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| Hi everyone. I just built a make shift compost pile/bin today, with nothing more than some galvanized pipe pounded into the ground, and chicken wire fencing I had. Anyways, my intent is to make compost to till into my veggie garden, which I built last weekend, with intentions to start next spring. Anyway, I intend to mulch up my leaves in fall and add them to the pile. I also intend to toss all of my perennials that get chopped down in fall into the pile. Those will be the two main ingredients, but I have some questions on tossing other things in throughout the rest of the year. For example, I pull weeds throughout the summer, so would it be ok to drop them into the pile, so long as there are NO seeds and NO roots and/or root pieces?? I also am constantly pulling up raspberry brambles from the areas that I don't want them, so would I beable to compost them as well, so long as no roots go in? I'd like to build up as much compost as I can, so I hate to not utilize everything I can. Thanks!
Joe |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by lisanti07028 z6NJ (My Page) on Sun, Jul 10, 11 at 18:56
| I put almost all my weeds in the compost, roots and all; I can pull the undigested roots out when the compost is done. The only things I try to keep out of the compost are things that I know will sprout again, like pokeweed, ivy, and most grasses. Don't forget your kitchen waste, too: I compost coffee grounds, apple cores, any kind of fruit or vegetable skin, peaches that have gone mushy, all that kind of thing, Also, when I'm doing laundry (all too often), I throw the dryer lint into the compost. |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Sun, Jul 10, 11 at 19:06
| Hi Joe, It all depends on how much of an active pile you want to have. Everything you said applies to a cold pile (just pile it up and it will eventually turn into compost). If you intend to actively "get after it" , you can do anything. Personally, I hot compost, which means I compost everything.. Meat,Bones,Potatoes,Tomatoes, Weeds with seeds, Blackberries, anything and everything goes into my pile, and I don't have issues with rodents,weeds,etc etc... 
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| We were all new to composting at one time Joe. Welcome to the forum. When I talk with people new to composting I also recommend they do not compost plants with seeds, meats, dairy etc. Not so much because one can't, but mainly because some things might need a little more practice before one makes the attempt. A major problem on the first try can be discouraging to some, so I'd go with keeping it simple and experimenting later once the basics are down. Most compost Good luck, keep us posted. Lloyd P.S. We loves pictures. ;-) |
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| You may want to check this composting tutorial. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Composting Tutorial
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- Posted by tn_gardening (My Page) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 8:37
| Here are a couple things I learned this year. A cold pile can take a long time, so at some point you will need to stop adding things to it and start a 2nd pile (probably not going to be able to dump stuff in a cold pile in January and expect it to compost in time for spring planting). Get some used coffee grounds. I swear that stuff will heat up a pile in no time. My 2 piles are cooking at 150* and I'm constantly throwing stuff in there. |
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| Hey jonhughes, some of us have a little urban lot with a compost pile and a few simple questions, we really don't need to see your huge system with huge photos. |
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- Posted by rosiew 7 GA (rosemarywalsh@bellsouth.net) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 12:50
| jamb, jonhughes is considered by most on this forum to be generous in his contributions/answers to posters, as well as extremely generous to people in his community who get his donations of the vegetables he grows and donated. BTW, this is not his home, but land set aside adjacent to his business. He very well may have a little urban lot. Rosie, Sugar Hill, GA |
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- Posted by tn_gardening (My Page) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 16:06
| posted by: jamb on 07.11.2011 at 10:48 am in Soil Forum Hey jonhughes, some of us have a little urban lot with a compost pile and a few simple questions, we really don't need to see your huge system with huge photos. ========================================= Meow. Wow Were you trying to be catty, or am I simply being too sensitive? I kinda like looking at pictures. Even though jonhughes has several piles, individually they aren't huge and wouldn't be too difficult for almost anybody to replicate. |
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- Posted by lovestogrow (My Page) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 16:15
| I love seeing Jon's pictures. Keep them coming Jon. |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 17:02
| Thank You to all of my protectors ;-) Jamb was being mean, but it's possible he still has "dial-up" internet service,and if you have a slow connection,that would be aggravating if you didn't want to look at pics,but... so many people ask to see my pics and because I haven't had "dial-up" in years,All of my pics are virtually instantaneous....I forget what it was like "back in the day"... I keep hoping that eventually everybody will have access to quicker internet and not have to be bogged down by old school technology... BTW... I have a very small plot, my compost bin is 8'x 16' so it is not terribly big ,I have a small garden 1250 square feet (beds) and my compost bin is only 128 Square feet,there are people on this forum who have Tumblers (Compost bins) bigger than my paltry little bins. So...as you can see, it is not how big things are, it is how they are used.... Now... I am big... ;-) Do heads count ??? ;-) (big head ;-)
