We recently moved out in the country. Nothing to do but we had to make a
compost pile. I admit, it's a handy place for garbage we would usually put
in the can for a week. Yech!

Does it work? How much work is it? How often are you supposed to turn it?
Do you keep it wet? Do you get enough compost to justify the work?

TIA

Steve

"SteveB" wrote in message
...
We recently moved out in the country. Nothing to do but we had to make a
compost pile. I admit, it's a handy place for garbage we would usually
put in the can for a week. Yech!

Does it work? How much work is it? How often are you supposed to turn
it? Do you keep it wet? Do you get enough compost to justify the work?

TIA

Steve

You can make it as much work as you want. Generally speaking, the more work
you put in the quicker it becomes useable. We were in a rush the first few
years so we turned it, kept it moist, etc - but now we just leave it sit and
wait a while longer. The pile we just started a couple weeks ago is about
8' wide, 4' deep and 15' long. We have a neighbor friend in the lawn care
business and he brings a few truck loads for us - then we just add to it -
our own leaves / grass clippings, household garbage, some manure, and maybe
a broken bag of caked up lawn fertilizer.

On Nov 4, 3:33 am, "SteveB" wrote:
We recently moved out in the country. Nothing to do but we had to make a
compost pile. I admit, it's a handy place for garbage we would usually put
in the can for a week. Yech!

Does it work? How much work is it? How often are you supposed to turn it?
Do you keep it wet? Do you get enough compost to justify the work?

TIA

Steve

You'll get a difference of opinion from many people on this subject,
but here's my experience. They are a lot of work and what compost I
got wasn't worth the effort. I now buy my compost and use the time for
other more worthwhile work.

A lot of variables go into having a good workable compost pile. Like
do you have the right amount of natural rainfall to keep it moist but
not wet or dry? Do you have a source of equal amounts of green and
brown material to feed the pile? Are you physically able to turn it
every few weeks?

In my case we've had a drought for years so it took watering with a
hose on a regular basis. I had to bag grass clippings and leaves to
feed the pile rather than mulch them. It took almost 2 hours of hard
work every time I turned it. Even with all that, only about half of it
would break down into compost. Plus I once got a den of snakes in it
(guess they liked the heat it produced).

I'm sure others have had satisfactory results, but I quit trying.

Red

"SteveB" wrote in message
...
We recently moved out in the country. Nothing to do but we had to make a
compost pile. I admit, it's a handy place for garbage we would usually put in
the can for a week. Yech!

Does it work? How much work is it? How often are you supposed to turn it? Do
you keep it wet? Do you get enough compost to justify the work?


Here in Seattle, I dump my lawn clippings and occasional kitchen waste and weeds
into the compost bins, in layers of 3-4 inches. I then sprinkle a bit of dirt
over it to innoculate it with the necessary bacteria. I keep adding until the
bin is full, meanwhile using the compost from the other bin. Once I've emptied
the other bin, or have no room to spare in the full one, I start filling the
other bin. When I need the compost from the full bin, I fork the top of the full
bin, which is not fully composted, into the other bin until I get to good
compost, and use the compost as needed.

I don't turn it, and don't water it - but this is Seattle.

Want an easy bin? Take 4 wooden pallets. prop them side to side to form a cube
with the 'top' boards to the inside of the cube. Tie a rope or wire to adjacent
corners to hold the top corners together, or nail a short board across each
corner. When you want to empty a bin, remove the ties to the front pallet, and
remove it. 2 or 3 bins, side by side will handle a good size yards clippings and
keep you ahead of the composting process. Pallets will last a few years before
the rot enough to need replacing.

Bob

I just ordered one of these:
http://www.thecomposter.com/products...x.html?=Google

"GWB" wrote in message
...
I just ordered one of these:
http://www.thecomposter.com/products...x.html?=Google

good idea but kind of small isn't it?

i put all my compost material on the curb now and buy it back as Dillo Dirt.
totally worth it for me.

i used to compost but it is kind of a pain.

for op: if you're composting for a garden you could consider row composting.
Basically you just bury the material where you are planing your gardin. More
info on the web.

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"jthread" wrote in message
...

"GWB" wrote in message
...
I just ordered one of these:
http://www.thecomposter.com/products...x.html?=Google

good idea but kind of small isn't it?

i put all my compost material on the curb now and buy it back as Dillo
Dirt. totally worth it for me.

i used to compost but it is kind of a pain.

for op: if you're composting for a garden you could consider row
composting. Basically you just bury the material where you are planing
your gardin. More info on the web.

My situation is this:

I can back my truck up at the local landfill, and for $20, they will fill
the back of an 8' bed with compost that they have made of organic
materials they have made. This compost includes fertilizers and all the
best of things my taxes can buy.

So why do I compost, you ask. So that I have a place to put my grass
clippings, kitchen trash, and various items.

I thank all the people who were in on the discussion and had positive
things to add on the topic. I learned a lot. About composting, and about
posters.

