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Sep 18, 2014 8:39 AM CST
Name: Tiffany purpleinopp
Opp, AL @--`--,----- ๐ŸŒน (Zone 8b)
Region: United States of America Houseplants Overwinters Tender Plants Indoors Garden Sages Plant Identifier Garden Ideas: Level 2
Organic Gardener Composter Miniature Gardening Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Tender Perennials Butterflies
The last 2 entries I think say what I was trying to say maybe better than I did. I'm all 'Nike' about composting, by any method - they're all good. "Just do it." The take-away for anyone reading is that whatever their thoughts are about composting are good. Diff lifestyles, neighborhood types, physical ability levels, so many factors affect what can work best, and comfortably, for various individuals/households.
The golden rule: Do to others only that which you would have done to you.
๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜‚ - SMILE! -โ˜บ๐Ÿ˜Žโ˜ปโ˜ฎ๐Ÿ‘ŒโœŒโˆžโ˜ฏ
The only way to succeed is to try!
๐Ÿฃ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿพ๐ŸŒบ๐ŸŒป๐ŸŒธ๐ŸŒผ๐ŸŒน
The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The 2nd best time is now. (-Unknown)
๐Ÿ‘’๐ŸŽ„๐Ÿ‘ฃ๐Ÿก๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿ‚๐ŸŒพ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿโฆโง๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‚๐ŸŒฝโ€โ˜€ โ˜•๐Ÿ‘“๐Ÿ
Try to be more valuable than a bad example.
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Sep 18, 2014 9:38 AM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
I can certainly see the point about too many detailed instructions causing a lot of would be composters to be put off by the tedious looking instructions. Still, how many are put off from composting because they did not follow the instructions, just heaped a pile of grass up and ended with a sour smelling mess, or piled up a huge pile of leaves expecting compost in a few weeks or months. Certainly the same can be said for gardening in general, you can just toss out some seeds and yes, you will have some grow. But by far, following instructions is the better way to go, from experience that includes putting together swing sets. Smiling
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Sep 18, 2014 9:45 AM CST
Name: Kyla Houbolt
Gastonia, NC (Zone 7b)
Composter Plant Identifier Organic Gardener Herbs Daylilies Sempervivums
Frogs and Toads Container Gardener Cat Lover Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! The WITWIT Badge Winter Sowing
And, once you learn how it works, somewhat, you can start creatively breaking the "rules" and making a system that works for your individual circumstances.
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Apr 21, 2015 11:11 AM CST
Name: Lee-Roy
Bilzen, Belgium (Zone 8a)
Region: Belgium Composter Region: Europe Ferns Hostas Irises
Lilies Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge)
I think the layering is to have pockets of oxygen rich air in between the greens to get the cooking started and as said before as a visual to get the right browns/greens ratio. I personally don't layer. I just keep a bucket of (pre-soaked) wood pellets nearby and dump equal parts of whatever volume of greens I have onto the pile (well dustbin for now). Since I actually love mixing a compost pile, I don't see the need to neatly layer it beforehand as it eventually does get stirred...
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Apr 21, 2015 12:33 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Rick Corey
Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a)
Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f
Frugal Gardener Garden Procrastinator I helped beta test the first seed swap Plant and/or Seed Trader Seed Starter Region: Pacific Northwest
Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Avid Green Pages Reviewer Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! I helped plan and beta test the plant database.
>> pockets of oxygen rich air in between the greens

That makes sense to me if one of the layers (probably the browns) had enough twigs or stems that were stiff enough to support open space even near the bottom of the pile. However, that usually makes the pile hard to turn or dig into.

I try to cut anything tough into short lengths, like less than 6" long.
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Apr 21, 2015 12:47 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
I started out with my first compost piles doing layers, then moved to mixing, now I pretty much just add what I have when I have it. Keep the pile moist and turn it a few times in the warm weather and presto finished compost. As I have more or less reached the point of not needing so much compost I am becoming more content to let the piles set for longer periods. At first I thought I had to produce finished compost in no more than three months, now I don't really have a time limit, it is ready when it is ready.
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Apr 21, 2015 6:28 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Rick Corey
Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a)
Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f
Frugal Gardener Garden Procrastinator I helped beta test the first seed swap Plant and/or Seed Trader Seed Starter Region: Pacific Northwest
Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Avid Green Pages Reviewer Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! I helped plan and beta test the plant database.
Seedfork said:... now I pretty much just add what I have when I have it. Keep the pile moist and turn it a few times in the warm weather and presto finished compost. ...
... now I don't really have a time limit, it is ready when it is ready.


I agree. And if it isn't "finished" by the time I need it, I use it anyway.

I can either rake out any big hard pieces, or screen them out.

Kind of like many software companies. The managers are willing ship things that the engineers would rather keep playing with for a few more months.

