compost [General]
2009 Mar 9
How big is your yard?
Think outside the box.
I have a 50x80 lot and find I have lots of room to compost.
I have a scrap heap in the back corner beside the shed. This is tree trimming / branches, and is my main compost pile. I just toss stuff on top over the summer.
In winter I open the back door, go out onto the step, and toss stuff into the alley way. It can't be seen back there by anyway. Come spring it gets exposed but a month later is decomposed. There is some fantastic soil back there now.
For me, the compost just takes care of itself. Sure, my main heap doesn't look great sometimes. But honestly, I just don't care.
Think outside the box.
I have a 50x80 lot and find I have lots of room to compost.
I have a scrap heap in the back corner beside the shed. This is tree trimming / branches, and is my main compost pile. I just toss stuff on top over the summer.
In winter I open the back door, go out onto the step, and toss stuff into the alley way. It can't be seen back there by anyway. Come spring it gets exposed but a month later is decomposed. There is some fantastic soil back there now.
For me, the compost just takes care of itself. Sure, my main heap doesn't look great sometimes. But honestly, I just don't care.
2009 Mar 9
I know I don't eat as many veggies as I should, but my black bin is only 3/4 full after two years. I can't imagine throwing away enough to fill a bin just over a winter. Would it be ignorant to ask or suggest that perhaps more should be eaten, and less thrown away? I know my mother has two composters, but she rotates using one, then the other every other year, so that she can just x-fer the contents of an entire bin at once into the garden...
2009 Mar 9
HipFunkyFun - Well I for one definitely see Composting as a Foodie topic, in exactly the same way as I see Sprouting, Organic Farmers or any other Gardening Topic (food starts with the soil, and ends with the soil).
I don't compost in the winter... never have.
I have friends who do though. They tend to throw everything into "storage" until Spring when they can get out to their composters in the backyard (they probably made it out there this weekend). Until then they throw everything in a big garbage can in their garage. The other family I know wraps everything in plastic bags and freezers it in their chest freezer (lets face it most of it is peelings). I couldn't be bothered... way I look at it is it's organic so it'll decompose at the landfill (so I don't have to fee guilty) besides I'm thinking that organics probably balance out some of the stuff in the heap and maybe help them along in their decomposition as well....
I know, wishful thinking :-)
Curious about the Green Box Program... wonder if I'll become more diligent when the City phases that in, or will I be so turned off by it all that I'll give up entirely?
I don't compost in the winter... never have.
I have friends who do though. They tend to throw everything into "storage" until Spring when they can get out to their composters in the backyard (they probably made it out there this weekend). Until then they throw everything in a big garbage can in their garage. The other family I know wraps everything in plastic bags and freezers it in their chest freezer (lets face it most of it is peelings). I couldn't be bothered... way I look at it is it's organic so it'll decompose at the landfill (so I don't have to fee guilty) besides I'm thinking that organics probably balance out some of the stuff in the heap and maybe help them along in their decomposition as well....
I know, wishful thinking :-)
Curious about the Green Box Program... wonder if I'll become more diligent when the City phases that in, or will I be so turned off by it all that I'll give up entirely?
2009 Mar 9
Here is your get-me-started guide :
- designate a spot to dump the compost
- dump it there
That's about it :-)
OK, we have a container under the sink which can hold about 4 or 5 days of stuff. It's an empty little 3 liter or so bucket from dishwasher detergent. No lid. Doesn't stink without one.
When the bucket is full, go dump it
- designate a spot to dump the compost
- dump it there
That's about it :-)
OK, we have a container under the sink which can hold about 4 or 5 days of stuff. It's an empty little 3 liter or so bucket from dishwasher detergent. No lid. Doesn't stink without one.
