover]

Our DD has several Horse/chicken/goat piles. She keeps track of their time frame and will only allow her very best friends to have her black gold pile :-) She has a wonderful garden and it is wonderful to see our children go the way we taught them. We had a big farm for New England Standards with sheep and pleasure animals. Big, big garden done by hands of love. I so enjoy reading all your comments everyone. Makes my heart sing. AL

[Boogaloo]

I am totally sold on composting and have been doing it for about 4 years now. I am no expert, but here is the little I have learned. Add as little seeds as possible from the vegetable matter that you add to your compost. If not tomato seeds will come up like weeds, those and watermelon and squash, etc. Its a real pain.

I collect all of my leaves and make a separate pile for an entire year before adding to compost. That and grass clippings if you like.

I also get buckets of manure from a nearby friend.

I add the three together and get absolutely wonderful compost that is so fruitful that I will never go back. Given enough time, I am transforming all of my land and it is well worth it (my land is naturally really crappy).

Good luck
Boo

[Ms. American]

Just a little incidental on the worm composting. Compost worms tend to like a cooler environment, so if you use tubs...KEEP THEM SHADED! They will move out in a hurry, and I do mean over night. They want cool, and damp.

Secondly, if you heat the compost with the worms in it...they will cook. So, be very careful if you add animal manure with red wigglers. A couple of horse apples are fine. They will add life to the soil (microbes). But, if you plan to mix well, with the intent of creating a hot pile, like if you add half apples and the rest browns (dried organics), you will cook your worms.

So, if you 'vermipost' (make compost with worms), keep your bucket shaded, and cool. If you intend to make a hot pile, keep it separate from your worm buckets until it cools off. Then you can if you want to, toss the unfinished stuff to the worms and let them finish it up. But save some working compost to act as seed for the new batch. You want to keep those microbes alive and healthy to stimulate the new batch to break down quick.

Here's a good link about redworms. They have some nifty bins there, too. (ps, I'm not affiliated in anyway...)
http://www.happydranch.com/?gclid=CMCxnM_hjJsCFQ9JagodNSMzqQ