Compost made easy? [Update Sat 8/1]

If anyone is interested in this, let me know, I'll keep updating.

I did a lot of reading on GardenWeb's Compost forum and figured out that I can make this as simple or as complicated as I want to. I decided to go simple. For now.

I went to Lowes tonight, looking for metal chicken wire but found an alternative that looks just like it, same size holes, but lighter and easier to cut - it's some kind of recycled plastic. It's 3 feet high.

Then I found stakes that were four feet high, I can snake them through the holes in the plastic netting. I can fasten the edges with zip ties.

And that's it for the bin. I'm going to build two, they will be at least 3 feet wide for a good decomposition rate. Stake it right into the ground. Done.

When you compost, it will go faster if you combine "brown" and "green" materials. For browns, I will have shredded paper from work and will bring in the cardboard containers that my town won't take for recycling (cereal boxes, etc.) so I'll finally have a use for those. Shredded newspaper and fall leaves.

For greens, I'll have lawn clippings, things that I prune like flowerheads and coffee grounds. I already have a garbage can full of this stuff, so I'm assuming one of the two bins I create will be full the first day.

From there, I could do things like add water to make it moist but not wet... Turn the pile... Sift the pile... Poke holes in it with a pitchfork for air circulation... But I don't know if I will. I know I won't have ready compost this year, especially since it's pretty much dead over the winter. I can be patient. I'll have something to look forward to picking up again in spring.

So that's it. If anyone is interested, I'll post pics when I build it.

[Update Sat 8/1]

So... They're done!

First off, I'm glad I had more zip ties than I planned for. I realized that once the stuff was weighing on the sides of the bin, I was going to have to make sure it didn't separate. I spaced them about three inches apart.

Second, if I hadn't needed to prep the area or fill the bin, it would have taken me no more than an hour. Really, these things are a piece of cake to put together.

I had to prep the area first, I chose to put them next to my shed but away from where the shed roof drains. In retrospect, I should have placed them a couple of feet in front of the fence too, for more air exchange around the pile.

Here's the before of the area:



I used the scuffle hoe to rip up the weeds, raked it, and just left bare dirt. You want the piles to be right on the ground so the worms can find it and go have a field day in it. I have a much greater respect for worms than when I started gardening! They're hardworking and only mean good things to a garden.

I started with wrapping the plastic chicken wire around a patio chair, measuring it and securing the ends with zip ties, making sure they overlap some.




On the second one, I overlapped it another two inches than this one. You can make the bin as wide as you want but the minimum size should be 3 feet.




Then I took my stakes and snaked them through the chicken wire. I made sure to get much larger stakes than the wire so I could sink them into the dirt at least one foot.




Here is the cleared area, two bins with the stakes sunk into the ground, and my two garbage cans full of my previous compost materials.




This part took me a while. You're supposed to have a larger portion of brown materials to green, to get the pile 'cooking'. I had a lot of green. I mixed old leaves and shredded paper in for my browns. I mixed my hydrangea flowerheads that I just pruned and grass clippings as my greens.

I layered them like lasagna. I started out with a lot of browns at the bottom, and I watered those, just to get them a little moist to start the process. Then browns and greens as I went up.



Believe it or not, that is the entire contents of the two garbage cans and another garbage bag of shredded paper! As compost degrades, the pile will get smaller and smaller.

I put some U shaped stakes in the bottom to keep the pile from getting tipped over by critters or my dog too:




I bought two things from Gardeners.com... A 19" thermometer to help me keep track of how the pile is cooking. The temp should be between 132 and 160 degrees! Crazy, right? It does that all on it's own, from mixing everything like I did. The best way to kill any stray weed seeds or insects in the pile is to maintain 150 degrees as long as possible. Once it starts going down, I can aerate it (put air in between the layers/contents). To do that, I bought this:




The wings on the bottom collapse against the shaft as it goes in and when you pull on it, the wings open. Then you pull up and voila! The pile is being sifted.

Again, you DON'T have to get this crazy with the pile. You could just throw the stuff in there and leave it alone. I'm doing this because I want to see if I can get some product before winter sets in.

Besides the things I mentioned, the only other thing I'm going to do is lay down landscape fabric and mulch around the piles. Just to make it look better and keep it from becoming a muddy mess when it rains. Maybe I'll put some edging around it too.

Alright, that's about it. Let me know if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them! Thanks for reading!!

Message edited 8/1/2009 5:39:08 PM.