When the bucket is full, go dump it
2009 Mar 9
pete, maybe it is because i am vegetarian that we generate so many scraps? we compost everything, including some paper products. i always have and always fill it up before the winter ends. my weekly garbage bag is a tiny, little kitchen catcher, which isn't bad considering i have a toddler in the house (we do cloth diapers).
by the fall, i have generally reduced my compost heap to half, but diligent care.
even if i used more scraps (how does one do that?), i would still have leftover bits. if i make broth will all the veggie ends, i still end up with veggie ends after the straining. i dry some egg shells for the garden, but the majority are into the compost.
i have a tiny backyard and need the space for my son to play, our front yard is just a postage stamp and i actually do my veggie gardening out there. backyard is dark and shady, so it is mainly for playing.
if all else fails, i will cart a garbage can of scraps to the cottage and dump in the woods to decompose.
lady, do you have a yard? because it is so easy to compost with a yard. in an apartment you are pretty much limited to a worm composter - not as icky as you might think. you do have to keep the wee wormies happy though, or they will escape, which can be fun for any cats in the house...
by the fall, i have generally reduced my compost heap to half, but diligent care.
even if i used more scraps (how does one do that?), i would still have leftover bits. if i make broth will all the veggie ends, i still end up with veggie ends after the straining. i dry some egg shells for the garden, but the majority are into the compost.
i have a tiny backyard and need the space for my son to play, our front yard is just a postage stamp and i actually do my veggie gardening out there. backyard is dark and shady, so it is mainly for playing.
if all else fails, i will cart a garbage can of scraps to the cottage and dump in the woods to decompose.
lady, do you have a yard? because it is so easy to compost with a yard. in an apartment you are pretty much limited to a worm composter - not as icky as you might think. you do have to keep the wee wormies happy though, or they will escape, which can be fun for any cats in the house...
2009 Mar 9
L.W.B - it can be more involved than that if you want it to be. For example if you are concerned about it not composting fast enough then you get into mixing it and turning it, and mixing in things like leaves, or paper products (instead of sending them to the recycler). But I generally don't bother with all that. I just dump it and let it rot on its own. It does eventually.
2009 Mar 9
LadyWhoBrunches - Agree with Zym pretty easy stuff... my family has been composting my whole life (was a country thing... now it's stylish LOL). We kept a bucket in the house, although ours had a lid... could keep a day or two's worth, did get a bit icky, but nothing that hot water and soap couldn't handle... mostly just a rinse and go. I understand that the stainless steel buckets from Lee Valley are the best in-house solution, absolutely no smell etc.
As for the Bin outside... in the city I've always had one of the plastic types (like my cartoon illustrates). Just toss the stuff in it... about a year or so later you can pull nice loam out of the bottom. Lots of folks I know have two on the go, one filling, one settling, then they empty the second one in the Spring and start refilling, while the first one settles. You can throw an amazing amount of stuff in the bin - grass clippings, leaves, veggies, dead-head flowers, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, Hallowe'en Pumpkins, etc. Only thing I don't recommend are branches etc (take way too long to break down) or weeds (that defeats the purpose, then you just end up with nice soil in your garden that loves to grow weeds). And of course you don't want to put in any dairy or meat stuff... as it is you might still find the bin will attract critters (they like the smell of tasty veggies), way around that is to make sure the bin you get is "lockable" (the top usually is, the trap door can be firmly closed with a piece of wire).
As for the Bin outside... in the city I've always had one of the plastic types (like my cartoon illustrates). Just toss the stuff in it... about a year or so later you can pull nice loam out of the bottom. Lots of folks I know have two on the go, one filling, one settling, then they empty the second one in the Spring and start refilling, while the first one settles. You can throw an amazing amount of stuff in the bin - grass clippings, leaves, veggies, dead-head flowers, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, Hallowe'en Pumpkins, etc. Only thing I don't recommend are branches etc (take way too long to break down) or weeds (that defeats the purpose, then you just end up with nice soil in your garden that loves to grow weeds). And of course you don't want to put in any dairy or meat stuff... as it is you might still find the bin will attract critters (they like the smell of tasty veggies), way around that is to make sure the bin you get is "lockable" (the top usually is, the trap door can be firmly closed with a piece of wire).
2009 Mar 9
hipfunkyfun - I'm in the same boat as you. My composter will not hold any more scraps until the spring thaw. I have an extra garbage bin that I'm going to put the overflow in until then.
