Compost Barrels

[Dilly Girl]

Hi,

When using a rotating compost barrel, what is the best way to get it going. Do I just start dumping coffee grounds and lawn clippings in? Is there any method of starting one off on the right turn so to speak.

Dilly Girl

 

[S0rcy]

Nitrogen is what causes your compost to heat up. You will want more carbon (brown stuff) than nitrogen (green stuff) About 25:1. It will take some experimentation to find out a good "recipe" for the materials you use.

This guide contains a table of what has N and what has C, then you can make the decision on how much of what item to put into the barrel and how much moisture to add.

http://www.compostguide.com/

 

[whatnow?]

Some people seem to be able to stockpile materials prior to building a pile. I use kitchen scraps, so that it NOT an option. I keep pile high in carbon and add my nasty kitchen waste to it, covering the stinkys up as I go. Then, when the growing season starts, I tear the pile apart and rebuild it. By this point, the kitchen stuff is partially digested and doesn't seem to add much.

In the hottest pile I have ever built (skin burn hot,) sod was the king ingredient. I peeled back some sod for a new garden bed and tossed it into the middple of the pile, and BOOM my luke warm pile went off like a rocket... I suspect that the pile needed to be inoculated with beneficials.