I didn't read your entire post, but will tell you with certainty that Home
Depot does not sell a quality product of compost unless your particular Home
Depot sells Ladybug Brand. If it does sell that, it's the most state of the art
compost, made under the conditions with which Dr. Laura Ingram has enlisted.
The idea is for the compost to be fully alive.

http://www.soilfoodweb.com/phpweb/topicindex.php?tid=20

Since there is absolutely no regulation for what is packaged as compost, you are
probably not buying compost which has humates in it. Humates are the finished
product of the decomposition process.

You can easily make your own, but you say it's not cost effective or possible
with the children around. Where do you live? Maybe someone can direct you to a
soil yard which sells quality compost.

The compost I buy is state of the art as described above on the URL, and it is
fungal and bacterial based along with micro organisms and cost about 36 dollars
a cubic yard. It's WELL worth it and I buy about 3 yards a year after I
initially had 12 yards delivered before I started my garden. Now I lay it on
top, tear at the soil with a fork, and apply the compost by throwing it with my
gloved hand.

Victoria

On Mon, 16 Jun 2003 19:45:16 -0400, DigitalVinyl wrote:

I've been reading up and reviewing the different methods (i'm not
crazy about vermiculture--just not THAT much of a gardener yet)

Is there some reason why composting can't be done on smaller scales?
Most of the solutions are in large barrels or fenced in squares. I
can't do piles...no lawn and the small area I have is surrounded by
neighbor's with kids playing in yard. I wouldn't want a rotting pile
there. And I really can't use that much. With about 24 sq ft of garden
space...using 2 inches I would need 4 cu ft per year at most! At Home
Depot that would cost me about $14-$15. SOme compact solutions cost
$100-150. It would take me 6-8 years just to break even. But even the
smallest is big for me. I also live alone and I'm not sure how much
variety I can introduce into the pile without begging friends to save
stinky bags of rotting things I don't eat (like bananas).

Is home-made compost going to be significantly better than composted
manure and humus I purchase at Home Depot. I know organic shops sell
more expensive nutrient rich mixes. However if I've got to buy blood
meal and other stuff to add to compost then the expense grows and the
value becomes questionable for all but larger applications.

Assuming it is still worthwhile...

I was thinking using a 15-20 gallon container with a tray below for
catching compost tea. I'm thinking something tupperware-ish with a
nice tight seal and locks on top. I wanted to improve aeration since
my reading says that lack of oxygen is what causes odors and slows
composting. Turning/mixing only replenishes the oxygen for less than a
half hour in an active compost. I was thinking of perforating the
lowest portion or bottom of the container and fixing a fan (small PC
cooling fan) to the top to draw air out. Theoretically, it would suck
air in through the bottom holes creating air flow up through the
compost. If the aeration works the offensive odors should be
reduced/eliminated and it should be no problem keeping it on the
landing near the back door.

I figure if the pile halves in volume during compost the 16 gallon
container will produce a cubic foot. Using compost accelerators it
should produce in 3-8 weeks, depending.

Or I should just go to home depot...
Any suggestions?
DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)