Need Composting tips

[Guest guest]

Good Morning, and thanks for all the warm " welcomes " . I found the posts on

composting to be quite interesting and never thought about doing that. We use

lots of fresh veggies and fruits, and I'd really love to compost as much as I

can, but I know nothing about it. Any tips?

Judy in Baton Rouge

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/21/2008 10:12:40 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

Jabbyjabby writes:

 

I'd really love to compost as much as I

can, but I know nothing about it. Any tips?

 

 

I'm a little spoiled. DH & I have a landscape nursery on 30 acres, so when

my side yard gets too yucky looking I put it in a bucket and take it out near

where we put our veggie garden every spring. Come spring DH will till it in

with the tractor. I do scatter a lot of compost around the yard, once the

leaves come out again a lot will just compost right in under leaf cover of the

viburnum & such. Amy

 

 

 

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I grew up in a very rural area of Mississippi where everyone had gardens, so

I know how much hard work is involved. Now, I live in the city, a very

congested area, but I would like to grow my own tomatoes and especially fresh

herbs. I have a small back yard and a nice courtyard area, suitable for pots.

It

just seems a shame not to compost with all the fruits and veggies we're

eating now. I guess I need to get some good books on composting and find out how

to begin. thanks for sharing your tips.

Judy in Baton Rouge

 

 

 

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

<I'd really love to compost as much as I

can, but I know nothing about it. Any tips? >

 

There was a lady who wrote a book about gardening years ago. Can't remember

her name, darnit. Ruth? something. She thought - the less work the

better. She pretty much threw everything in the garden and let Mother

Nature take care of it. Works for me.

 

You need green stuff, brown stuff, dirt and water. You can turn it, take

its temperature and other various work or just throw it in a pile near the

garden. That's a high-tech as I get in composting.

 

Wendy

[Guest guest]

Ruth Stout, I believe.... No-till gardening....

 

On 1/22/08, Wendy Jeffries <salt wrote:

>

> <I'd really love to compost as much as I

> can, but I know nothing about it. Any tips? >

>

> There was a lady who wrote a book about gardening years ago. Can't

> remember

> her name, darnit. Ruth? something. She thought - the less work the

> better. She pretty much threw everything in the garden and let Mother

> Nature take care of it. Works for me.

>

> You need green stuff, brown stuff, dirt and water. You can turn it, take

> its temperature and other various work or just throw it in a pile near the

>

> garden. That's a high-tech as I get in composting.

>

> Wendy

>

>

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I take my raw veggie and fruit trimmings and even ones that may spoil before I

use them, egg shells and take a shovel and dig a hole in my garden. Keep the

dirt in the shovel, while putting the trimmings into the hole. Then cover with

the dirt in the shovel. It is so easy and makes fertile soil.

Judy

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[Guest guest]

Compost piles need heat, air and water to break down matter into useful compost.

An easy, small one can be made with a circle of chicken wire or even several old

tires stacked on one another. Get the biggest pitchfork you can handle

(remembering that what you'll be forking will also be heavy), and turn the

compost pile over several times a week, or after every addition. To jump start

your compost, add some fertilizer. Coffee grinds, egg shells and veggie

peelings go into the compost pile. Chicken, horse, pig and cow poop are ok in

the compost pile but not dog or cat. (I haven't a CLUE why, it is just what the

extension agent told me about 30 years ago.) Large things (large limbs,

branches) should be chopped up before putting on the pile. Grass clippings

break down nicely, so it gives you extra incentive to rake the yard after

mowing.

 

For compost tea, fork a bucket about 3/4 full of good compost and top off with

water. Let it sit (in sun preferable, speeds action) for about a week then pour

off the tea and dump the soggy compost back on the pile. The tea works wonders

on your veggie or flower garden, and I used it on my house plants before the

Great War of the Cats during which all the houseplants were vanquished and their

pots relegated to the dust bin.

 

You can buy compost bins and even a fancy compost tumbler but you can make one

without the fancy stuff.

 

Oh, one last thing: any edible stuff going on the compost pile like vegetable

and fruit discards needs to be immediately turned in, over, covered. Unless, of

course, you don't mind skunks and possums having a midnight snack in your

compost heap. I don't mind possums, personally, but skunks frighten easily and

when frightened tend to let 'er rip. If you've ever been within a mile of a

frightened skunk which has sprayed, you'll never, ever, want to give them an

excuse to snack in your yard!!!!!

