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| Gave up on my old compost pile and bought two 80 gallon composters last spring. I've kept them busily 'eating' all summer, and now that I have some really beautiful compost, would like to empty the bins and store the compost covered until read for use. I'm thinking of putting it in large, covered garbage cans with holes drilled in the sides. Would this work or would storing it like this cause some negative reaction. Thanks for your thoughts. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Sun, Aug 14, 11 at 22:02
| I use Garbage Cans (No Holes), works great, ....;-) Big Giant Disclaimer:
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Here is a link that might be useful: Shredded Leaf Mulch VS Compost
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| I always just use it when it's ready. Is there something specific you're saving it for? |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Mon, Aug 15, 11 at 1:00
| Good Point BPGreen, I can only speak for myself, I make more Compost than I can use, so , at first I put it in new trash cans, then I emptied them all onto a big blue tarp and planted (no sense going through a season just sitting in a can ;-)
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| I put mine in garbage cans as well. One of them has holes and the others don't. I just sifted mine yesterday and started filling the cans. My reason for doing so and not using it right away is because I'm not ready to use it yet. Still in the middle of canning season and getting the grand kid ready to go back to school and I just don't have time right now to pull back mulch and work in compost. My veggie garden is still half full and I don't see a reason to break out the tiller until it's done its thing. Usually the end of Sept. or first part of Oct. is when my compost gets used. Val |
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| There is no good reason to store finished compost. Spread it around the garden, around the plants growing now. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Wed, Aug 17, 11 at 12:37
| It does lose some of its biological activity when it gets dried out. It is really at its fertile best when fresh. I've saved some for a few weeks at a time in the spring until I can get all my planting done, but nowadays if a batch gets ready midsummer, I use it as side dressing and mulch. There will always be more compost later. But, if you really want to save it, a can with air holes should be fine. It does need some air, and it's best to avoid letting it be rained on, which would leach out the nutrients. |
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| Sure go ahead & store it in the garbage cans to save for later. Open it up now & then to give it a stir to keep the microbes happy. I think in Barbara Pleasant's book on composting she suggests it. I really like how she explains some of the many ways to compost in the garden. I've stored it by reusing potting soil bags & kept it out of the rain. Usually in early fall before starting a new pile I'll bag up the unused spring compost. In my mild Pacific Northwest climate we can plant nearly year round, so having a little compost ready to use during pleasant breaks from winter wet is helpful. In spring it's nice to have it screened & ready to use when getting a head start on cold season vegetables. Sometimes, my fall piles aren't finished & cured enough to use in early spring. I see no reason why a garbage can couldn't be used for storing finished compost. |
Here is a link that might be useful: The Complete Compost Gardening Guide
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| "I see no reason why a garbage can couldn't be used for storing finished(*) compost." (*) Mature to very mature. Agree 100%, btdt. Lloyd |
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- Posted by belgianpup Wa/Zone 7b (My Page) on Thu, Aug 25, 11 at 3:51
| I make most of my compost through the growing season, and it's finished in fall. I also live in a high-rainfall area. If I were to add it to the soil in fall, most of the nutrients would be washed out of it by spring -- a waste. Garbage cans aren't air-tight. Like JonHughes, I sift the finished product and store it in garbage cans until spring, when it comes in really handy. Sue |
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| Unlike the nutrients of synthetic fertilizers those in compost are very stable and will not wash out of the soil unless the Soil Food Web is busy converting them into less stable forms. Adequate levels of organic matter in the soil also help hold nutrients and limit the amount of nutrients the rain will move out of a soil. |
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| I make lots of compost, but I've never been able to make more than I can use. There is not a place in the yard that it cannot go, from the law, to flower beds, and definitely in the vegetable beds. A few years back I obtained truckloads of municipal compost, and even that was gone almost immediately after getting it. Essentially, I'd use immediately anything that I got. Maybe a little bit to add to a seed starting mix in the spring, but that just doesn't take that much. |
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- Posted by belgianpup Wa/Zone 7b (My Page) on Wed, Sep 7, 11 at 0:37
| "...nutrients ... in compost are very stable and will not wash out of the soil..." Oh, really? I have 12% organic matter, and nitrogen at 3 PARTS PER MILLION! Does that sound good to you? I also get close to 45" of rain, and my soil is sandy, with virtually no clay. The rain washes out the calcium, the magnesium, the sulfur, the nitrogen. Maybe it applies to you, but it sure doesn't apply to me! Sue |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Wed, Sep 7, 11 at 10:29
| I think kimmsr is referring to the ability of most (not all, as evidenced by belgianpup!) soils to hold nutrients through ion exchange. But we're talking about stored compost here. If nutrients did not leach out of compost, there would be no compost tea. I try to keep my piles (especially more finished ones) covered against rain so I don't lose too much 'tea' into the ground before using it. OTOH my piles are in places where they will fertilize a tree, garden bed etc. with their leachate. |
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| I use garbage cans. I store it because I like to empty out the bins in the Fall, but the compost usually isn't ready until after Spring planting is done. This Fall's leaves become compost to store next fall for use the following spring. |
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