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compost actovator
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Posted by br33 Atlanta 7 (My Page) on Wed, Nov 11, 09 at 16:27
| I have many leaves. I compost with coffee grounds and alfalfa pellets. Has anyone had experience with Garden Alive compost actovator. I need your advice, is there a better or quicker way. thanks Bill |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: compost actovator
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| I've never used compost activator, I'm too cheap. I don't buy anything for my compost, except straw. But any N source (coffee grounds, kitchen scraps, grass clippings) should do the same. So would blood meal or alfalfa, if you want to buy things, and you wouldn't have to pay postage which can be pretty expensive. But you really don't need to buy anything. Karen |
RE: compost actovator
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| Human urine is a great activator and it is absolutely free. Honestly, every critter you need to make compost is either already on the material you add to the compost bin or is floating around in the air. A handfull of soil, if you want, but Just for fun, pee in a bottle and pour it on there. You will be surprised how it kickstarts the process. I know it sounds silly but it really works. have a great time composting. Its one of the fun, cheap, things in life. steve |
RE: compost actovator
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- Posted by jean001 z8aPortland, OR (My Page) on
Wed, Nov 11, 09 at 22:09
| The activators you need are already on the plant material you have. |
RE: compost actovator
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| Those "compost activators" are simply fairly expensive Nitrogen sources and there is no need to spend money on them. As jean001 stated the "activators you need" are already on the material, or rather the bacteria that will digest those leaves and all they might need is a bit more Nitrogen to get them moving faster, providing the amount of moisture is adequate and not too much and there is enough air in the mix for them to work. |
RE: compost actovator
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| Agreed compost activators are a waste of money. |
RE: compost actovator
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| I used GA activator a few years ago and it helped a little but now i get large amounts of coffee grounds that work really well. If you really want to spend money, buy amonium nitrate 34-0-0 fertilizer and put that in-- Do Not Mix w diesel fuel and NO SMOKING or your compost may end up on the MOON. |
RE: compost actovator
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| Adding a chemical fertilizer is a bad idea. Like others have said use a good mix of greens and browns and you have all the activator you need |
RE: compost actovator
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| Try using sugar,fish tank filter water or old compost in the layers. |
RE: compost actovator
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| I second the pee on your leaves suggestion. Works overnight. |
RE: compost actovator
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The best compost activator is oxygen!
It has only one lack - too much oxygen can "improve" compost to Nothing. I'd advice everybody not to "activate" compost.
The less it is "activated" - the better! |
RE: compost actovator
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| Usually, If you add a substance that contains a high concentration of microorganisms you can jump start the process as well. Any powderized mycorrhizae and/or beneficial bacteria will help tremendously. thegreengro.com The cheap and hilarious way however, seems to include peeing all over your compost pile. Although, My girlfriend wouldn't touch the vegetables grown this way! |
RE: compost actovator
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Oxygen is an oxidizer and if you could get some it might, if it stayed in your compost pile long enough, accelerate the process, but since normal air is roughly 21 percent oxygen all you need do is be sure air can flow through so the desireable bacteria, the aerobic bacteria, can function.
Mycorrhiza fungi form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots and help those plant root uptake nutrients from the soil and are rewarded by those plants which in turn feed the fungi, they have nothing to do with digesting material in a compost pile. All plant material, whether in a compost pile or not, will be digested, it rots, because it has on it the bacteria that will digest that material from day one. All we need do is provide the good conditions in a compost pile to encourage that process to work, faster, by building our compost piles properly with enough but not too much moisture in the mix and a balance of material. There is no need to spend money on "magic elixars" which these "Compost Activators" really are. |
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