Comments on Crunchy Chicken: Spinning my compost

I just go in from mixing my pile and thought I'd t...

2009-01-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

I just go in from mixing my pile and thought I'd tell you what I do since it seems to be pretty successful. I would like to have purchased a rolling tumbler but they are expensive and the apartment management would go absolutely nuts if they knew I had a compost pile.

I have a rubber maid bin(14 gallon size I believe) that I started with equal parts dirt from my Dad's house and shredded newspaper, filling it just a 1/4 full. I started it in spring and I just added more "brown", shredded newspaper, to it today. I think I am done with that one and will not add more to it so by spring I can have some great compost for my poor plants.

It is looking AMAZING for what little effort I put into it. I put pretty big chunks of things in it, I don't consistently tend to it all. I probably mix it once or twice a month and that is being generous. I leave things sitting on the top and mix them in eventually.

I guess the real test will be when I use the compost if it helps or if somehow I made plant killing compost, which actually wouldn't surprise me because I kill plants pretty readily.

I have found it pretty rewarding because now maybe I can actually grow some things on my tiny patio and I have cut down my waste A LOT.

Here in LA, they have a wonderful composting class...

2009-01-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here in LA, they have a wonderful composting class that I attended and they were pretty negative about turners for yard compost. The teacher suggested that turners are A) expensive B) really hard to turn when full and C) fairly unnecessary if you have access to a pitchfork.
He also suggested that you'll keep unwanted visitors (foxes, bugs, etc) away from your pile by visiting and turning it yourself.
In terms of brown, everyone else has made my best suggestions: shredded junkmail, cardboard, etc.

Good luck with whatever you end up choosing!

It's amazing how just a few chickens solve this pr...

2009-01-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how just a few chickens solve this problem. They eat table scraps, weeds, grass clippings, and whatever they won't eat gets scratched in with the dirt and poop to become compost before you know it. It sounds like a worm farm would accomplish the same thing, only without the eggs.

I like my tumblers because it is easy and convenie...

2009-01-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

I like my tumblers because it is easy and convenient but they are pricey. I agree with JAM... I finally got compost after getting the 2nd tumbler. I don't turn it consistently. If it gets smelly, I throw in more brown stuff. I ended up getting a pitch fork because it can get heavy to turn when full (i ended up with tendonitis last summer). I tried the compost tea from the tank, but will never do it again because it was pretty rank. I am sure I didn't brew it right, but I don't even want to try again!

http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/video/2008067:V...

2009-01-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/video/2008067:Video:19035

Above is a link for a YouTube video on making your own compost tumbler from a plastic barrel.

You can get the barrels from any feed store; I plan to do this with barrels rescued from the local car wash as I need all the compost that's no longer 'hot' and filling my trash can compost bins.

Susan

Well, I have the opposite problem. Since we mulch ...

2009-01-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I have the opposite problem. Since we mulch our grass, the bulk of our stuff is brown (lots of oak tree leaves in the fall). I was seriously looking at a tumbler, but I'm not going ahead for the moment. I plan on doing two things:
1) Get a bokashi composter to use indoors for my food scraps. You can even put meat and bones in there if you have some as waste.
2) I found a really neat idea in "Introduction to Permaculture". Basically it involves setting up wire cylinders. You dig a hole where the inside of the cylinder will be. Then you just pile the waste in. You go ahead and plant stuff like tomatoes around the outside of the cylinder. This way as the stuff rots down the plants growing around the outside get the benefit of the nutrients. I hope that makes sense. I'm pretty much guessing on the details from a drawing in the book, but I want to figure it out and write about it later.

I have a tumbler (not a spinner) for my kitchen wa...

2009-01-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

I have a tumbler (not a spinner) for my kitchen waste, to discourage rodent diners (chicken straw, hamster bedding and leaves go in an actual compost pile). The tumbler does seem to work, though I'm not sure it's actually "composting." Somehow a colony of redworms found its way in, so I may have more of a worm bin than an actual composter.

Still, the crumbly (somewhat wet) black stuff is awfully good for the garden.

My hot compost pile worked great after I accumulat...

2009-01-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

My hot compost pile worked great after I accumulated enough "browns" and "greens." I still need to turn it with a pitchfork every few days. Here in southern california, the weather's great for composting year round. I've gotten used to feeding it my kitchen scraps, but still go over to the neighbors for things like dry leaves. Newspaper works too, but I wouldn't recommend adding your junk mail. Composting will likely be slower where you live.