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| Kimmsr, the link you provided is a dead one. I am interested in what it is though, so could you please attempt that one again? Also, I just made this thread to get some ideas and stuff, and I do appreciate pictures, no matter what size or type, so I'd like to see this thread stay civil, and not get all hostile because of some pictures. Basically, I would like to see it stay on topic, so I can continue to get good, sound advice from my fellow gardeners (soon to be fellow composters), and not have this turn into an all out brawl for no reason at all, because I really don't want to have to walk away from my own thread. Thanks so far for the advice and info! Joe |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 17:57
| Hi Joe I couldn't fix Kimm's link Here is another one ;-) |
Here is a link that might be useful: Compost R US
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| I have read a lot of information that says to do the "layer" method, but on the contrary, I have also read in many places that needing to layer is a myth, and it's better to just pile it in, and turn it so it's mixed good. So, what's the deal on that? Joe |
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- Posted by tsugajunkie z5 SE WI (My Page) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 19:45
| Joe- One thing you will quickly see is that you'll want two compost bins. At some point you'll stop filling one to let it digest/finish and start up a new one. As for jon's compost pix, I, too, live on an urban lot and they give me inspiration. As for the last pic he posted, that I could do without. lol tj |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 20:43
| Hi Joe, Layering is just short for mixing it all up, for example whenever I throw greens on my pile, I toss some browns on top of them to help utilize the would be escaping gasses.and to give the microbes and macrobes (and whatever little creatures are in the mix) a balanced meal. after a couple of weeks I mix it all up and the previously layered bin is now a fully mixed stew ...of sorts ;-) I made a video of what I am referring too. (see link below) |
Here is a link that might be useful: Mixing the Compost
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- Posted by lisanti07028 z6NJ (My Page) on Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 20:51
| Joe= There is no one way to compost,or weed, or anything else in gardening. If you want to layer, layer; if you don't want to, don't.If you end up with 20 cubic feet of crabgrass, throw it all in the bin and hope for the best. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. I always MEAN to hot compost, but I end up running out of time, so I maybe turn the whole shebang over once during the season and again in the spring; know what? It all gets composted anyway. I am fine with digging some partially composted stuff into the soil in the spring, and the plants don't seem to mind. I try to keep shredded newspaper around to throw in to balance all the greens, and sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't, and it turns out ok. I will warn you that peach pits never, ever break down, and those little sticky labels on fruit stay fresh as a daisy, no matter how long they've been in the pile. Go figure. |
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| That link may be part of the budget problems Florida is having, otherwise I'm not sure what happened. This link is okay. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Composting
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Layering is one technique to try to get the proportion of Carbon to nitrogen close to the 30:1. Mixing allows for faster bacterial consumption given all the other parameters are met. Lloyd |
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| 30:1?? Please explain that one, because I was under the idea that I needed a 50/50 mix of carbon (browns) to nitrogen (greens). Thank you! Joe |
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| I should have used the word "ratio" instead of "proportion", I can see where it was confusing. 30:1 ratio of C:N is considered to be the optimum for the bacteria that digest the materials. (This ratio is also the dividing line between what we consider greens and browns.) Desirable range can be 25-40:1 but even outside of these desirable ranges materials will compost. Not all similar feedstocks have the same ratio so some basic understanding of just how strong things are within their categories is good. Give this Cornell fact sheet a read, it's pretty basic and might help. Lloyd |
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| My company provides garden plots for employees. Next to all the plots is an area for compost material. Most gardeners toss dead plants and weeds into the compost pile. The pile also contains leaves. The pile is about 10' long, 3' deep, and 3' high and gets full sun. The compost pile is not really touched other than the addition of more material. I would like to speed up the decomposition process of this pile. Based on what I've been reading, sounds like I should try to mix the materials up a bit and add water to it along with coffee grounds. What else can I do to the compost pile or add to the compost pile to speed things up? |
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- Posted by lisanti07028 z6NJ (My Page) on Wed, Jul 13, 11 at 17:51
| Turn it all over and mix it up. Add water if it's dry. The middle part of it is almost certainly done cooking, and the outside part needs to be in the middle. I bet that after you turn it all upside down, it will shrink in half in a day or so. |
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- Posted by patchworkfarm 6 CT (My Page) on Thu, Jul 14, 11 at 17:14
| Jon Hughes is my hero! All that is missing from that last photo is a CAPE! |
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- Posted by plays_in_dirt_dirt Z7A VA bordering NC (My Page) on Thu, Jul 14, 11 at 19:09
| jamb, Jon Hughes is one of the most valuable and informative members of this forum. He generously contributes much good information and I personally welcome his photos. It gives me something to aspire to with my own limited efforts. Most of what he grows is donated to organizations in his community that feed the hungry and misfortunate. Read some of the recent threads and you will learn how many tons of produce he donates yearly. You made a lot of assumptions in your critical post. Assumptions are best avoided. |
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