Composting 101
Bins..Bins... Whose got the Bins?
Ok so that is a silly start but really you need to start off with a bin or some kind of containment in order to keep you compost together so to speak. We have been composting here at the stead since we first started cooking and just sort of used what we had for walls which ended up being pallets. Now the pallets we have were recycled of course from a local lumber yard who has them on the side of the road for free. Jonathan brought some home and we have used them off and on for various projects including the compost bins, raised walkways during mudseason, platform for my rain water tank - just to name a few. You can also buy a container for composting as most DIY stores, or local nursery/garden centers as they carry a wide variety of designs like the Earth Machine shown in the photo below. You may also be lucky enough to live in a town that offers for a discount price or even free - containers to get people to recycle some of their waste in order to reduce the landfills. I would recommend calling your local town office and asking - my favorite Motto - Nothing Venture, Nothing Gained!
Ok so that is a silly start but really you need to start off with a bin or some kind of containment in order to keep you compost together so to speak. We have been composting here at the stead since we first started cooking and just sort of used what we had for walls which ended up being pallets. Now the pallets we have were recycled of course from a local lumber yard who has them on the side of the road for free. Jonathan brought some home and we have used them off and on for various projects including the compost bins, raised walkways during mudseason, platform for my rain water tank - just to name a few. You can also buy a container for composting as most DIY stores, or local nursery/garden centers as they carry a wide variety of designs like the Earth Machine shown in the photo below. You may also be lucky enough to live in a town that offers for a discount price or even free - containers to get people to recycle some of their waste in order to reduce the landfills. I would recommend calling your local town office and asking - my favorite Motto - Nothing Venture, Nothing Gained!
How to build a compost system using Pallets...
Like everything else we do here, building the compost bin was definitely not a rocket science project. We used the pallets like I mentioned, used some wire to secure three of the pallets together, and all that was left was to find a level spot in our yard which was out of the way in was in the sun. If you choose to go the pallet route, I have to mention that you will need to remember to not fill the bins too high before starting another bin as it can become heavy and difficult to turn the compost over. Why turn it? Well the idea behind composting is that you are cooking the organic matter whether it is dry, green or left overs in a box that creates it's own heat and breaks down everything until just soil is left. The center of the pile can reach temperatures in excess of 150 degrees F so quite warm for sure! I could go into further details on how to place things and what to do or not do but I found this really cool site that will explain it all to you in detail - I couldn't explain it better so decided to just share their link here. 3 Bin Compost System
Other ideas are bales of hay or straw that you stack and as the piles get higher you add another layer of bales. You can opt to just have a wired in area using fencing on three sides that allows the air to circulate more in the pile so it will cook better. Or just a free standing pile that works best if you have a low area in your yard or a ditch that you can fill in with the compost. Really the sky is the limit with ideas. Google is always a really good source just type in Compost systems and see what comes up! If you can find a black Earth Machine like is pictured above, they do work great - are self contained, compact in size and makes compost pretty fast if in a sunny location to allow for cooking.
Other ideas are bales of hay or straw that you stack and as the piles get higher you add another layer of bales. You can opt to just have a wired in area using fencing on three sides that allows the air to circulate more in the pile so it will cook better. Or just a free standing pile that works best if you have a low area in your yard or a ditch that you can fill in with the compost. Really the sky is the limit with ideas. Google is always a really good source just type in Compost systems and see what comes up! If you can find a black Earth Machine like is pictured above, they do work great - are self contained, compact in size and makes compost pretty fast if in a sunny location to allow for cooking.
What can I add to it?
So now that you have the system built, what do you put in it? Well the rule of thumb is anything organic - like kitchen scraps/peelings, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, old fruit, old vegetables, even old newspaper or scrap paper as long as it has been shredded - (I personally do not put much of this in my compost as the ink has chemicals in it and I am trying to be chemical free). From the garden we put in grass clippings, garden debris, autumn leaves, small branches even wood ash from our campfire! Old bales of hay or straw is another good source of fodder for the compost. But you see I do not add anything that has been cooked at all! Also no corn cobs! This is more to protect your dogs if you have any as they are attracted to the butter and salt - the problem is their bodies can not break the cob down and they end up getting stuck in the intestines blocking them. We almost had a one year old dog named Nutmeg die from this - and ended up costing us over $1000 in vet bills to perform surgery! So take a word from the wise - throw the cobs in the garbage!
Here is another great website source that I found that has 25 Composting tips that are perfect for anyone to follow: Tips It is a website that is called Composting 101 so a great source for the beginner or someone looking for new ideas.
And in the words of Donkey off Shrek - Layers are always best! Like Parfaits or Onions - they both have layers... composts have layers... hot (green stuff - living) then dry - leaves, straw, papers.... then when you add more hot - remember to add dry - this keeps the pot cooking so to speak. The below picture is of our bin which you will see has hay on top which is acting as an insulator to what is cooking below it. This bin is quite full and really needs to be turned. We actually started to use the next bin over as round 2 and probably in the next few weeks will be attaching a 3rd bin to these to add extra space. This pile has already condensed 1/3 of its volume in about 6 months or so. That is how I know it is working well!
The biggest draw back of composting I find is having enough patience to let it turn into compost - which looks like dark brown/black rich soil. I ended up buying some organic compost to fill in my raised beds with this year due to not having enough compost available from our bins. This fall though we will be putting all our raised gardens to bed using only the finest compost available... our own! I can't wait!