I'm currently enjoying the free use of a portion of someone's garden.
I'll be using my designated patch to grow some veggies and some fruit
bushes. I'm a total beginner, so I'll be learning as I go along. I'm
picking up some good ideas from pc mags and books.

The gardener who takes care of the rest of the garden seems to burn
all the weeds he pulls up, along with all hedge trimmings. I could use
all that material for making compost. So I've been looking for ideas
on composting enclosures or containers. Can anyone offer any
suggestions or provide a link to a site that has a design or two I can
use? If the said enclosure/container can be made out of material that
doesn't cost anything, all the better... It needs to be able to house
at least a cubic meter of vegetable matter. Two cubic metres would be
better. Any tips on where to locate the container would be appreciated
too.

Thank you,

JD

"JakeD" wrote in message
I'm currently enjoying the free use of a portion of someone's garden.
I'll be using my designated patch to grow some veggies and some fruit
bushes. I'm a total beginner, so I'll be learning as I go along. I'm
picking up some good ideas from pc mags and books.

The gardener who takes care of the rest of the garden seems to burn
all the weeds he pulls up, along with all hedge trimmings. I could use
all that material for making compost. So I've been looking for ideas
on composting enclosures or containers. Can anyone offer any
suggestions or provide a link to a site that has a design or two I can
use? If the said enclosure/container can be made out of material that
doesn't cost anything, all the better... It needs to be able to house
at least a cubic meter of vegetable matter. Two cubic metres would be
better. Any tips on where to locate the container would be appreciated
too.

4 pallets would work and should be free the sort of wooden pallets used for
bricks. Wire them together and fill then up.

On Mon, 1 Oct 2007 18:48:47 +1000, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given
wrote:


4 pallets would work and should be free the sort of wooden pallets used for
bricks. Wire them together and fill then up.

Thank you for the tip. I guess one side of the enclosure could wired
up only on one side so that it can be opened like a gate, allowing you
to fork out the well-rotted stuff from the bottom of the heap. Is that
how you do it?

I guess it makes sense to treat the timber with wood preservative, so
that it lasts longer, yes?

JD

"JakeD" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 1 Oct 2007 18:48:47 +1000, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given
wrote:


4 pallets would work and should be free the sort of wooden pallets used
for
bricks. Wire them together and fill then up.

Thank you for the tip. I guess one side of the enclosure could wired
up only on one side so that it can be opened like a gate, allowing you
to fork out the well-rotted stuff from the bottom of the heap. Is that
how you do it?

Yep, but it takes a lot of material to fill somewthing htis size. Also look
for an old piece of carpet to put on top of the compost to stop it drying
out. You could ram star pickets (Y posts I think they are called in US)
into the ground on the sides to hold it strongly but it may not need it.

I guess it makes sense to treat the timber with wood preservative, so
that it lasts longer, yes?

Depending on how available they are in your area, it may not be worth
bothering with. If they can be found anywhere then don't waste the money
and effort :-))

On Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:10:39 +0100, JakeD wrote:

I guess it makes sense to treat the timber with wood preservative, so
that it lasts longer, yes?

Many folks would say no. The preservative can, and probably will, leach
into the compost. I'd rather have to replace the pallets. You might not
want to use treated wood either.

Have you thought about sheet composting? You just spread the organic
matter over the ground and till it in. Over the winter the worms will
feast on the matter and improve your soil. In the spring/summer you can
just make a pile. Then when your peas are done, till it all in that area
along with the pea plants. Very little storage area is needed that way.

I have one area (5' X 50' strip) in the backyard where I tilled in approx
400 pounds of pumpkins. Two years ago I tilled in a pickup load of leaves
in another small area. We have great soil compared to the rest of our area.

We do have 2 plastic compost bins that we fill on a regular basis, 5-6
times a year. When I fill them I have to pretty much sit on the lid to get
it on. Everything I add in whole. I had to bend the corn stocks to get
them in the bin. I throw entire squash, pumpkins, tree branches (1" and
smaller), weeds. My wife is giving a class on composting and she is going
to take photos of the insides of our bins. I guess to use as an example of
how not to use a bin. I don't cut anything up I put into the bins. I also
don't care about green brown ratios. Don't put meat into the bins,
although you probably knew that already.

We've only used the bins here for three years. We haven't had to empty
them one time. I am amazed at how times I've filled them.

Good luck,
Steve

On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:18:38 -0600, SteveSch
wrote:

I guess it makes sense to treat the timber with wood preservative, so
that it lasts longer, yes?

Many folks would say no. The preservative can, and probably will, leach
into the compost. I'd rather have to replace the pallets. You might not
want to use treated wood either.

