We found out that our local brewery was taking their organic malted
barley to the dump, after they cooked it to make beer. We started picking up
~1000 lbs/week of it and fed it to our cattle all winter. (22% protein.) That
saved us several thousand bucks, buying (non-organic) grain for the cows and
solved the brewmeister's problem of having to run to the dump every few
days.

Now that the cows are on the grazing lease for the summer, we're composting
the grain. Man, oh, man -- that stuff is teriffic in a compost pile, but
you have to
make sure to keep the pile balanced (for C to N ratio) and stir it, or the
barley gets
stinky.

I caught someone throwing several hundred pounds of newsprint (last year's
tourist guides) in the dumpster yesterday and grabbed them for my compost pile.

Look around your neighborhood and see what you can glean for your compost pile.
You might be surprised out how much stuff doesn't need to go into the
local landfill.

I won't even get started on a local guy who picks up used fryer oil from
restaurants
to run his diesel VW Golf with. (Diesel engines were originally run on
peanut oil.) He
also uses used fryer oil to run the F350 Ford diesel pickup that he uses
to gather the
drums of used fryer oil with... His exhaust smells like french fries : )

Jan


In article ,
"Compostman" wrote:

There's a Starbucks next to my subway stop. For about a year now, on my way
home from work, I stop by and pick up the grounds. About 20 pounds a day,
from the expresso machine, and no trash or filters. The manager said that
in a few months Starbucks will begin putting their coffee grounds in special
bags and leaving them by the front door for people in the neighborhood to
pick up. But since I'm their regular coffee pickerupper, they'll save the
bags for me inside. The problem becomes having too much coffee. Not a
really bad problem. Like having too much compost.

--
Compostman
Washington, DC
Zone 7
"Jill S" wrote in message
.. .
Heya, I'm back for the season now that school's out, and I stumbled across
something interesting my mom picked up the other day so I thought I'd
post.


If you have a Starbucks nearby, stop in and see if they'll give you their
used coffee grounds. Ours is handing out bags full of them free for
fertilizing plants, and it seems to be doing a good job. Or, I suppose you
could save your own used coffee.
According to the label, the brewing process removes most of the acidity so
it's got a pH of about 6.9, and the carbon-nitrogen ratio is 20:1. You can
add it directly to the garden near nitrogen-loving plants, along with
brown
materials like leaves. Or, you can add it to your compost and use it
within
two or three weeks.

--
-Jill S.

Jan Flora wrote:
I caught someone throwing several hundred pounds of newsprint (last year's
tourist guides) in the dumpster yesterday and grabbed them for my compost pile.

Good catch! I used to do this when I lived at my neighbours farm about 15 years ago,
but now I live in an apartment. I have to figure out a new small load composting. I am
in the process of making my own tumbler out of old plastic buckets, I just have to figure
out how to make it tumble and spin.
Those tourist guides, are they colour? I thought one shouldn't used the colour
newsprint/magazines or something? Or is your compost pile big enough to ... cure it?
--
R.I.P. Gregory Peck, June 12th, 2003. He showed me the father and the man I strive to be,
on-screen and off. [[Reverend Sykes: "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin'."
'To Kill a Mockingbird']]
-till next time,
Jameson Stalanthas Yu -x- dolphins-cove.com
((remove the INVALID))

In article , ~consul
wrote:

Jan Flora wrote:
I caught someone throwing several hundred pounds of newsprint (last year's
tourist guides) in the dumpster yesterday and grabbed them for my
compost pile.

Good catch! I used to do this when I lived at my neighbours farm
about 15 years ago,
but now I live in an apartment. I have to figure out a new small load
composting. I am
in the process of making my own tumbler out of old plastic buckets, I
just have to figure
out how to make it tumble and spin.
Those tourist guides, are they colour? I thought one shouldn't used the
colour
newsprint/magazines or something? Or is your compost pile big enough to
.... cure it?

They are regular black ink on newsprint -- no color or slick paper. My
yard is several
acres, so I have room for lots of big compost piles : )

Could you get something like a refrigerator dolly to set your buckets on
and spin them?
Or hit the hardware store and buy some little dolly wheels and build a
frame the right
dimensions to hold a bucket? Let me chew on your idea for a little while
and see if I can
think something up for you.

Have you looked into worm composting? Lots of Alaskans do that, especially
people up
north in Zone 1. (It's big in Fairbanks.) You can do it in a Rubbermaid tub.

Jan

Jan Flora wrote:
In article , ~consul
Could you get something like a refrigerator dolly to set your buckets on and spin them? Or hit the hardware store and buy some little dolly wheels and build a frame the right dimensions to hold a bucket? Let me chew on your idea for a little while and s
ee if I can think something up for you.

I've got a design, I'm just looking around for scraps to build it with. I've got two big
flower buckets which I will melt together, open to open end. I'll drill drainage holes. I
already have a triangular corner at each end with a hinge that I made, with a wire screen
and a latch so it fits snug and seals when it's latched. I am trying to figure out how to
hang this over the back stairway entrance so it doesn't block access to the neighbours
door. I might hang it over the railing with wire supports and a bar and let it spin on the
bar over the walkway below. ((The only image that I can think that it would look like is
in a mechanics garage, the machine that they use after a tire is inflated to check the
widths, the way that is set up and spins.))

And to make it look nice so the landlord doesn't yell.

Have you looked into worm composting? Lots of Alaskans do that, especially
people up north in Zone 1. (It's big in Fairbanks.) You can do it in a Rubbermaid tub.

I'm too cheap. I've got over 3 dozen potted plants and 2 little dwarf trees growing in
my 1 bed room apartment, it's literally a jungle when folks come in. And it's all up high
so my cat can't get to them. But I won't spring for the worms. Probably because
everything I've grown in my apartment have been from other folks cuttings or stuff I
picked from the outdoors. My pots are from the flea markets. The only thing I buy is
potting soil and fertilizer. Which, after I get my composting stuff running, I won't have
to do that anymore either.
Next time I go into the mountains, I might just dig for them. Would regular worms do the
trick, albeit slower than the red worms?
I live in a 1100US$/mo apartment near downtown Los Angeles, I gotta save where I can!
--
R.I.P. Gregory Peck, June 12th, 2003. He showed me the father and the man I strive to be,
on-screen and off. [[Reverend Sykes: "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin'."
'To Kill a Mockingbird']]
-till next time,
Jameson Stalanthas Yu -x- dolphins-cove.com
((remove the INVALID))