I'm thinking about starting a compost bin but I have no idea where to start! I would love if any of you guys could give me some tips! Things like the best container it will have to be something enclosed because I have 2 curious little girls 2 cats and a dog! Also what do I put in there? Can I put all my kitchen scraps in there? Or can it only be certain scraps? Any answers or helpful links would be awesome!!
thinking about compost
- Thread starter zolu1112
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2012
- Messages
- 453
- Reaction score
- 159
If you have curious pets and there's also a chance of rodents visiting, I would suggest an enclosed type tumbler of some type.
Grass clippings are a great way to get the compost heap hot of any type. Use it sparingly and mix it in well in layers.
I've always used an open type compost system layering locally sourced horse manure weeds straw and clippings. Along with it came night time visitors.
A cautionary warning is not to put any diseased or suspect food wastes or other plant material in compost as this is a sure way to introduce or spread disease through your garden.
Grass clippings are a great way to get the compost heap hot of any type. Use it sparingly and mix it in well in layers.
I've always used an open type compost system layering locally sourced horse manure weeds straw and clippings. Along with it came night time visitors.
A cautionary warning is not to put any diseased or suspect food wastes or other plant material in compost as this is a sure way to introduce or spread disease through your garden.
don't expect instant results ....
I have 4 compost bins (Dalek type) .... my 1st bin is nearly ready now, but it has taken 14 months (and I have added the correct amounts of nitrogen and carbon components, and I have kept the contents damp, and turned once a week)
I can however say that all 4 bins are teeming with earthworms .... so much that I now just add some titbits for them from time to time (things like banana peels and fruit which I just place ontop of the pile)
I have 4 compost bins (Dalek type) .... my 1st bin is nearly ready now, but it has taken 14 months (and I have added the correct amounts of nitrogen and carbon components, and I have kept the contents damp, and turned once a week)
I can however say that all 4 bins are teeming with earthworms .... so much that I now just add some titbits for them from time to time (things like banana peels and fruit which I just place ontop of the pile)
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2015
- Messages
- 33
- Reaction score
- 26
- Location
- West Muddylands, in Utopia
- Hardiness Zone
- 4b
- Country
I always worked on the rule of thumb:
No cooked food waste whatsoever.
Vegetable waste only:
Includes paper, natural textiles and wood shavings. (This group takes a long time to break down.)
Spent tea leaves and tea bags. Vegetable/fruit parings and peel, Egg shells. The small worms seem to love congregating in half-egg shells, so if you are also a fisherman, don't break your eggshells into fragments!
I hope that helps.
John
No cooked food waste whatsoever.
Vegetable waste only:
Includes paper, natural textiles and wood shavings. (This group takes a long time to break down.)
Spent tea leaves and tea bags. Vegetable/fruit parings and peel, Egg shells. The small worms seem to love congregating in half-egg shells, so if you are also a fisherman, don't break your eggshells into fragments!
I hope that helps.
John
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2015
- Messages
- 1,031
- Reaction score
- 301
- Hardiness Zone
- 13b
- Country
We have a compost bin by the side of the house. The small planter box there has a lemon, pepper, lemon grass, pandan and some herbs. A portion is a hole, just a hole where we throw leftover vegetables and fruits - excess cabbage leaves, corn husks and cover, banana peel, watermelon rind, etc. Those leftover will become fertilzer in the form of compost.
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2015
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
I have experimented with compost quite a few times in my lifetime. My only question is are fruits and veggies that have mold on them, able to go into the compost pile? I have heard that watering it daily is a great idea and mixing it up with a shovel so it all gets exposure to the air and the sunshine is supposed to be really good for the compost. I love throwing egg shells into the compost because they are so good for the soil as well as coffee grounds. I have heard coffee grounds can be good or bad. Anyone have the final word on that? Compost is so good if you do it right. It really helps your plants grow and has lots of nutrients in the soil.
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2015
- Messages
- 100
- Reaction score
- 20
- Location
- Sacramento, Ca
- Hardiness Zone
- 9b
- Country
Your method seems like a really easy way to go about starting compost!
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2015
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 17
- Location
- San Pedro Sula
- Hardiness Zone
- 11b
- Country
Personally, I use black soldier flies for composting. I live in Honduras where the weather is too warm for worms, but the black soldier flies abound. I have an old 10 gallon water cooler/dispenser that they're in. I just toss food scraps in and let them go to town. In the first hatch, there were a ton of houseflies along with them, but after that, I had higher concentrations of the black soldier flies and haven't hardly seen a housefly since. The black soldier fly adults don't have mouths and don't touch rotten food so they're cleaner than houseflies and they're not annoying. They're actually really chill and will let you touch them if they're on the window screen. Plus, they eat more than the houseflies so they will help reduce the number of houseflies by eating all their food. I've so far only used the liquid from them for compost tea, but will soon be trying to get the composted dirt from them as well.