Compost, like Bok Choy, is "good enough to use" at almost any stage.
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Apr 21, 2015 9:14 PM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Seedfork said:I started out with my first compost piles doing layers, then moved to mixing, now I pretty much just add what I have when I have it. Keep the pile moist and turn it a few times in the warm weather and presto finished compost. As I have more or less reached the point of not needing so much compost I am becoming more content to let the piles set for longer periods. At first I thought I had to produce finished compost in no more than three months, now I don't really have a time limit, it is ready when it is ready.


Oh, I am TOTALLY in that same camp!! Thank you, Larry -- there are times when I feel like I must be crazy for the way I compost, so many people seem to be doing it so "scientifically." I basically let mine sit for a good year and then start using it, while another one is being formed. It ends up looking like good compost, black, crumbly, almost no odor... so apparently it works for me. Smiling
โ€œThink occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight." ~ Albert Schweitzer
C/F temp conversion
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May 1, 2015 6:43 AM CST
Name: Michele Roth
N.E. Indiana - Zone 5b, and F (Zone 9b)
I'm always on my way out the door..
I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Forum moderator Garden Sages Garden Ideas: Master Level Dog Lover Cottage Gardener
Native Plants and Wildflowers Plant Identifier Organic Gardener Keeps Horses Hummingbirder Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle
I like the "just do it" reference. Thumbs up Pick any style that you think might work for you... and just do it. Just yesterday I cleaned up the area around my main compost bin and discovered a gardeners' gold mine; five bags of lovely leaf mold...ready to go! Easy as could be, no work involved at all, except for the initial time spent filling the bags.

Recipe:

Lots of wet autumn leaves
A shovelful of garden soil
More wet autumn leaves

Pack them in, tie the top loosely and you're done. This method isn't fast to produce, but it's easy, reliably odor-free and it's really handy to have on hand once it's done.
Cottage Gardening

Newest Interest: Rock Gardens


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May 1, 2015 11:57 AM CST
Name: Cindy
Hobart, IN zone 5
aka CindyMzone5
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier
chelle - I've tried that the past couple of years but it hasn't broken down much for me. I've used coffee grounds but maybe the soil thing works better? And my leaves aren't all that wet when they come from the lawnmower bag. Maybe more water?
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. Cree proverb
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May 1, 2015 12:12 PM CST
Name: Kyla Houbolt
Gastonia, NC (Zone 7b)
Composter Plant Identifier Organic Gardener Herbs Daylilies Sempervivums
Frogs and Toads Container Gardener Cat Lover Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! The WITWIT Badge Winter Sowing
I think water is probably your issue there. They need to be wet or at least moist.
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May 1, 2015 2:27 PM CST
Name: Michele Roth
N.E. Indiana - Zone 5b, and F (Zone 9b)
I'm always on my way out the door..
I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Forum moderator Garden Sages Garden Ideas: Master Level Dog Lover Cottage Gardener
Native Plants and Wildflowers Plant Identifier Organic Gardener Keeps Horses Hummingbirder Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle
Yep, the wetter the better. Also, I really do believe that the shovelful of soil adds the necessary organisms responsible for the breakdown process. They'll eventually find their way to it anyway, but it's probably quicker to add them at the beginning. Quicker being a very relative term! Hilarious! My *hidden from view* area is shady, so it still took quite a while.
Cottage Gardening

Newest Interest: Rock Gardens


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May 1, 2015 2:38 PM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
Compost that's all nicely bagged up -- what's not to like about that??! What kind of bags did you use, Chelle? Plastic? or should they be porous?
โ€œThink occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight." ~ Albert Schweitzer
C/F temp conversion
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May 1, 2015 4:01 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Rick Corey
Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a)
Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f
Frugal Gardener Garden Procrastinator I helped beta test the first seed swap Plant and/or Seed Trader Seed Starter Region: Pacific Northwest
Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Avid Green Pages Reviewer Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! I helped plan and beta test the plant database.
chelle said:Yep, the wetter the better. Also, I really do believe that the shovelful of soil adds the necessary organisms responsible for the breakdown process. They'll eventually find their way to it anyway, but it's probably quicker to add them at the beginning. Quicker being a very relative term! Hilarious! My *hidden from view* area is shady, so it still took quite a while.


I agree that healthy soil is one way to make sure that plenty of microbes are present from day One.

I try to run my heap like a heavy drinker who never lets his glass get completely empty. If you leave several shovels-full of old compost behind when you start a new pile, you have lots of just the right kinds of microbes.

Or, set up a new heap while the old heap is still finishing, and add a scoop of cooking compost to each new layer.

For a while, I had a "compost row" rather than a compost heap. When I "turned" it, I would first add more raw materials to the right side. Then I would rake the UNfinished, dry, woody outer layer to the right, on top of the new stuff.

I would shovel the more-nearly-finished central part to the left. I would be careful to rake some "cooking" compost to the right and on top of the new stuff, then water it in.