Have you thought about sheet composting? You just spread the organic
matter over the ground and till it in. Over the winter the worms will
feast on the matter and improve your soil. In the spring/summer you can
just make a pile. Then when your peas are done, till it all in that area
along with the pea plants. Very little storage area is needed that way.

I have one area (5' X 50' strip) in the backyard where I tilled in approx
400 pounds of pumpkins. Two years ago I tilled in a pickup load of leaves
in another small area. We have great soil compared to the rest of our area.

We do have 2 plastic compost bins that we fill on a regular basis, 5-6
times a year. When I fill them I have to pretty much sit on the lid to get
it on. Everything I add in whole. I had to bend the corn stocks to get
them in the bin. I throw entire squash, pumpkins, tree branches (1" and
smaller), weeds. My wife is giving a class on composting and she is going
to take photos of the insides of our bins. I guess to use as an example of
how not to use a bin. I don't cut anything up I put into the bins. I also
don't care about green brown ratios. Don't put meat into the bins,
although you probably knew that already.

We've only used the bins here for three years. We haven't had to empty
them one time. I am amazed at how times I've filled them.

Thanks for the replies. What is the pc angle on wormeries? Are they
worth having? I often wonder if they expend a lot of valuable
nutrients on raising worms rather than raising plants! If I want rich
fibrous compost, would I be best advised to use a traditional compost
bin or heap?

I've also wondered if there is some kind of small, hygenic compost bin
one can keep inside the kitchen for food scraps.

At the moment, I use a brown paper bag at the back of the kitchen sink
draining board, but it attracts flies into the kitchen even when it's
only half full. Perhaps I should empty it more often, but the compost
heap is located some distance from the kitchen, so I like to keep
trips there to a minimum.

We did try using a black bin on the concrete area right outside the
kitchen door, but it didn't make good compost, as it had no drainage
or air holes, and was too far away from earth and vegetation.

JD

On Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:10:39 +0100, JakeD wrote:


We do have 2 plastic compost bins that we fill on a regular basis, 5-6
times a year. When I fill them I have to pretty much sit on the lid to get
it on. Everything I add in whole. I had to bend the corn stocks to get
them in the bin. I throw entire squash, pumpkins, tree branches (1" and
smaller), weeds. My wife is giving a class on composting and she is going
to take photos of the insides of our bins. I guess to use as an example of
how not to use a bin. I don't cut anything up I put into the bins. I also
don't care about green brown ratios. Don't put meat into the bins,
although you probably knew that already.

We've only used the bins here for three years. We haven't had to empty
them one time. I am amazed at how times I've filled them.

That's interesting. Since my original query, I think I've settled on
a plan...

We have two black plastic dustbins that aren't being used (leftovers
from before our (UK) local council introduced big wheelie bins). The
two older bins are cylidrical, except narrower at the
bottom than at the top. My plan is to place one of these on some bare
earth, near the kitchen door and also near my vegetable patch. I plan
to make some 2" diameter holes in the sides (for ventilation) and in
the bottom (to allow the worms to come and go).

When the bin is full, I'll take the lid off and invert the bin onto an
adjacent patch of ground. (It should empty out easily due to the
tapered shape of the bin.)

What was at the bottom of the bin will now be at the top of the
resulting pile, and I will shovel that off, directly onto my vegetable
patch. The unrotted remainder will go back into the bin, and the bin
will be used as before and so on. Well, that's the
theory, anyway. I'll report back after I've tried it.

I'll add a couple of hanfuls of earth from the veggie patch
every time I empty the kitchen waste bag into the bin. I gather this
will aid composting.

Comments invited... and if anyone can think of a good use for that
other spare bin...

JD

"JakeD" wrote in message
We have two black plastic dustbins that aren't being used (leftovers
from before our (UK) local council introduced big wheelie bins). The
two older bins are cylidrical, except narrower at the
bottom than at the top. My plan is to place one of these on some bare
earth, near the kitchen door and also near my vegetable patch. I plan
to make some 2" diameter holes in the sides (for ventilation) and in
the bottom (to allow the worms to come and go).

Wrong sort of worms Jake. The worms used in wormeries are red and are
called compost worms.

These sites might help:
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1074679.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1620935.htm

Comments invited... and if anyone can think of a good use for that
other spare bin...

Use it to make liquid manure which you let fester for a few weeks then
dilute to the colour of weak tea and pour on plants. You can put in manure
held in an old mesh sack or just throw in clipping weeds and top with water,
or pee in it occassionally or all sorts of things.

In article ,
JakeD wrote:

The gardener who takes care of the rest of the garden seems to burn
all the weeds he pulls up, along with all hedge trimmings. I could use
all that material for making compost.

