Composting...

[lnm03]

I have been reading a lot of your posts on composting and now I am very interested in starting my own.

I did a search but couldnt find a how to start a compost pile so I hope I am not asking something someone else has already........

I have lots of chicken poop, coffee grounds, potato peels (we go through 50 lbs of potatoes in a month or so) can someone tell me how to start a compost?

Do I have to put it in a container or do I just start a pile in the back corner of our yard?

I have a large pile of chicken poop and pine shavings that have been there for about 2.5 months or so will that compost on its own or do I need to add more things to it?

Do you have any good websites to help me get started?

Think of it as a compost for dummies ... lol

 

[vfem]

My neighbor simply did what my grandparents used to do. He built a 3 sided wall that he seperated into 3 containment areas. Then you just dump all your organic left over matter into one.... as it breaks down to the 2nd stage (not ready to use but smelly and icky) he moves it over to the second wall area and starts a fresh new pile in the first area. Area 3 is for the completely broken down stuff he'd like to use as he needs it.

I have a 2 sided container with a cover... its new so I don't know quite how well it will work. I did add some more worms to it yesterday. Worms are definitely something you should add!!!!

Oh, as for the coffee grounds, I've started adding those directly to my garden soil as is! I've heard such wonderful stuff about it.... including fresh grounds help keep away certain bugs!!!!

 

[gettinaclue]

We built a compost bin out of shipping pallets this past fall. 4 for the sides (one is of course the door) and a sheet of plywood on top.

The plywood was cut in half and attached with a couple of old hinges we had in the shed so I could easily add to the top. We did secure the lid with a nail we can turn so the critters couldn't get in. We also wrapped it in chicken wire for the same reason.(Had problems with that)

DH will be building me another this year and then another next year so we can rotate them like vfem's neighbor does. I am getting ready to turn it in about a month (the only time I will turn it) so it should be ready for next years use.

It's not pretty but we live in the country off the road and it's back in the woods.

I use an old gallon icecream bucket with lid to put all my scraps in and make one visit a day to dump and then wash the bucket.

I do put all my egg shells in an old ham can, wait for them to dry and then cruch them since they take such a long time to breakdown. I've never had a smell problem from it.

I've heard some people simply keep it in a big pile with no container, but would think there would be problems with it washing away.

Incidentally, after you have you goodies in it, greens and browns to start, pour a beer on top to help start it off well.

Happy composting!

 

[inchworm]

for the last 10 years, I have kept my compost in one large pile. I turn it over when I feel like it. I add chicken poo, leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen vegetable scraps. Actually, the chickens turn it over these days and I rake it back up When I want some, I just dig into the middle until I find what I'm looking for. It's low tech and works fine enough for me.

I love composting - it's so much fun, and I've never had an odor.

Inchworm

 

[momofdrew]

You can do any of the above I started out with just a pile of grass clippings and peelings from the kitchen NO meat or grease as that brings in the pests mice rats racoons skunks etc

Add the waste like making a lasagna, old leaves, kitchen waste, grass clippings, manure if you can get it[I have chickens]...then everything from the garden...soil from flower pots...
dont try to compost diseased plants...
I usually start a new pile by putting a few shrub branches on the bottom to start then just keep layering like lasagna...and water it... Green grass clippings and old pea and bean vines have lots of nitrogin in them which is good to start the decomposing process... there is probably a break down of how to build one that heats up but in 35+ years of composting I have had maybe 3 years of a hot compost...not in a row either...but I get great soil from my piles it just takes a little longer so I have more than one pile going at a time
hope that helps

I just found this on a permculture site edited to add

GUIDELINES FOR CITY COMPOSTING
DO
Mix materials. Use green and brown layers.

DO
Cover each layer of green material (food scraps & fresh grass or leaves) with dryer, brown material: dry leaves, shredded newspaper, cardboard, straw, sawdust, some soil . . . or lift top layer of compost to insert new material under old. This will minimize fly problems. Never "dump and run".

DO
Feed the worms. If you don't have any, get a handful from a friend. Use chemically free ingredients to allow the mix to be as microbe rich as possible.