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

will it stink? will you be hiding it behind plants like the picture that you showed??

i want pics when you are through... then explanation of what you will do with it and when...

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

From what I'm reading, the smell comes in when the pile is allowed to get soggy, which you shouldn't do. Depending on where it is, you could cover it with a homemade cover or tarp to keep it from being too wet. They say it should be as wet as a wrung out sponge.

I won't be hiding it initially, there really is no place I could put it that wouldn't be seen by someone. I think a good place would be to the right of the shed here:



They're not that unsightly, so I'm not too concerned about it. If I had enough room (I don't) I would have considered putting them behind the shed. But anyone who comes to visit us would understand that it's how we roll.

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

If you turn the pile a few times a week it is quite possible that you will have compost (albeit, a small pile) this season. You will produce more, and quicker, if you are diligent about turning the pile. I've also found that if you break down the kitchen scraps the composting will quicken (chop up the scraps, crunch up the egg shells, etc). You will be surprised how many earthworms will make their way to your bin...and they will help tremendously as well.

Have fun!

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

Thanks Colleen! When I put leaves in my compost can, I would usually put my string trimmer in there and chop them up to get the pieces smaller.

I guess I could figure out a way to turn the pile, although it won't be easy with the style bin I chose. It would be easier with an open front style.

The earthworm tip I heard, and I was thinking about getting red wiggler worms to add to the pile too. Probably don't need it though, we have a lot of them around, happily!

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

So you can add paper? I look forward to hearing how it goes for you.

I am starting to think that we are going about it wrong- we are using a trash can that DH drilled lots of holes into. I have put lots of produce scraps, coffe grounds, eggshells in there. And some weeds. It doesn't smell but I also have a bad sense of smell. It's really wormy but now I wonder if it's going to get too wet.

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

You can put paper in it but like Colleen said, shreds will break down faster than solid pieces. You can use any paper that doesn't have wax or plastic around it - cereal boxes, pizza boxes, cardboard, paper shopping bags, 8 1/2 x 11 sheets, paper towels, napkins, newspaper, etc.

I started out with a garbage can too, doing the same thing you're doing. Mine is way too wet, and smelly.

The wire bins allow air around all sides, so it's going to be drier on the outside and wetter in the core. I can still use the stuff in my garbage can, and just layer it like lasagne with a mixture of "brown" and "green" materials.

Message edited 7/23/2009 11:16:00 AM.

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

yes, please post your progress with it! i'd love to see it as you build and begin to use it.

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

This is cool! I had no idea. I learn something new all the time.

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

What about insects, particular fruit flies? DH built a compost bin out of wood and he takes out a panel of the wood on one side to mix it once or twice a week, but we sih we had gotten something with a lid and more enclosed, so that we could hopefully have fewer bugs -- have you noticed this with your bin?

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

my dad has had a compost pile as long as I can remember, but it's just a pile (well he has 3 different piles) and he turns it probably every day.

but I just couldn't do it...for those who want compst made REALLY easy...



$150 at clean air gardening. the flies are there, but I am surrounded on 2 sides by 20+ acres of grass fields and I didn't want the field mice making a home in my backyard.

Re: Compost made easy? We shall see.

I have closed garbage cans right now and no bugs to speak of. But I'll update you later as I go. Since I won't be including yummy things like kitchen scraps, I believe this increases my chances of a bug-free, rodent-free pile.

I did see this product which could help though if you already have a bug problem:



Ceramic fruit fly trap box

Message edited 7/30/2009 1:15:10 PM.

Re: Compost made easy? [Update Sat 8/1]

I updated the first post with my efforts today. So far, the pile is only 91 degrees at the core, with an outside temperature of 82. I have a feeling my new obsession will be taking the temperature!

Re: Compost made easy? [Update Sat 8/1]

what a great idea! thanks for sharing. I plan to start one when I have a house.

My grandpa used to have a huge one. I remember he had problems with bees and it always stunk. He never covered it though, maybe that's why. He also added lime (which I don't know if its a good idea or not) and would use a pitch fork to turn it through it. He also put the dog poo in there (again not sure if its a good idea or not )

Re: Compost made easy? [Update Sat 8/1]

Very cool and interesting, would love to see how it progresses!

Re: Compost made easy? [Update Sat 8/1]

Thanks! As of this morning, it's up to 110 degrees. The middle is significantly lower than the outer edges so I know it's doing it's job. I added lots of shredded newspaper and some coffee grounds this week and stole a bag of leaves from someone's curb too to start the second pile.

So far, so good! No critters, no bugs, no smell.