My dad makes compost using red worms. There's some more work involved, such as taking out some of the worms before you add it to your garden. It's also more tricky caring for them if you live in a very cold climate. From my experience, you do become fond of the critters.

brown is sometimes white, like the contents of you...

2009-01-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

brown is sometimes white, like the contents of your paper shredder. You can also scour the neighborhood for bags of leaves that your neighbors put out for collection. I've been known to steal bags of grass clippings for some good hot "green".

Just wanted to echo the recommendation for making ...

2009-01-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to echo the recommendation for making your own compost bin from a trash can. My homemade trash can composter works just as well as my expensive tumbler, holds more compost, and is easier to empty.

I do indoor composting with rubermaid and red worm...

2009-01-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

I do indoor composting with rubermaid and red worms, I just have 1 month, dont be afraid its easy!!

We are in Seattle and use a worm bin. Couldn't be ...

2009-01-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

We are in Seattle and use a worm bin. Couldn't be easier we have two HUGE Rubbermaid locker tubs, drilled with holes on the bottom, and sitting on bricks to allow drainage. We have gorgeous compost within a year. EASY!!!!

I subscribe to the lazy gardener style, so practic...

2009-01-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to the lazy gardener style, so practice sheet composting. I just layer compostable materials directly onto my garden beds throughout the year (leaves in fall; grass clippings in spring/summer) and let it break down in place. Heavily mulching like this always keeps any weed seeds from sprouting (a double bonus for the lazy gardener). We had inherited a chipper/shredder from my grandma a few years back, and use that to chop up any tree limbs and large debris we need to dispose of and then use the wood chips as ornamental mulch (after it ages for a few months). I figure the gas we use in the machine isn't any more than the county would spend in the waste removal trucks driving around and then mulching our yard waste.

I used to throw kitchen scraps on the gardens also (usually brushing some of the leaves or grass aside so the dog wouldn't eat them) but started a worm bin about a year and a half ago. A worm bin might be a great introductory step for you as a way to handle kitchen scraps while you get the pile dilemma sorted out. They little guys wouldn't help with the yard debris though.

I agree my parents had a tumbler when I was a kid ...

2009-01-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

I agree my parents had a tumbler when I was a kid it was a pain.

I live in Seattle and have rabbits. I'm always trying to get rid of rabbit poop. Want some?

I'm a renter in a small apartment so we have a bit...

2009-01-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

I'm a renter in a small apartment so we have a bit of a different situation. We've been composting all of our food waste (even when preserving food from the farmer’s market during the summer) and newspapers for almost two years with a homemade worm bin. It's very cheap to make and our worms create compost extremely quickly – so much so that we plan to continue when we move to some land! We purchased a large plastic pot (large enough to plant a small tree), drilled holes in the side and base, and added red worms. We made a lid for it as well. We've never had problems with odor. The worms live in our coat closet during the winter and on the porch during the summer. To learn more, I recommend the book "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof.

I don't have much to say about tumbling compost (e...

2009-01-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to say about tumbling compost (except to agree with others about purchasing a big, expensive chunk of plastic), but have a couple general composting thoughts. If there's any way you can make an extra raised bed, put your composting stuff right on top of the soil, whether contained or not. When you move the compost off of it (maybe into another of your beds), that bed will be extra super; there's a LOT of good stuff that leaches out of compost into the soil beneath. Second, if you eventually do get chickens, make a largish area for them to sort through your compost. I used to have a portable thingie for the hens that went directly over my raised beds (all the same size). Fresh kitchen scraps (no moldy ones, though), yard waste, freshly pulled weeds, etc all went in with the hens who loved it and turned it for me. When I moved the compost, I'd put the hens on the newly vacated bed where they would turn the soil and eat all the insects and sprouting weeds. They're just the best used in gardens this way. If you haven't read "Chicken Tractor", it has a lot more along these lines. And will make you want to go order some chicks immediately!

We use grass clipping ,3 bales of straw and leaves...

2009-01-04T01:46:00.000-08:00

We use grass clipping ,3 bales of straw and leaves along with household scraps. I hvae several pails to put household scraps in and when they are filled I walk half way across the property to dump it on compost pile. It bakes out there in the "field" with straw ,leaves and grss clippings and manure. We get a fairly decent pile but never in 3 weeks! I hesitate to use cardboard or newspaper since I kind of worry about the processing chemicals of both. The straw we get is from a local farm and he doesn't use anything unhealthy on it-we also get the manure from the same farm. My hubby worked on the farm as a kid. Best part is we get both straw and manure free .