Another option might be to find a community garden or a neighbour that would like to take your overflow. I'm lucky enough to have two community gardens within a block that have composters.
Composting has really cut down our garbage output too. We're down to a kitchen garbage bag every week and a half or two weeks. I compost paper products as you do, but I found that the composter filled up even faster last year when I put all of the nose tissues in, so we've switched to hankies.
lady who brunches - The city of Ottawa has some rudimentary instructions on composting:
www.ottawa.ca
It's definitely easy.
Another option might be to find a community garden or a neighbour that would like to take your overflow. I'm lucky enough to have two community gardens within a block that have composters.
Composting has really cut down our garbage output too. We're down to a kitchen garbage bag every week and a half or two weeks. I compost paper products as you do, but I found that the composter filled up even faster last year when I put all of the nose tissues in, so we've switched to hankies.
lady who brunches - The city of Ottawa has some rudimentary instructions on composting:
www.ottawa.ca
It's definitely easy.
2009 Mar 9
I too am running out of space in my 2 composters. Hopefully the bit of warmth we had over the weekend will get a bit of the compost heated and going again. Last year was bad as we couldn't reach either composter because of all the snow. This year much better, but now nearly out of room.
A short note on composting and organics in the landfill. Composting works when there is air (oxygen) and water in addition to the organic matter. That is what the bacteria require (they are aerobic (oxygen requiring)) to work. Unfortunately in the landfill, the organics get quickly buried and have little or no access to air or water, therefore they do not decompose. The right bacteria are not present in these conditions. This is why you can find 20 year old bananas in landfills, and another reason why the "biodegradable" plastic bags are fairly useless since they need a minimum of 30 days with access to moisture and air to decompose.
Off my soapbox now.
A short note on composting and organics in the landfill. Composting works when there is air (oxygen) and water in addition to the organic matter. That is what the bacteria require (they are aerobic (oxygen requiring)) to work. Unfortunately in the landfill, the organics get quickly buried and have little or no access to air or water, therefore they do not decompose. The right bacteria are not present in these conditions. This is why you can find 20 year old bananas in landfills, and another reason why the "biodegradable" plastic bags are fairly useless since they need a minimum of 30 days with access to moisture and air to decompose.
Off my soapbox now.
2009 Mar 10
hipfunkyfun my dad was an avid gardener and he composted EVERYTHING. We had a plastic bin in the kitchen by the back door and everything went in - vegetable and fruit peelings, coffee grounds, tea leaves, the works. When the bin filled up he would take it to the "compost heap" as we called it in our house and it pretty well looked how zymurgist described. My dad actually had two piles on the go - at the end of the year he would stop adding to one pile then he would add the scraps to the other pile while the first pile decomposed. I "seem" to recall it taking a year although my dad was in charge of the compost so I could be mistaken... It's incredible how little garbage we threw out. When I moved to Ottawa in 1988 the city didn't have a recycling program at all and even though I re-purpose certain things I was still throwing away BAGS of stuff and I lived alone. I can only imagine how much garbage a family would have thrown out.
2009 Mar 10
Many years ago, I built a three-bin composter similar to the one pictured here, and it continues to serve me well. I add to it throughout the year - the only difference in winter is the need to maintain a path to it, and to shovel some of the snow off to make room for the compost. To avoid frequent trips out there (especially in winter), I have a rather large container in the kitchen for scraps (with a good lid, of course). Unfortunately, it's plastic, and it's starting to crack and fall apart. Duct tape has saved the day so far, but it needs replacement soon. I really like those stainless steel pails at Lee Valley, but I want something bigger. Has anyone run across a source of larger stainless steel pails or pots with lids, and handles on the sides, that don't cost an arm and a leg?
2009 May 4
If anyone is interested in building their own compost bins using wooden pallets I just found out about this method from someone in freecycle: www.ehow.com
Judging by the description it would look similar to the structure bdm included in his post above.
Judging by the description it would look similar to the structure bdm included in his post above.