DO
Stay aware of insect activity. Swarms of insects are a clue to imbalance in the box. A layer of brown material usually helps.

DO
Avoid fats and meat to prevent rodent invasion. Prevent bacterial and parasitic contamination by excluding the manure of meat eaters. Never use dog or cat feces.

DO
Chop everything to speed decomposition. Scratch or puncture what you can't chop. Turn the pile occasionally or at least poke it with a pitchfork to add air.

DO
Avoid contaminating the pile with infected soil (from nursery plants) or squash/tomato virus casualties. Throw away especially stubborn weeds and avoid all chemicals, treated floral arrangements, etc.

DO
Embrace diversity. While some pine needles are good, all pine needles would be too acid. Mix it up.

DO
Use horse, steer, rabbit or chicken manure to heat up the pile. The hotter the pile the more weed seeds and disease spores will die and the faster you will get finished compost.

DO
Keep the pile as moist as a squeezed out sponge. Use a cover on your pile or box to keep in nutrients as well as prevent swampy conditions.

home

 

[patandchickens]

I have lots of chicken poop, coffee grounds, potato peels (we go through 50 lbs of potatoes in a month or so) can someone tell me how to start a compost?

The great thing about composting is that it is more or less the natural fate of organic materials, so it is not like you have to make it happen, it's jsut that you can influence how rapidly it happens (like, by next month or not in your lifetime )

Do I have to put it in a container or do I just start a pile in the back corner of our yard?

Some sort of containment -- personally I like wired-together pallets or just a simple circle of chickenwire - helps keep it more piled-up, which speeds composting a bit and makes it easier to turn the pile (if you ever turn it) and makes less of a mess everywhere. However most of my composting is done by just dumping things in a pile, since I have enough materials to make biggish piles and enough space I can place 'em where I don't have to look at them So either way is ok.

I have a large pile of chicken poop and pine shavings that have been there for about 2.5 months or so will that compost on its own or do I need to add more things to it?

It will compost on its own; however it may not compost as quickly or well as you would like. Most people clean out their coops when there is really not all THAT much poo in with the bedding, resulting in a compost pile that is heavy in carbon but short (proportionately) on nitrogen. This does not make for efficient composting. If it is possible to add more pure chicken-poo (like from a droppings board scraped every morning) or other nitrogenous material (like pure manure from other livestock, no bedding mixed in, or grass clippings if you don't have a mulching mower, or even just some high-N commercial fertilizer) and mix it in well, that will speed things up. Also, you may have to water the pile as piles of used bedding often remain very dry inside. Dry doesn't compost at any appreciable rate so you want to pry the pile open with a shovel and see what it's like in there and add water if necessary to make it damp (not soggy).

Also, composting works much better/faster in BIG piles, at least 3 ft x 3 ft x 3ft, than in smaller or flat piles.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[setter4]

for the last 10 years, I have kept my compost in one large pile. I turn it over when I feel like it. I add chicken poo, leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen vegetable scraps. Actually, the chickens turn it over these days and I rake it back up When I want some, I just dig into the middle until I find what I'm looking for. It's low tech and works fine enough for me.

I love composting - it's so much fun, and I've never had an odor.

Inchworm

I do mine in one big pile also.

 

[vfem]

I had noticed that my compost didn't have an odor either. :/

When I turned it after it had been awhile there was a poo smell. It faded off though. The middle of my pile looked pretty good.

I didn't think of adding newspaper until I read this though... so I will definitely starting adding my sunday paper as its the only one I even get.

Thanks for the awesome advice.

 

[muddler6]

Reading between the lines here, you say you have lots of chicken poop, I would guess that means you have chickens. If that is true, make sure that the chickens don't get into all of those raw potato peels, it can be toxic to them. Something else you can do to speed up the microbial activity is to dig up some dirt from the woods, under the leaf litter or get some finished or working compost from some friends or family to add to what you have. Eventually it will get going on its own, but it does help.

 

[lnm03]

Thanks for all the great advice!!!

I am going to start working on this this weekend.