Let's talk about compost!!

[Govtgirl]

Nope, this isn't a political thread I want to start composting, and don't want to have just a big ol' pile of stuff in the backyard, I want an actual composting bin or system. Building one isn't an option, I'm busy already, I want to buy one, but they go anywhere from $50 to $500!

Do you have one you can recommend? Now we have to pay someone to haul off the garden debris, and I figure I can use that money to buy a composter, save the bucks, and help my garden. Thanks!!

 

[LauraMax]

Have you checked w/your local public works dept? In our town we compost leaves etc., & deliver it free to residents. That way you could cut down on your expenses AND labor.

 

[Gayle]

Hey Govtgirl,

Check with your local waste management district and see if they're selling any. The local one here sells backyard compost bins for $45:
http://www.rcswd.com/backcompostbins.html

Our compost "bin" now is just a pile at the edge of our woods...pretty low tech...just let it rot. We used to have a big compost tumbler (expensive), but found that we didn't create enough garbage to make it work. So, I wouldn't go with anything too huge.

HTH

 

[dragonf1y]

I really want a bin myself, but DH dug out a small area of the yard, and that is working well. It is compacting fast enough that we can keep adding. There are even some sweet potatoes growing in the area from some bad ones that we dumped.

 

[Beavs]

When a link says "Let's talk compost" you have to click on it...

 

[Gayle]

When a link says "Let's talk compost" you have to click on it...

Well, it IS trash talk after all.

 

[Rhea]

Govtgirl....

I have one of those bigger composters that is set up on a stand and you are supposed to be able to compost in 90 days. I have not been very good with working it (no water source close enough for me to add water when needed) But this spring without even being rotated or anything added to my grass clippings, I had some nice sweet compost in the middle. I think mine cost about $300? I can't remember the name of it though I'll have to think about it and see if it comes to me. Good luck!

 

[Beavs]

Well, it IS trash talk after all.

LMAO!!

 

[kathryn]

Two possibilities:
1) The kind of composters that stay in one place, but you can spin them (like this one here : https://www.compostumbler.com/StoreFront/IAFDispatcher (there are less hardcore looking ones as well!).

There are some like this that divert the finished compost to the outside barrel, while the unfinished compost still works.

2) a worm composter (the worms eat the garbage and leave 'worm casings'--the PC term for worm poop, LOL!-which is excellent for the soil. You can also keep these composters in the house).

A third type is a double-decker type (I can't figure out what they are really called), which allows you to remove finished compost while the new compost is still working.

Unless you plan to fill the composter, then let the entire batch 'cook' til it's done, it's really best to have either two composters (which is what I did because I already had one) or a composter like the double-decker or the tumbler that separates done from undone.

Another (quite cheap) option is to buy some chicken wire, make two tubes with it (that you fasten to the ground with ground staples) and throw your leaves and food scraps in them. They work especially well for leaves.

I have two composters as well as a chicken-wire leaf composting area right now : a plain square one and a round rolling one (that acts like the tumbler, but you have to roll it around the yard). I had a worm composter in the past, but I didn't keep up with it--it's not a lot of work, but too much for lazy me. If I ever have to replace my composters, I'd go with the tumbler type.

HTH!

ETA: I didn't read other responses before I wrote mine, but I agree that if you don't have a lot, and you have a corner to put to this use, a pile is just as good as a formal container. My stepmother does this (and she and my dad started doing it in the 60s!). She just keeps a bucket in the kitchen, fills it with compostables, and dumps it daily.

 

[kathryn]

There are even some sweet potatoes growing in the area from some bad ones that we dumped.

Some of the best tomatoes I ever had were "volunteers" from some seeds that were in some compost I used on the garden. I also once had some cantaloup grow (but it was late in the season and wasn't ripe by fall).

 

[Govtgirl]

Hey, thanks for all the answers! I've just gotten into gardening, and realized I accidentally made a compost pile in the backyard when I dumped a bunch of old weeds and clippings, and never got them carted away. I tilled it a few weeks ago trying to make it look better, then today ventured in the backyard, and whaddaya know, it's nice black soil! Who knew?! I think I'll save for one of those tumbler kinds, I want to have the most kick-butt garden on the block!