2009 May 6
We use the large stainless steel bucket from Lee Valley under the sink. has a lid as F&T mentioned - never any icky smell (but how bad can it get anyway when it's just fruit and veg?). when we moved into the burbs from the country we bought a composter from home depot to have a more defined area in our back yard.
2009 May 7
We generate a ton of compost and also have a sizeable garden. Here is what we do.
We bought six regular plastic green garbage pails with lids and drilled smallish holes all over the sides of these and in the bottom. We line these all up along the back of our garden shed, out of sight. We fill these from the back forward, and then in the spring, we rotate the oldest compost out of the line-up and put it in the garden. I just finished putting three full pails into the garden--it was rich, dark, odourless and perfect for digging in around plants and shrubs.
In winter, since it can be hard to get back to the shed, we keep the compost pail closer to the house, just outside the back gate, and use it when our under-the-sink compost gets full.
We bought six regular plastic green garbage pails with lids and drilled smallish holes all over the sides of these and in the bottom. We line these all up along the back of our garden shed, out of sight. We fill these from the back forward, and then in the spring, we rotate the oldest compost out of the line-up and put it in the garden. I just finished putting three full pails into the garden--it was rich, dark, odourless and perfect for digging in around plants and shrubs.
In winter, since it can be hard to get back to the shed, we keep the compost pail closer to the house, just outside the back gate, and use it when our under-the-sink compost gets full.
2009 May 7
Zymurgist I have yet to use brewer's grains in any breads I make so I'm surprised to hear that it's as astringent as you indicate; maybe I won't go out of my way fo find some, but I should at least try it some day.
I guess I should say something about compost as this is hipfunkyfun's thread's purpose. As we are rural dwellers and big on composting I built a double bin under and ash tree using cedar posts and some dog pen wire left by the previous owners - they are each 3-sided, side-by-side and each about 5 feet on each side, 4 feet tall with removeable gates across the front. We use it yearround as we put not only our own compost in it but also run a compost program at school with 4L ice cream buckets in each classroom that we collect and empty at least once a week, bringing the compost and buckets home where we empty them and wash them and return them. The school council has a fruit program in the school with fruit baskets in each classroom and kids can eat as much fruit as they want so that generates quite a bit of compost and is a fantastic program imo (it also generates a bunch of bananas at week's end that nobody wants to eat that I or my wife sometimes bring home to make baked goodies with for us and the kids/staff (another teacher also does that). We also bring several truckloads and vanloads of leaves that we put in our bin, on our garden to be dug in, on my garlic plot and elsewhere for winter insulation, though there are still a few giant bags that haven't been used yet (they get added slowly all winter and spring). So it's no wonder we get maybe 25 wheelbarrow loads of compost for the gardens - mind you when we moved here some of the soil was so poor there were no worms in it; last week as my dw and I were turning over one garden I remarked to her that there were a lot of worms and that they were likely glad we were not using a rototiller.
Compost if you can, find a way to compost if you can't!
I guess I should say something about compost as this is hipfunkyfun's thread's purpose. As we are rural dwellers and big on composting I built a double bin under and ash tree using cedar posts and some dog pen wire left by the previous owners - they are each 3-sided, side-by-side and each about 5 feet on each side, 4 feet tall with removeable gates across the front. We use it yearround as we put not only our own compost in it but also run a compost program at school with 4L ice cream buckets in each classroom that we collect and empty at least once a week, bringing the compost and buckets home where we empty them and wash them and return them. The school council has a fruit program in the school with fruit baskets in each classroom and kids can eat as much fruit as they want so that generates quite a bit of compost and is a fantastic program imo (it also generates a bunch of bananas at week's end that nobody wants to eat that I or my wife sometimes bring home to make baked goodies with for us and the kids/staff (another teacher also does that). We also bring several truckloads and vanloads of leaves that we put in our bin, on our garden to be dug in, on my garlic plot and elsewhere for winter insulation, though there are still a few giant bags that haven't been used yet (they get added slowly all winter and spring). So it's no wonder we get maybe 25 wheelbarrow loads of compost for the gardens - mind you when we moved here some of the soil was so poor there were no worms in it; last week as my dw and I were turning over one garden I remarked to her that there were a lot of worms and that they were likely glad we were not using a rototiller.
