New to Composting and tips would help please

[SouthernFarmer1984]

With the new season coming up, I'm starting up gardening again in my old section. I stopped about 4 years ago and I'm finding myself trying new methods now. And with all the leafs from Fall/Winter I thought " Why not compost them? " I saw a video on Farmer's Almanac that said you want 2 parts brown to 1 part green, So I figure the brown would be all the dead leafs from the season before and the dead grass & weeds from tilling the ground.

And then I toss Produce,Coffee Grounds and Tea Bags on it for the green part until I can start mowing the grass. And I took this picture today of what it looks like so far. I think it's just over 1 FT tall and the video said that you want it to be between 2 & 3 FT tall.

And my mother has this old book from back in the 80's FRESH FOOD' DIRT CHEAP all year long! it was published by the editors of the Organic Gardening magazine which is now Rodales Organic Life and they talk about how they were able to have compost in just 3 weeks time. They said they let it heat up for 2-3 days and then turn it. So I have been following what they do and a bit from the Almanac video.

I try and mix it on the 3rd day because I want it to cook as long as possible and the way I do it is by just dropping the greens on top of the pile and then I hose down the green and the brown part for maybe 5-6 mins? I want to make sure it has enough moisture to rot you know? And then with my compost pitchfork I turn it over bringing the bottom wet part to the pot and put the fresh greens and moisture on the bottom.

And I know it's going to be slow to compost because I'm in Florida and it's not quite hot enough to start cooking the pile so I figure If I keep going with it then maybe I will have compost by April? Doe's anyone have tips or comments if I'm doing something wrong or not enough of?

 

[thistlebloom]

Welcome to the forum SouthernFarmer! I think you're doing a fine job on your compost, you seem to be well read up on it.

My composting is pretty shamefully low energy, (throw in chicken pen, dig out in the fall) so I don't have any great tips for you. But the one thing compost does no matter your method is compost. Then it's just a matter of how long it takes.

 

[majorcatfish]

maybe use some black plastic/ tarp to hold in the heat....

 

[henless]

Try raking it up in a pile instead of leaving it flat. It will heat up better with it piled up. When it's time to turn it, just rake it all flat, water it if needed, then rake it back in a pile. I find it easier to turn a pile this way.

I'm like thistlebloom, I just throw it all in the chicken run and let the girls do it for me.

 

[SouthernFarmer1984]

Try raking it up in a pile instead of leaving it flat. It will heat up better with it piled up. When it's time to turn it, just rake it all flat, water it if needed, then rake it back in a pile. I find it easier to turn a pile this way.

I'm like thistlebloom, I just throw it all in the chicken run and let the girls do it for me.

I use to have chickens but a pack of dogs and foxes took out my flock sadly and that was the last straw out here so my mother and I called it quits on raising chickens because so many people out here let their dogs run wild.

 

[canesisters]

Several years ago I tried to start a compost area in November. It just laid there..
@marshallsmyth recommended that I make 2 changes. 1. pile it up as tall as possible 2. add a pile of manure to the base under all the rest of the compost pile.
I got a big tote full of fresh bunny poo, carefully piled up all my compost over top of it, and added a bucket of 'compost tea' to the top. Then wrapped the whole thing in a tarp and waited.
Within a week (I think) there was steam coming off the top. It needed heat and something for the little compost critters to eat.

 

[Nyboy]

I am a lazy gardener I leave the leafs where they fall. They have all winter to break down. Any that haven't do the fist mowing of the lawn. I have also been know to call weeds wildflowers.

 

[catjac1975]

With the new season coming up, I'm starting up gardening again in my old section. I stopped about 4 years ago and I'm finding myself trying new methods now. And with all the leafs from Fall/Winter I thought " Why not compost them? " I saw a video on Farmer's Almanac that said you want 2 parts brown to 1 part green, So I figure the brown would be all the dead leafs from the season before and the dead grass & weeds from tilling the ground.

And then I toss Produce,Coffee Grounds and Tea Bags on it for the green part until I can start mowing the grass. And I took this picture today of what it looks like so far. I think it's just over 1 FT tall and the video said that you want it to be between 2 & 3 FT tall.

