How to start and maintain a compost heap?

[shashabell]

I think a healthy compost pile doesn't stink. Make sure to only add vegetable materials. If you add meat products, it will start to stink.

[BzyBee]

Thanks, we choose a spot that will get morning and early afternoon sun and then shade. We have very few spots that are full sun so we will see how this does.

[sofia's mom]

I've had a number of compost piles in my little suburban backyard. If they stink, there's something wrong. My current one is in an old plastic trash barrel. I punched holes throughout the outside and bottom and I keep layering materials (like a lasagna). First a pile of leaves (I save my neighbors' Fall leaves in trash bags), then kitchen peelings, coffee grounds (no meat, grease), then more leaves or grass clippings. You also have to keep it moist but not too wet. I put the lid on the trashcan and roll it around the ground to keep everything "cooking" evenly. The I dump it in my veggie garden and if not fully "cooked" I cover with more leaves. We had our biggest tomatoes this year and we have tons of earthworms as a result of our homemade compost.

good luck and thanks for doing your part to recycle our resources!
sofia's and daniel's mom in Texas

[shrup]

I would like a tumbler that doesn’t ‘break’ your back as you’re turning the compost and saw one called the Urban Compost Tumbler where you can rock the tumbler back and forth with ease. The cost would be more than I would spend and so I was wondering if anyone knows of a way, or know of a site on making a tumbler similar to this one.

[CDC]

I found a great way to make a FREE compost bin. I find someone that is willing to give away some wooden pallets and get 7 of them. Then stand them on end and make two large "boxes" by screwing 3 of them together (leaving the front open) and 2 more on to that.

You should now have two large areas with no door on either. To make the door take the other two pallets and stand them on end ...don't screw them in but instead tie a rope on to the side of the already standing structure and a stick onto the other end of the rope. The stick can be fed through the slots in the pallets and turned sideways to keep the door in place. This makes it pretty easy to turn from one bin to the next.

Granted you can't get compost in 2 months but if you have two of these going after one season you should have constant compost...One thing that I have found that will help to speed up the process is to add a little cow manure to the mix and make sure you water the pile about once a week in the dryer months.

[zansammommy]

I want to build a compost for next springs garden since I paid way to much for dirt last year.

I been looking online at bins but they are so expensive.

Does anyone know how I can build one on my own?

All suggestions are needed.

Thanks

[Merczilla]

Well, depending on your situation, you don't have to be fancy. Bear in mind I am very rural, have 10 acres and can do as I want, for the most part.

I am perhaps the world's laziest composter. In a corner of the garden is where I throw all scraps, and I mean all. I throw meats and bones and everything in there. Now I have ravens, magpies, other birds, stray cats, squirrels, mice and who knows what other critters get into it. I know some folks don't throw meat or bones in it, but I know all these critters get all the "good" stuff, so i don't worry about it.

I don't "stir" it or anything. It just sits there all year and in the spring it just gets tilled in with the the garden. *shrugs* See? I'm lazy. lol

Now if you just have a small lot in a neighborhood, that may not work for you. What kind of property do you have? I bet if you google making a compost bin you'd get all kinds of hits.

[jodierocks]

I just started my compost pile a couple weeks ago. I keep one of thsoe 4 gallon ice cream buckets with the lid on my kitchen counter. I toss everything I can in there and dump it once it's full. I'm having tons of fun. My husband even commented on how excited I was about composting. My pile is doing great. I have it in the corner of my garden. I found this site very helpful for ideas of things to compost. There are some I never would have thought of!

163 Things You Can Compost

[uummm]

In keeping with New Years resolutions I think I want to see if I can start a compost heap..

I read the link provided the post before this one and it was very informative. I read -163 things you can compost, Compost Happens, and Worlds Fastest Compost.

I am live in NC and it is just cold now and will be for several months. I will do the "pile" composting, because I live in a subdivision and I don't need my neighbors seeing anything structural and get me in trouble and I don't want to spend money on the tumbler. I am worried I won't be able to get it hot enough to perk.

Literally I am starting today. I have a bin by the sink to throw kitchen waste in. Do I just dump it in the spot I want to start when it is full? Grass clippings aren't going to happen now since the grass doesn't grow now...

Husband who had read NOTHING thinks there will just be this huge TRASH Pile that he will see...I asked him what he thought we would compost???

They did get all excited when I told them that urine is a great thing for the compost pile! House with 4 boys...hhhuummm....

[gaijingirl]

Originally Posted by shashabell I think a healthy compost pile doesn't stink. Make sure to only add vegetable materials. If you add meat products, it will start to stink.

A big reason for not adding meats is to not attract pests and critters.

If your compost pile stinks, it is because your nitrogen to carbon ratio is wrong. You most likely have too much nitrogen. You also may need to get it some oxygen by turning or aerating. (It would take me a long time to explain this here....) I would suggest looking it up; visit some gardening stites (there are helpful people around there too!) And go to the library and find a book called, "Let it Rot!" It's super informative.

I personally just started composting in the fall. I started by digging a pit on the side of our lot and filling it up with garden debris. My DH just got me a ComposTumbler for Chirstmas. It's neat. From what I can see/read they are good...but pricey. I wouldn't have bought it for myself, but he is not as cheap as me....Then again, when you get the conditions and ratios right in it, you can get the compost hot enough to cook it and have it done in as littlle as 14 days. Might be worth the investment for a serious gardener or someone who has a lot of waste they want to get rid of fast.

I really suggest looking up what materials qualify as your nitrogen and which as your carbon and try to follow the ratios they say to use. This is the way to get the microrganisms working the best and cook it best to ensure you kill weeds and disease.