Compost if you can, find a way to compost if you can't!
2009 May 7
A percentage is fine Andy - 20%, maybe 35%. Just don't go too nuts.
And remember that "spent" grain is "spent" :-) An awful lot of the nutrition is gone from it. Though on a homebrew level not as much as would be gone from a pro brewer's spent grain. And there is still an incredible amount of fibre there.
And remember that "spent" grain is "spent" :-) An awful lot of the nutrition is gone from it. Though on a homebrew level not as much as would be gone from a pro brewer's spent grain. And there is still an incredible amount of fibre there.
2009 May 8
so a few weeks ago, we opened the bottom of our black composter and sifted through all the compost. we got almost a full garbage bin of good, ready to use stuff. all the extra room in the compost allowed us to fit in all the winter scraps.
we added some compost accelorator to it, since it is in a shady spot, this seems to help.
the only down side is, we started using the green compost bags from lee valley. after one year, they have yet to break down. there are a few holes in them, but hardly decomposing. we don't tie them up, we leave them open and turn the compost to make sure there is soil on top.
does anyone else use these bags? did i not do something right? they really cut down on the smell inside and they keep my plastic green compost bin a lot cleaner. i use a metal pail at the cottage, but like the plastic one at home since it holds so much.
we added some compost accelorator to it, since it is in a shady spot, this seems to help.
the only down side is, we started using the green compost bags from lee valley. after one year, they have yet to break down. there are a few holes in them, but hardly decomposing. we don't tie them up, we leave them open and turn the compost to make sure there is soil on top.
does anyone else use these bags? did i not do something right? they really cut down on the smell inside and they keep my plastic green compost bin a lot cleaner. i use a metal pail at the cottage, but like the plastic one at home since it holds so much.
2009 May 10
Did anyone read the article from the CBC-Ottawa in a similar vein about 'compostable' drinking cups that many Ottawa Events use? ( www.cbc.ca )
2009 May 14
My family have been composting forever. In fact, growing up I never realized everyone didn't compost. Just for interest, if you have acidic soil do not compose citrus products. At my house we never compost fruit because of wasp/hornet sting allergies. (They love sweet stuff). To accelerate composting use the popular teas and also add hot (temperature, not spice) water and teas. Open the top (if viable) during a rain, and let the increased water accelerate composting. Just make sure you close after the rain. Stir regularly--or turn if you have the luxury of those beatiful composters! I have a very large lot and never run out of compost.
2009 May 14
I also should have noted that it is good to have a balance of kitchen items and yard waste. I don't know the "combo' but you could google it. Nothing beats your own compost!
P.S. Haven't done it myself but my kids did worm composting at school--beautiful rich looking compost. Those worms will eat anything and turn around excellent compost. Just google it.
P.S. Haven't done it myself but my kids did worm composting at school--beautiful rich looking compost. Those worms will eat anything and turn around excellent compost. Just google it.
2009 May 15
Further to W.C's comment about mixing in yard waste - another very beneficial thing to your compost is brown paper bags if you ever get them from the bakery or whatever. Rather than recycle them we save them up and put them on the bottom of the compost bin in the kitchen, and 1 or 2 layers up as well. Soaks up a lot of the goop so makes it easier to keep the bin clean, but more importantly it is very beneficial to the compost itself. And in this regard probably more beneficial to the environment than recycling it.
hipfunkyfun
i have too much vegetable scraps to fit into my composter. i have two on the go, one is full and the second is getting full. i am very good at turning it and using it in the garden in the spring, but making it through the winter is very hard since it just piles up. i am curious as to what other people are doing with their winter scraps? i am expected that by the summer there will be a lot more room as i use a compost accelorator and really give it a good turn. i have started using the compost bags though and don't know how they will break down.
anyway, i am interested to know how others deal with their composters and leftovers? i cringe throwing food away in the garbage, but really don't want a backyard full of black bins.