 

Hope this helps, Love and hugs, Jeanne in GA

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

If you consider pots, get into square foot gardening

(SFG) - it produces huge harvests due to the soil mix

used and there are no weeds . I did it hast year first

time in my tiny backyard, and my tomato gargen was

officially named a 'square-foot jungle'!

Regards,

Olga

 

 

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[Guest guest]

We had a compost pile made from 5 wooden flats. The flats were free

and we used one on the bottome and four to make the sides. It was held

together with wire and the front opened like a door to make turning

easier. It got good ventilation and work very well for years. Hope

this helps.

[Guest guest]

We compost a lot. You can get a tumbler specially for this, which I

might order soon (will let you know the link if anyone is interested)

and it is a drum device that can turn and everything gets aerated and

mixed in pretty well.

 

It can also start pretty easily and simply, I just started one at my

new place. If you have a garden you will have leaves and branches

that you rake, all sorts of garden waste. I make a pile out of

those. Then I keep a bucket in the kitchen, put all my kitchen waste

there, and when full, layer it into the compost pile. The one I am

using right now is boxed in on 3 sides, so you can mix it on one side

that can be opened. I add garden waste on top of the kitchen waste so

the animals don't get into it, and keep layering, kitchen stuff,

leaves, kitchen stuff. Once a week or so turn the whole thing with a

shovel or pitch fork. It should be hot or at least warm, this is the

sign that things are turning into compost.

 

Good luck with it!

 

Cabrita @ los angeles

 

 

, " Mizz Peller " <mzzpeller

wrote:

>

> We had a compost pile made from 5 wooden flats. The flats were

free

> and we used one on the bottome and four to make the sides. It was

held

> together with wire and the front opened like a door to make turning

> easier. It got good ventilation and work very well for years. Hope

> this helps.

>

[Guest guest]

I love your basic concept because that is what my family did in the

1950's when I was growing up. We built a new house in the redwoods and

the soil was mostly clay. So every few days, when the compost pail

filled up, one of the males in the family " buried the garbage " . It

needs to be deep enough so wild life and neighborhood dogs don't get

into it. Now the soil is very good @ my mom's. She is 90 and I am 64.

 

Kathleen

 

I take my raw veggie and fruit trimmings and even ones that may

spoil before I use them, egg shells and take a shovel and dig a hole in

my garden. Keep the dirt in the shovel, while putting the trimmings

into the hole. Then cover with the dirt in the shovel. It is so easy

and makes fertile soil.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all the tips on composting. I'm going to do some research on

composting ideas for limited urban spaces since I don't have a garden.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the Ruth Stout reference, that was a great tip. I googled her and

found some really good and informative information about the " Stout Method " .

Now, I'll check the local library for some of her books and try to get

started.

 

 

 

*

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Jeanne, those are very good tips, especially about the compost tea.

I had forgotten all about that---my mother used to make something similar

using cow manure and water the flowers with it. It's funny what triggers my

memory these days. We have lots of problems with opossums and raccoons here in

Baton Rouge, so I'll be sure to cover my kitchen scraps. The raccoons will come

right up and eat out of the cats' food bowls and wash their food in the water

bowls. I haven't seen any in my yard, but my daughter has. She volunteers

for the feral cat program on LSU campus, feeding and watering a number of

abandoned cats.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for sharing the tip about SFG, Olga. I found some really interesting

information online about square foot gardening and some great photos. I was

amazed at the vertically grown cantaloupes. I think this is something that will

work for me in my small yard and patio.

[Guest guest]

You might look into vermicomposting, or using worms to do the work. The book I

used

was " Worms Eat My Garbage " but there is probably enough stuff on the web now to

get the

idea. I know of a gentleman with no garden who used this method and then took

the

compost made to either Boston Common or the Public Garden where it fed the land.

I

enjoyed this until centipedes invaded and killed all my worms. I haven't

replaced them yet.

 

-ginger

 

, Jabbyjabby wrote:

>

> Thanks for all the tips on composting. I'm going to do some research on

> composting ideas for limited urban spaces since I don't have a garden.

>