I guess I should have had some method to capture and save some "thermophilic" microbes or spores from the "hot-cooking-center", as well as the lower-temperature microbes that do most of the"finishing" work. But my heap was never big enough to heat up much, so I had few thermophiles to capture anyway.
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May 1, 2015 5:55 PM CST
Name: Michele Roth
N.E. Indiana - Zone 5b, and F (Zone 9b)
I'm always on my way out the door..
I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Forum moderator Garden Sages Garden Ideas: Master Level Dog Lover Cottage Gardener
Native Plants and Wildflowers Plant Identifier Organic Gardener Keeps Horses Hummingbirder Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle
I just used big black (plastic) contractors bags, Sandy. Nothing fancy, but if you don't bag up twigs that cause some holes during the mashing-in process, poke a few in.
Cottage Gardening

Newest Interest: Rock Gardens


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May 2, 2015 7:40 AM CST
Name: Sandy B.
Ford River Twp, Michigan UP (Zone 4b)
(Zone 4b-maybe 5a)
Charter ATP Member Bee Lover Butterflies Birds I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower Greenhouse Region: United States of America Region: Michigan Enjoys or suffers cold winters
RickCorey said:
For a while, I had a "compost row" rather than a compost heap. When I "turned" it, I would first add more raw materials to the right side. Then I would rake the UNfinished, dry, woody outer layer to the right, on top of the new stuff.

I would shovel the more-nearly-finished central part to the left. I would be careful to rake some "cooking" compost to the right and on top of the new stuff, then water it in.



That's pretty much what I do with my compost ... although I'm not exactly careful to add the cooking compost to the new stuff, I'm just not careful NOT to do so... Hilarious!

Chelle, the "bag method" seems like it would be particularly useful for anyone in an urban area that didn't want a big messy pile in their yard, or anyone living where the weather is quite dry and hard to keep the compost moist enough to "work". Or anyone else that just wants their compost already bagged up once it's done! Thumbs up
โ€œThink occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight." ~ Albert Schweitzer
C/F temp conversion
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May 8, 2015 12:21 AM CST
Name: Paul
Bunbury, Western Australia. (Zone 10b)
Region: Australia
We all have different set ups to break down organic matter for later use and intense methods for some vegetation with long lived seed attached.

For the later, I use a wheelie bin and cover the material with water, and throw in some blood and bone and fresh seaweed.

Another method, not often used now , is the trench--too much work .

Then there is a long pile that I just keep adding to, behind the high fence that gives some protection for stone fruit from winter gales.I never turn it, but add chopped up fruit tree prunings huge amounts of lilium spent stems, cow dung and my favourite --- --SEAWEED, freshly collected after storms.The fruit tree roots find their way here for a decent feed.So it's meant to be used as and where it is.

Then there are my all purpose compost bins.What these are, is simply a large old galvanized rain water tank cut in half.Everything goes in here, including my pee, crushed egg shells, ripped up wet cardboard, all green/brown organic matter, dung, seaweed, dead animals, anything that was once alive.The contents of my attempt at a boxed worm farm are thriving here.
So nothing is layered, just as it falls.
Different latitudes, different attitudes
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May 8, 2015 7:38 AM CST
Name: Kyla Houbolt
Gastonia, NC (Zone 7b)
Composter Plant Identifier Organic Gardener Herbs Daylilies Sempervivums
Frogs and Toads Container Gardener Cat Lover Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! The WITWIT Badge Winter Sowing
That's great to have space for so many different systems. I'd love to see pictures of some of that!
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May 18, 2015 8:46 AM CST
Name: Paul
Bunbury, Western Australia. (Zone 10b)
Region: Australia
Been busy this past week Kyla, but here are a few pictures of my compost bins, bit messy, but the worms love it.
Finished product, lots of seaweed and cow dung, the bottom half of old rain-water tank
Thumb of 2015-05-18/vanozzi/8f6d0d Thumb of 2015-05-18/vanozzi/3965f8
Fresh autumn clean-up this week in top half of rain-water tank.I'll finish it off with your "'friend and mine", blood and bone, seaweed and later on heaps of cow dung when the neighbour dries off a few dairy cows in the paddock adjoining my property,.
Thumb of 2015-05-18/vanozzi/14a224
200 lt wheelie bin with course weedy seed material drowned in water plus seaweed, two boxes with worms and horse manure and a 100 litre drum ready to take weedy seed material.

Thumb of 2015-05-18/vanozzi/6a946b
Different latitudes, different attitudes
Last edited by vanozzi May 18, 2015 8:48 AM Icon for preview
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May 18, 2015 8:49 AM CST
Name: Kyla Houbolt
Gastonia, NC (Zone 7b)
Composter Plant Identifier Organic Gardener Herbs Daylilies Sempervivums
Frogs and Toads Container Gardener Cat Lover Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! The WITWIT Badge Winter Sowing
Awesome operation there and not a bit messy to my eyes! Though, I would myself have put air holes in that big, but apparently you don't need aeration for your system?

Having neighbors with livestock from whom to get manure, now, that's living. Hilarious! Hilarious! Hilarious! Thumbs up

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