Visiting from BYC with compost ?...

[KristaBeth]

Hi all!

We just bought a compost bin so we have somewhere to put all our pine shavings/chick poop/egg shells/kitchen scraps. We've been wanting one for a long time so we're very excited (weird, huh? )

Anyway, it's time to clean out the brooder for the first time. Can I start the compost with the pine shavings/poop and then put the kitchen scraps we've been saving? Should I put something else in the bottom? What about the "compost starter" you can get at Home Depot - is that worth buying?

Also, can you put potting soil in the bin?

Thanks in advance from a newbie!

Krista

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm no expert but I'll share my opinion.

You can get as complicated and scientific as you want or you can keep it simple. You do need a mixture of carbon (like pine shavings) and nitrogen (like chicken poop and kitchen scraps. Green grass clippings also add nitrogen). If you get the mixture perfect, it will cook fast. If you don't get it perfect, it will just take longer. I'm not going to try to tell you what is perfect because I can never get it right for myself. The mixture needs to be damp but not soaking wet.

I imagine the starter from Home Depot is the microbes that break down the material into compost. They llive in your topsoil. For your first batch, I'd suggest throwing in a couple of shovelsful of your top soil to introduce those microbes. For your second batch, throw in a shovelfull or two of the first batch of compost.

I don't know of any real benefits of putting potting soil in there. It won't hurt anything and it may contain some of the microbes you need to start it working.

I can think of one specific poster on this site who will jump all over your post to give you good info when they see your thread title.

Welcome to this side. Glad you made it here.

 

[boggybranch]

Krista

Like Rr said, you can make it as complicated or as simple as you want. Anything, vegetative or poop from non-meat eaters is good compost material. The, usual, "rule of thumb" for building a compost pile is 2 parts carbon (browns, like dried leaves) to 1 part nitrogen (greens, like grass clippings). I start with a "brown" layer.
And as for an activator (compost starter), I use, probably, the best and it's free.....urine. Check this link for basic (good) info.

http://www.composting101.com/

Other than material to build a pile, the other two essential needs are moisture and "air" for the micro herds to do their job.

 

[boggybranch]

But be warned.........composting is like "crack". HIGHLY addictive.......but in a good way. I know that I'm "hooked" on it.

 

[boggybranch]

Yesterday, Rio_Lindo_AZ posted this link on another thread. A SUPER composting link.....

http://www.compostguy.com/