I follow the Ruth Stout no-work garden system, whi...

2009-01-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

I follow the Ruth Stout no-work garden system, which involves no tilling of the soil, mounds of mulch along, with no-fuss composting. Her technique was to simply toss her compostable matter onto the mulch around her flowers and vegetables. I suppose if that doesn't please your aesthetic sensibilities, you could rake back the mulch and shove the potato peelings etc underneath.

I inherited a Rubber Maid compost box which I do use, but never stir it or worry about layers or percentages. It gets household and garden waste. The sun beats on it throughout the seasons. I leave it open during rainy weather so it gets moisture then cover it up so the sun can work its magic.

I don't use paper in composting. I'm leery of the chemicals used in inks and papers, so I send all paper into the city recycling bin.

Every spring, I open up the bottom flap on the compost box and dig out several wheelbarrows full of rich compost. Can't see the need to screen or sift it -- it just goes into whatever beds I'm working on and everything grows just fine.

Ruth was the sister of mystery writer Rex Stout (creator of Nero Wolfe, the orchid growing detective) and her books are still available. Here's a link to an article from Mother Earth:

http://tiny.cc/i7mvS

don't have time to read everyone's comments so hop...

2009-01-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

don't have time to read everyone's comments so hope this is not a repeat . . .

for the brown portion of our compost we rake some of the grass clippings from mowing with our reel mower and we let them sit in a pile until they are - well, brown. then we add them.

Texan Mama - No, it's me being stupid this time ar...

2009-01-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

Texan Mama - No, it's me being stupid this time around. I love your idea and I'm going to steal it. Thanks! No $200 rolling composter for me when I can construct my own... Plus, I love drilling holes in shit. I'll give you my full report.

Also, thanks to everyone else for pointing out the obvious with the newspaper and cardboard. I have no problem securing paper waste so that will work perfectamente! Gracias!

Hey I feel stupid telling YOU how to make a compos...

2009-01-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

Hey I feel stupid telling YOU how to make a composter, but when we lived in the country I made our very own compost tumbler, super cheap. I bought a plastic garbage can with a lid that locked (by lifting the handles). Then I drilled holes in the sides and bottom with a spade drill bit. To "tumble" it, just lock the lid on and roll it around. And, I bought a can with wheels on the bottom so I could roll it wherever I wanted (right by the back door when putting compost in, roll it right over to the garden to empty it). I am gonna feel stupid if you reply back, "DUh everyone knows how to make THAT!" Hope that idea helps.

I just started composting but I have the one in th...

2009-01-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

I just started composting but I have the one in the picture you used! From what I have read so far you must keep it at about 50% brown 50% green. I try and add some cardboard, paper or dried leafs every time I add green items.

Also be careful with poop! Meat eaters are a big no no and birds are a no no. Rabbits I understand are fine.

So many comments: I'll be concise.

1. No tu...

2009-01-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

So many comments: I'll be concise.

1. No tumblers...make a pile...we contain ours in three seperate piles surrounded with hardware cloth that opens.

2. Water it when it is dry and turn it frequently.

3. Run the mower over all your big stuff (maybe even those rose bushes) and it will be crunched up enough for the compost bin.

4. I agree that you should find some leaves and some poop...I have access to donkey and chicken poop, YAHOO!

Another negative vote for the tumbler option - I'v...

2009-01-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

Another negative vote for the tumbler option - I've been working on my tumbler compost for over a year and it's still no good. Also, those tumblers get HEAVY really fast - if you've got back problems, maybe cold composting in layers would be a better solution. I have a really hard time turning mine and it's pretty small. The only reason I would recommend a tumbler is if you're composting food scraps and hate rodents - they're really good for keeping mice out.

Adding heaps of grass clippings to a compost pile is the best and fastest way I've found of making high quality compost fast.

I've learned from hard experience that disposing of food scraps and making compost are two different problems.

blondeoverboard... So funny that you drop your chi...

2009-01-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

blondeoverboard... So funny that you drop your chickens 'overboard' and let them do the pooping and turning. :D Made me chuckle.

Oh please don't buy a plastic tumbler thingie. I mean if you really really think it will be wonderful than I guess you should but it just seems like a waste of money.
Sadly, the city yard waste bin might not be that great of a solution either. http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2008/12/compost-outlaws.html
This was reported from LA and I have no knowledge that it is being done in WA/Seattle. Makes ya wonder though.

I am planning on building an outdoor wooden worm bin before this spring. I am a renter with a yard and neighbors to collaborate with. This is still on the to do list, but it is pretty high.