Composte Pile

pixiegirl

pixiegirl

Cleopatra Jones
Anyone have one? Easy to make and maintain? I'd say easily our food trash constitutes about 1/3 to 1/2 of our total trash. We LOVE to do things outside in the yard/garden so I'm thinking this is probably a very good thing for us to consider. I'm just looking for general input and anything anyone can tell me.
 
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jen8753

jen8753

I have garlic breath.
pixiegirl said:
Anyone have one? Easy to make and maintain? I'd say easily our food trash constitutes about 1/3 to 1/2 of our total trash. We LOVE to do things outside in the yard/garden so I'm thinking this is probably a very good thing for us to consider. I'm just looking for general input and anything anyone can tell me.
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I had one last season, and I loved it! Between that and regular recycling, you will really be surprised how much less trash you will be taking out to the curb. There are a lot of really great websites you can turn to for info. Good luck!

Here's one I used... Composting - a guide for making compost at home
 
nomoney

nomoney

....
pixiegirl said:
Anyone have one? Easy to make and maintain? I'd say easily our food trash constitutes about 1/3 to 1/2 of our total trash. We LOVE to do things outside in the yard/garden so I'm thinking this is probably a very good thing for us to consider. I'm just looking for general input and anything anyone can tell me.
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Go for it! It's been ages since I've had one. Get a bin to keep the rascles out. Coffee grounds and egg shells are great nutrients for the soil. :yay:
 
Bonehead

Bonehead

Well-Known Member
Never

Try to recycle anything meat based, grease, oil etc. Only veggies, egg shells, coffee grounds etc. Some also add grass clippings and leaves in small amounts.
 
cattitude

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
pixiegirl said:
Anyone have one? Easy to make and maintain? I'd say easily our food trash constitutes about 1/3 to 1/2 of our total trash. We LOVE to do things outside in the yard/garden so I'm thinking this is probably a very good thing for us to consider. I'm just looking for general input and anything anyone can tell me.
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Are you still at the CRE house? You will have EVERY wild creature within 5 miles in your yard.
 
lovinmaryland

lovinmaryland

Well-Known Member
cattitude said:
Are you still at the CRE house? You will have EVERY wild creature within 5 miles in your yard.
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:lol:

My Aunt and Uncle have one (they are in the Dentsiville area) and have quite a few houses in their neighborhood and I have never heard them complain about a lot of creatures getting into it... but they may just be leaving that part out when they rave about their compost pile :lol:
 
Nanny Pam

Nanny Pam

************
Do it, Pixie! :yay:

When we were kids, my Dad built a really big one, because we had garden, too. He used thick plywood and built a door on the bottom with a big hinge.
We used it on the garden. Just opened the hinge door and get it from the bottom. We had the BEST tomatoes, and green peppers.

Plus, when Dad took me bass fishing, the best worms were also in there :yay:
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
pixiegirl said:
Anyone have one? Easy to make and maintain?
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Yes and yes.

Collect your compost goods daily and throw them in the pile. Every so often toss some fill dirt on top of the whole mess and water well. This helps break everything down. No meats/fats/oils/cheese.

When my annuals were done last fall, I dumped them in the compost pile. Damned if they didn't come back :lol:
 
Pete

Pete

Repete
I have a big one. Leaves and food trash. The critters don't mess with it. The bypass the compost pile to tear open trash bags I leave on my deck if I forget to put them in the can.

I put everything in mine. Meat, veggies, cat litter, and anything else that is not plastic, metal or paper.
 
BeenSpur'd

BeenSpur'd

I love her wild,wild hair
I've had one for the last 25 years. I keep adding to it and using it as I need. I don't put food into it, I feed all that to the pig. I use manure, sawdust, grass, leaves, stuff pulled up from the garden, ect. I use the bucket on my tractor to keep it turned. Didn't have a bucket for a long time so didn't do much too it and it still made the most blackest, most excellent compost full of worms that a person could ever want. I have three piles now.
 
J

JoeMac

New Member
I have one in my back yard and I live in a townhouse. I don't have any issues with wild animals.

I have heard that any meats you should bury to keep animals away and the stink down. Meats are supposed to add nitrogen to the soil.

You want to use a ratio of 2 parts brown(leaves, dead plants, straw, pine needles) to 1 part of green(grass clippings, veggie scraps). Keep the pile moist and well turned to keep air to all portions.

Cat litter is NOT a good thing to put on, too many chemicals in the litter. Also saw dust needs to be untreated and no paint or stain on the wood.

If you growing a garden you should consider a green fertilizer, which is a cover crop on a certain portion of the garden over the winter months then you just till it into the soil.
 
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huntr1

huntr1

.
pixiegirl said:
Anyone have one? Easy to make and maintain? I'd say easily our food trash constitutes about 1/3 to 1/2 of our total trash. We LOVE to do things outside in the yard/garden so I'm thinking this is probably a very good thing for us to consider. I'm just looking for general input and anything anyone can tell me.
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Thanks for the reminder.
I have 3 compost bins around the backyard. Need to check on their status and see if I can empty them out yet.
Got them a couple years ago when Charles Co. had a truckload sale at the WalMart in LaPlata. I think I paid $20.00 a bin. This is the one I have

Check with the Solid Waste Dept. in all 3 counties and see if any are doing a sale this year. St. Mary's said last year that they were possibly going to do one this year.

No issues with animals in the one we throw food scraps into now that the dirt is above the bottom of the bin. One is right by the house, the other 2 are fourther out in the backyard (roughly 1 at the back, 1 in the middle and 1 at the front). The 2 further out ones are just for leaves and grass. I never turn the material, so it takes longer to breakdown. I do add grass clippings once or twice a year.
 

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huntr1

huntr1

.
BTW, with it being earth day, most greenie websites are having sales. If I read it right, compost bins are 40% off today on the site I linked to above.

Easiest compost bin is a round cylinder of chickenwire about 3' tall and 3' across. Put 4 stakes in the ground and then wrap the chickenwire around it. Instant compost bin for yard scraps. When it's ready to be used you just remove the chickenwire.
 
O

ohsnoes

Guest
pixiegirl said:
Anyone have one? Easy to make and maintain? I'd say easily our food trash constitutes about 1/3 to 1/2 of our total trash. We LOVE to do things outside in the yard/garden so I'm thinking this is probably a very good thing for us to consider. I'm just looking for general input and anything anyone can tell me.
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Turn your compost pile with a spading fork (like a pitchfork) or a shovel. Add some rabbit poo (that you can take from the community garden bins by the ballfields on Catalina) to make it "heat up". I live in the Ranchy Club and don't have any issues with critters. My dogs try to get into it more than any wild animals. I add my mulched up leaves in the fall, too. When you turn the pile and see thousands of worms, you'll know you're doing it right. Best stuff in the world to grow any kind of plants and it's free.

Also, the CRE garden club meets the 2nd Monday of the month in the lower level of the admin building at 7pm. You can stop by and get lots of good information. It's for home gardeners as well as the people who work the community gardens.
 
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