Well... it depends on the weeds. Some weeds have seeds that are hard to kill
in compost bins unless you are really conscientious about the compost (and I
am not). The ash might be good, though, especially if your soil is naturally
acidic.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

In article ,
JakeD wrote:

I've also wondered if there is some kind of small, hygenic compost bin
one can keep inside the kitchen for food scraps.

At the moment, I use a brown paper bag at the back of the kitchen sink
draining board, but it attracts flies into the kitchen even when it's
only half full. Perhaps I should empty it more often, but the compost
heap is located some distance from the kitchen, so I like to keep
trips there to a minimum.

Try a lid on your bucket. Secondly, it's worth a daily trip to the compost
heap to prevent the vinegar flies from hovering in the kitchen. The other
option is of course to move the heap closer, but that seems to be a problem
for you.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/

On Mon, 08 Oct 2007 21:32:40 +1000, Chookie
wrote:

Try a lid on your bucket. Secondly, it's worth a daily trip to the compost
heap to prevent the vinegar flies from hovering in the kitchen. The other
option is of course to move the heap closer, but that seems to be a problem
for you.

I think I've got a working system now. I have cut the bottom off an
old plastic dustbin. I then upturned it and drilled some holes around
the rim for ventilation. On this, I'm using a heavy rubber lid from
another old dustbin. This compost bin will be used for kitchen scraps
plus possibly seedless weeds from my veg beds. It now sits a few paces
from the kitchen door and about one pace from my veg beds. The idea is
that the bin can be lifted off once it is full, leaving a neat pile.
The unrotted protion can be forked back into the bin for further
composting. I'm told that if you chuck a handful of garden soil in
occasionally, it accelerates the composting. Here's a pic:

http://tinyurl.com/2acpyf

Thanks all for the input.

JD

On Oct 6, 5:37 am, JakeD wrote:
On Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:18:38 -0600, SteveSch
wrote:



I guess it makes sense to treat the timber with wood preservative, so
that it lasts longer, yes?

Many folks would say no. The preservative can, and probably will, leach
into the compost. I'd rather have to replace the pallets. You might not
want to use treated wood either.

Have you thought about sheet composting? You just spread the organic
matter over the ground and till it in. Over the winter the worms will
feast on the matter and improve your soil. In the spring/summer you can
just make a pile. Then when your peas are done, till it all in that area
along with the pea plants. Very little storage area is needed that way.

I have one area (5' X 50' strip) in the backyard where I tilled in approx
400 pounds of pumpkins. Two years ago I tilled in a pickup load of leaves
in another small area. We have great soil compared to the rest of our area.

We do have 2 plastic compost bins that we fill on a regular basis, 5-6
times a year. When I fill them I have to pretty much sit on the lid to get
it on. Everything I add in whole. I had to bend the corn stocks to get
them in the bin. I throw entire squash, pumpkins, tree branches (1" and
smaller), weeds. My wife is giving a class on composting and she is going
to take photos of the insides of our bins. I guess to use as an example of
how not to use a bin. I don't cut anything up I put into the bins. I also
don't care about green brown ratios. Don't put meat into the bins,
although you probably knew that already.

We've only used the bins here for three years. We haven't had to empty
them one time. I am amazed at how times I've filled them.

Thanks for the replies. What is the pc angle on wormeries? Are they
worth having?

Very much so. What takes your backyard pile six months to
break down, with frequent pest problems, a converted 14 gallon
Rubbermaid bin in the cellar can transform into black gold in two
weeks, the worst pest problem being a rare, transient fruit fly
outbreak.

I often wonder if they expend a lot of valuable
nutrients on raising worms rather than raising plants! If I want rich
fibrous compost, would I be best advised to use a traditional compost
bin or heap?

I've also wondered if there is some kind of small, hygenic compost bin
one can keep inside the kitchen for food scraps.

5 gallon paint pail.

Ventilating and draining the pail with lots of 1/16" holes and
throwing in wet newspaper turns it into a worm bin.

Two such pails, with an unventilated, undrained third
bucket underneath makes a barebones cheap stacking
bin.

At the moment, I use a brown paper bag at the back of the kitchen sink
draining board, but it attracts flies into the kitchen even when it's
only half full. Perhaps I should empty it more often, but the compost
heap is located some distance from the kitchen, so I like to keep
trips there to a minimum.

The brown bag itself will be converted into black gold if
you feed it to the worms.

We did try using a black bin on the concrete area right outside the
kitchen door, but it didn't make good compost, as it had no drainage
or air holes, and was too far away from earth and vegetation.

Go with the worm bin.