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| Ive been lurking around this forum for awhile now...trying to glean whatever info I can on composting. One thing I am unsure of is this. When starting a bin (3' round x 5' tall ) am I best to save the ingredience until I have enough to fill it, or can I slowly build it up until full? Does it even make a difference? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
dave |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Tue, Oct 25, 11 at 16:36
| If you 'save' them they are going to start decomposing. I have an idea - mix them together and save them in the bin. Then when you get more stuff, add it to the bin. Voila, compost! :-] Compost happens a bit faster if you can mix brown and green before adding it, but if you have some of both now, mix that up and put it in. If you have too many browns - leaves for example - wait for some more greens. Throw in kitchen scraps or handfuls of garden trimmings as you go. If it's a mixture of larger premixed batches plus layers of additions in between, that's OK, that's what most compost bins look like. |
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| Batch versus continuous, pros and cons to both and it will probably depend on the materials you are using and the availability/volume of those materials. I use both methods as well as a slight variation. Lloyd |
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| Cheers for the quick responses...I have plenty of both greens and browns, but not enough to fill yet. My goal is to get a hot bin going ( shame it wont look like John Hughes though... ) just wasnt sure if anything can go arwy if you start small and then try to max the bin out. Im mulching all the leaves I can get my hands on, have access to a garbage can per month of UCGs, and have been shredding paper like a fiend for a couple of weeks now. As I live in Victoria BC, I find I have to cut the grass into November...and then starting again in Feb so still lots more greens to come. Im using stucco wire mesh for the bins, so as I get this going it will be nothing to make another or two if need be. So in short, I guess this weekend will be starting to fill the bin and just keep adding I guess. dave |
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| Hi Dave Sounds like continuous is the way to go with your steady supply of feedstocks. Tox mentioned mixing before adding to the pile and I echo that advice, it really helps versus layering. I have the wire bin set up as a demo unit but I generally use it for batches but it will certainly work as a continuous feed. I really feel for ya having to cut grass in to November and again in February. ;-) I've been to Victoria a couple of times, beautiful city, hope to get back there someday. Lloyd |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Tue, Oct 25, 11 at 18:44
| With that kind of volume you might need multiple bins/piles. A triple pallet bin comes to mind, new batch in the first bin, turn into the second and make a new one in the first, and so on. And greens don't 'keep' like browns, they will generally get funky if left to sit, so when you get them fresh, mix with browns and chuck in. |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Tue, Oct 25, 11 at 21:39
| Well.... You have been given great advice...as Tox said, mix it up as you go.... and if you ever get the chance to see Lloyd's compost set-up, you will be amazed, he is definitely the Master Composter ,,, He has every angle covered when it comes to composting... hopefully he will post a link and show you (as well as all the lurkers and newbies)all the ways "compost happens" ;-)
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Wed, Oct 26, 11 at 11:42
| To the compost/ingredients, it doesn't make a difference, and you are certainly within reason to do composting in whatever way works best for you. I use a 2-bin system and stuff the first bin as materials become available. When it gets full (could take 2 months or 2 days,) start filling the second. When the first one is "done" it gets emptied where needed and the refilling process starts again. It just depends on where you're "coming from..." Like, "This is where my compostables go until they turn into compost" or "I want to make X amount of compost for my garden next spring" or any number of intermediate conditions. The cool thing is knowing that there's nothing in regard to adding ingredients (timing, ratios) to it to make it NOT eventually turn into compost. Failure is not an option. |
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| Dave - sounds like you have a workable plan for your compost ingredients & bin. All of us start with a small pile at first & compost is slow then if enough gathered can be built into a hot pile. In our climate the rain will keep it moist, but sometimes too wet, so you might want to cover it. Use what you have around (tarp, upside down scrap of carpet, burlap bags, even cardboard works for awhile to deflect some of the rain if a mound). A lot of our compost piles have contained the ingredients you mentioned. The big leaf maple leaves can be slow to decompose unless you shred them. If you need to heat the pile fast you can add nitrogen in the form of cheap dog food, alfalfa pellets or seed meal from the feed store. That mixed in the moist materials will need turning every few days to keep it going. If you are able to add some farmyard manure that will also help speed it up. An easy way to "premix" the pile is to mow over the fall leaves right on your lawn using the catcher on your mower, then dump those onto your pile. Every now & then before adding another clippings/leaves load remove your wire structure from around the pile & take a garden or pitch fork to turn the existing pile mixing it up. Even a hoe works to help chop it up & move it to another spot. Either way you do it -- pile up then mix when it's a big pile OR mix it up as you keep adding to the pile-- WORKS! Hope that helps with the practical tending the pile details~ |
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| Thanks all for your input. I made a smaller pile in the backyard, 2x5x4 and it is pretty much full right now, we'll see how that goes, and I will start to fill the wire cage as OM becomes available. I guess it doesnt matter if it wont get "hot" until I have enough goods to build the heat up. Looking forward to NOT spending what we did in compost last year.....omg not done right can break the bank. Will keep posted as my first bin starts to do its thing. dave |
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| So its been 5 days since I made the pile....I went to turn it and lo and behold....its hot and steamy! One thing I noticed was the grass clippings look to have grey ash in the mix????? Is that what it is? Is there something wrong? I gave it a pretty good turn so I will wait another week and flip it again to see if its still hot. Never thought I would see that. Its kind of gratifying in an earthy kind of way! |
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| "grass clippings look to have grey ash in the mix I get it all the time, no worries. I think it's that actinomycetes stuff. Oh ya, hot compost, feels like this! ;-) Lloyd |
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| (One thing I noticed was the grass clippings look to have grey ash in the mix?????) It's all good, it's part of the composting process... the grass is breaking down. |
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| Hey Lloyd.....you are right.....it is like that..lol |
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