"dkhedmo" wrote in message
hlink.net...
We moved into our house a few weeks ago, and have quite a deep back yard,
backed by woods. We're sort of halfway between town and country; it's an
old tract neighborhood, but more on the rustic side than the golf course
lawn type of neighborhoods. I have done some marginally successful bin
composting in the past, in the yard of an apartment we lived in on the
west coast. We are now in the northeast, and now that we have our own
property, I want to get into composting more fully.

With winter fast approaching, should I bother to start now, or wait until
spring? I'm thinking of composting household food scraps in the bin (the
Smith and Hawken stacking thing wiht the bi-fold lid) and doing leaves and
grass in a pile. Once I do get up and running, do I continue adding
through the winter, or take a hiatus?

Location - what do I need to consider? Sun? Lots of tall trees. Drainage?
There are some swampy bits here and there. (Questions about drainage and
how to fix that will be a whole 'nother post sometime.) I was thinking of
doing the grass and leaves pile in the woods, just outside of our fence.
Would I need to clear the ground of brush and vegetation, or just dump
stuff on top and go from there? If I were to do the pile in the yard,
would I clear any grass or weeds first?

We have lots of squirrels, rabbits, mice, various northeast woodland
creatures in the vicinity. How do I arrange things so as to *not* set up a
cafeteria, or a nice cozy nest? I'm hoping to go way back in the yard, but
what is the closest one might put a compost area to the house?

I grew up in the northeast, but the little I know about gardening,
composting, etc is all west coast based, as I lived out there in my mid
20's to 30's - almost year-round growing seasons, different plant
selection, etc.

Any advice to get me started is greatly appreciated. Websites, book
recommendations, etc.

Thanks,
Karen

If its a 5 sided bin touching the soil at the bottom, should be no problem.
Just throwing it into an open area with leaves and such and mixing it won't
do it. Just a slight burial of fresh food scraps will probably be found by
hungry varmints as well. Something that does work is letting the scraps set
in a large coffee tin for a few weeks or so. A little meat or fat is okay,
just be sure to have alot of greenery rotting with it. Be finicky when
cutting up your lettuce and celery, alot of it should go to the can. Don't
forget the used coffee grinds. No bones, let the dogs recycle them. Don't
cover the container while stewing, it won't stink as bad. Bury the
contents, turn every few days until absorbed by the soil. Keep the stewing
container outside, downwind from the house, elevated from the ground. Out
of reach from varmints. Dogs can help keep them at bay.
--
Jonny