i heard you have to compost your mix in order for bacteria etc to grow in it before you put a plant in it. how do i start a compost and what do i do? can i mix up alot and then take as much as i need at a time to put my plants in?

[jaykush]

just a few tips you should know first off.

Find a Location for the Pile

Your pile can be built anywhere except up against a structure such as a house or fence. Macroorganisms, i.e., bugs, etc., will assist you in the composting process. You want them in the pile, not in the house. Also, I've read that compost can rot some types of wood, although I would imagine that the moisture and organisms in a pile have a greater effect than the compost itself.

The following list will give you a number of points to consider in locating your pile. The more of them you meet, the better off you are. Remember that your pile can be moved at any time, so you don't have to get it right the first time.

* At least 2 feet away from a structure such as a fence or house
* Easy access for you
* Close to source of materials, i.e., leaves, grass clippings
* Easy access to a source of water for wetting down the pile
* Level surface
* Well-drained surface
* Pavement or earth underneath are OK (on pavement, the nutrients can't leach out into the ground; on ground, earthworms will come to help decompost your pile)
* Near, but at least 2 feet away from, a wall or tree to break the wind (which could dry out your pile)
* Not so near a pine tree that it would catch a lot of needles (pine needles are high in carbon and will slow down the composting process)
* Shade if you live in a very dry, hot climate (to keep pile from drying out in intense sun)
* Away from vegetable gardens (slugs and other critters may like your compost pile)

Factors to Consider
The best thing to do when choosing your bin is to walk through the Step-by-Step Instructions, imagining how you would do each step with the bin you are considering. Whether you are buying or building, you should consider the following factors:

* Size. The pile should be at least 1 cubic yard (3 feet wide x 3 feet deep x 3 feet high). This is large enough to retain heat and moisture, but small enough to remain aerated in the center as long as the pile is frequently turned. Do not build a bin larger than 5 feet wide x 5 feet high x any length. This size would be too large to remain aerated in a home compost operation.

* Easy access to add materials. You need to make sure that the method for adding materials is appropriate for the composting you will do. For instance, if there is a plastic lid that is difficult to remove and/or attach, that might be OK for someone who was going to compost infrequently in batches because they wouldn't have to deal with it very often. However, if you are using the "add as you go" method, it could be quite frustrating and may discourage composting.

Larry Wilhelm of the Earthworks organization has an interesting setup. He places some of his compost bins under a group of rabbit hutches. This allows the rabbits to add manure to his pile on a regular basis without additional effort from him. To move the manure throughout the pile, he keeps chickens in the compost bin who distribute the manure by scratching (and also provide manure of their own). Of course, the chickens also eat some of the pile's decomposers -- no system is perfect, but this one is close!

* Easy access to remove finished compost. I once saw a commercial bin that required that you turn the bin onto its side and remove the bottom to access the finished compost. If you are composting in batches, but don't intend to turn your pile, this might not be a problem. At the end of the composting process, the compost would take up only 25 - 40% of the original weight of the pile. However, if you "add as you go", you would have to turn over a sizable container loaded with material and, therefore, quite heavy. Also, when you opened the bottom, partially decomposed materials may fall out along with the finished compost.

I heard of one woman who built a compost bin out of a discarded rabbit hutch. She set it up on cinder blocks at each corner and placed a metal tray underneath the bin and between the blocks. As compost was created at the bottom of the pile (there wasn't a lot of turning going on here), the compost fell through the 1/2" wire mesh to the tray below. She just slid the tray out to access her compost, then returned the tray to its location. Great idea!

* Ability to turn pile. Some commercial bins have a handle to turn the entire bin without having to handle the product. Ask if the vendor has a demo bin FULL of materials you can test. Make sure the full bin is not too heavy for you to turn.

If there is no handle, think about how you would turn the pile by (1) stirring with a pitchfork or (2) restacking the pile. The side of the bin will be 3 to 4 feet tall, so it is best if there is a way to remove one side so you can get at it easily.

* Appearance. If you are going to place the bin where you or your neighbors will see it, you need to make sure its appearance is not objectionable.

* Creature access. If you live in an area where composting food scraps is acceptable (does not include most suburban or urban areas), make sure that your pile cannot be accessed by whatever local wildlife is present -- from rodents to bears!

i have a lot more i could pm you later today.

could i get a 20 gallon garbage can and compost in that? keep it moist and mix it around every few days?

someone please help me out

Yeah, you could. But compost will need aeration, the more the better. (From what I've read anyway, just been reading up on the subject myself lately. I've yet to compost myself, although I'm starting a pile next time I cut the grass,haha)



Anyway, this is the idiot's guide to composting (basically all I remembered from about literally 15-20 hours of overall research on compost, hah)


I'm probably gonna use either chicken wire or that orange plastic construction fencing for the "bin", you really don't even need a bin, but it helps.

The pile needs to be a good square meter at least.

One the bottom add sticks or wood chips,a few inches deep, maybe 8'', then add a layer of green material a little less deep than the first one, maybe 6''-7'' ,vegetable scraps, grass clippings etc, then add a thin layer of manure and soil, like an inch. Do this a few layers and then wet it down. Wait a month or two, then turn it. You want to put the outside part on the inside and the inside part on the outside.

That's basically what I'm gonna do. It's probably not the best way and maybe even erroneous in parts, but that's the basic idea I got from all the research I did a few weeks ago.

[stevr59]

what i use shipping pallet that singles come on 4 of them nail toughter make a sweet bin

could i drill a whole bunch of holes all around my 20 gallon garbage can for air?

The problem with a 20 gal trash can is that it's really too small to do a fast or "hot" compost, it will work for slow composting where the temps don't get up there but it will take months for a finished product. A 50 gal trash can would be better but mixing could be a pain in the a**. I use a 50 gal rubbermaid storage container that I drilled holes in the bottom for drainage and holes in the side for aeration and it works great. My first run at composting was grass clippings, cardboard, and paper. It finished in about a month and turned out pretty well. Eventually I got another 50 gal container and when it's time to stir it I just dump it into the other one.

if i was to get a 50 gallon rubbermaid how often do i wet it down and toss it about?

I just realized you are talking about composting your soil after you mix it up with amendments right? If that's the case you can use the smaller can. I usually wet it enough that I can squeeze a drop or 2 of water out of a hand full of mix. I like to use molasses mixed at 1 tbsp per gal to wet the mix with. Turning or mixing it once a day will ensure that enough air is getting to the whole mix and good beneficial bacteria and fungi will start breaking down your amendments so your plants can use them. 2 weeks of this is enough before you use it. It can be too hot for your plants if you don't let it sit for awhile and kill them.

Sorry for the confusion