And my mother has this old book from back in the 80's FRESH FOOD' DIRT CHEAP all year long! it was published by the editors of the Organic Gardening magazine which is now Rodales Organic Life and they talk about how they were able to have compost in just 3 weeks time. They said they let it heat up for 2-3 days and then turn it. So I have been following what they do and a bit from the Almanac video.

I try and mix it on the 3rd day because I want it to cook as long as possible and the way I do it is by just dropping the greens on top of the pile and then I hose down the green and the brown part for maybe 5-6 mins? I want to make sure it has enough moisture to rot you know? And then with my compost pitchfork I turn it over bringing the bottom wet part to the pot and put the fresh greens and moisture on the bottom.

And I know it's going to be slow to compost because I'm in Florida and it's not quite hot enough to start cooking the pile so I figure If I keep going with it then maybe I will have compost by April? Doe's anyone have tips or comments if I'm doing something wrong or not enough of?

We have 2 compost tumblers that we make a load a year inside of. They are supposed to make compost in 6 weeks but I do not have the time to work that hard had it. So we get a bit of compost to put in the holes of heavy feeders like broccoli and such. However we have horse and chicken manure from our animals. We put it on the garden all winter and may husband tills it in in early spring. The chicken goes where we plant the corn.. You are supposed to age chicken manure but, tilling it in in this manor has always worked for us.

 

[ducks4you]

I have loads and loads of compost bc I keep 3 horses and 12 (at the moment) chickens, and I pile up their soiled bedding and soiled runs in various places on my 5 acre property.
First, composting takes time.
The easiest product to compost IS leaves bc by themselves, if they stay wet, like in the winter, they will become dirt in 6 months. I have seen this happen on my sidewalk. Worms love leaves and Darwin discovered that they build topsoil in this way.
You need to understand the combination of greens and browns that you should make an effort to mix for your compost.
https://www.thespruce.com/composting-greens-and-browns-2539485
Do NOT put these in your compost and Why:

• Dog and Cat Poop. .Meat eaters can pass on harmful bacteria and transfer parasites
  
• Tea and Coffee Bags. ...Coffee GROUNDS compost well, but I burn the rest
• Citrus Peels and Onions. ...Burn instead
  
• Fish and Meat Scraps. ...Again, harmful bacteria and transfer parasites
  
• Glossy or Coated Paper. ... Burn instead
• Sticky Labels on Fruits and Vegetables. ...Don't worry if you forget to remove them, no real harm, and since we often use plastic in our gardens, they would just be a little bit more of the same.
• Coal Fire Ash. ..."it may contain dangerous trace elements that may get into food" https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2009/mar/11/coal-ash Ashes from wood or weeds are helpful for growing certain vegetables, like beets, so don't be afraid of them.
  
• Sawdust From Treated Wood. It's the chemicals from the treated wood that you don't want in your food. Again, ashes from wood and sawdust and ALWAYS pine bedding products and straw make great additions to your compost pile.

Compost takes time to cook. Many people keep adding to the same pile year after year after year after year. The microbes and worms the multiply in your compost pile just keep giving back. Unless you plant on top of it or the rains leach the nutrients out of it, the more you make the better your soil.
You can speed up the process...a LITTLE...by mixing your piles. I have been seriously gardening for about 15 years and I never have time for this.
I will recommend that you find a source for your manure, unless you already keep rabbits or chickens. Call local stables and see who would be willing to let you shovel from their manure piles. The only seeds might be pasture seeds, but I doubt it. Most stables have no pastures and many horse owners feed extruded sweet feed and processed hay. Every horse produces 40 pounds of manure/day and stables have to remove this. Also, boarders usually show and they feed sweet feed from 50 pound plastic bags, which they deposit in the trash cans. You can bring your own shovel and a roll of duct tape and use the heavy duty plastic bags, which stables ALSO have to throw away. I fill each of mine about 3/4 full and duct tape it closed. It will not break open in your trunk like the cow manure that you BUY. Take the bags home and empty same day in a pile. Mix THAT with paper, cardboard and other browns and you will be able to use it in about 4 months STRAIGHT in your garden.
Hope this helps.

 

[Just-Moxie]

The only thing I pretty much do different is throw in the tea bags. When I did use coffee filters, I would let the used ones dry, then use them in the bottom of planters and pots to keep the soil and roots inside the pots. Plus, eventially, those break down too.