Steve

good for you dude. i'm really glad the city p/u's our clipping or i'd have a
compost pile too. i had one at my house in round rock but because the yard
was so large i filled my bin with about 4 mowings. i needed about 3 bins to
keep up. i didn't want to mulch cause the lawn really needed to breath. it
was choked from the previous owner cause he always mulched.

you have to keep after a compost pile. it needs green and brown waste, dirt,
water, sunlight, turning. it's quite a chore.

I really like that barrel idea cause the turning is the really hard part.
but in my old house that would of held about 1.5 mowings. and i mowed once a
week in the summer.

"jthread" wrote in message
...

"GWB" wrote in message
...
I just ordered one of these:
http://www.thecomposter.com/products...x.html?=Google

good idea but kind of small isn't it?

i put all my compost material on the curb now and buy it back as Dillo
Dirt. totally worth it for me.

i used to compost but it is kind of a pain.

for op: if you're composting for a garden you could consider row
composting. Basically you just bury the material where you are planing
your gardin. More info on the web.

My situation is this:

I can back my truck up at the local landfill, and for $20, they will fill
the back of an 8' bed with compost that they have made of organic materials
they have made. This compost includes fertilizers and all the best of
things my taxes can buy.

So why do I compost, you ask. So that I have a place to put my grass
clippings, kitchen trash, and various items.

I thank all the people who were in on the discussion and had positive things
to add on the topic. I learned a lot. About composting, and about posters.

Steve

On Nov 4, 4:33 am, "SteveB" wrote:
We recently moved out in the country. Nothing to do but we had to make a
compost pile. I admit, it's a handy place for garbage we would usually put
in the can for a week. Yech!

Does it work? How much work is it? How often are you supposed to turn it?
Do you keep it wet? Do you get enough compost to justify the work?

TIA

Steve

I simply pile the leaves up in three piles, and add discarded
vegetable, and occasionally add bagged grass clippings in it (in case
the grass is too long to be mulched). I just pile them up. I don't
use any barrel or cage or anything.

I used to turn the compost piles and water them whenever I was done
with mowing the lawn. This means I used to turn them every week or
so. Now, I only turn them during fall when I add a lot quantity of
leaves into the piles, and once in summer (to check their status).
Otherwise, I don't turn them or water them at all. And the result is
just as good. Yes, this takes 8 to 9 months to compose them. This is
OK because I am not in a hurry. Basically, I just let the nature to
take its course.

I mainly use the compost in the vegetable garden because the soil in
there is very sandy. I need the compost to improve the soil texture.
The soil in there is definitely getting quite well after I have added
compost in there year after year for the past 7 years.

One possible problem that I can think of is that I can compose the
leaves in less than one year because I use a garden vacuum to gather
the leaves, and the garden vacuum grounds the leaves to small pieces,
and that helps the composing to go fast. If the leaves were not
grounded, the composing likely would take longer.

I could have used the free compost from the local government. But
that would make my car dirty. If I had a pickup truck, I might have
used the free compost from the local government.

By the way, I live in northern New Jersey.

Jay Chan

On Nov 6, 11:02 am, "SteveB" wrote:


My situation is this:

I can back my truck up at the local landfill, and for $20, they will fill
the back of an 8' bed with compost that they have made of organic materials
they have made. This compost includes fertilizers and all the best of
things my taxes can buy.

Good enough for flower beds and general landscape use, but not for
vegetable gardens. You have no idea what herbicides & insecticides
was used on those "organic materials" before they went to the landfill
for composting. People put some really nasty things at really nasty
rates on their yards before they cut, bag, and put on the curb for
pickup.

Red

"Red" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Nov 6, 11:02 am, "SteveB" wrote:


My situation is this:

I can back my truck up at the local landfill, and for $20, they will fill
the back of an 8' bed with compost that they have made of organic
materials
they have made. This compost includes fertilizers and all the best of
things my taxes can buy.

Good enough for flower beds and general landscape use, but not for
vegetable gardens. You have no idea what herbicides & insecticides
was used on those "organic materials" before they went to the landfill
for composting. People put some really nasty things at really nasty
rates on their yards before they cut, bag, and put on the curb for
pickup.

Red


You think that's bad? Dillo Dirt includes treated sewage sludge. According
to the web site they claim it's save for use in gardens. I only use it on my
yard and flower beds but there is a chance we are eating food watered by
effluent from a waste water treatment plant anyway.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/dillo.htm

Yummy! Oh well, it usually just gets dumped in a river anyway. In Las
Cruces, NM the old treatment plant was so bad the effluent was dirtier than
the influent. Dumped right into the Rio Grande and to the pecan, lettuce,
onion, chili and all the other crops grown down there. They (Las Cruces)
built a new plant back in the 70's. We used to go swimming in that river all
the time.

Jim

jthread wrote:
"SteveB" wrote in message
...
"jthread" wrote in message
...
"GWB" wrote in message
...
I just ordered one of these:
http://www.thecomposter.com/products...x.html?=Google

good idea but kind of small isn't it?

i put all my compost material on the curb now and buy it back as Dillo
Dirt. totally worth it for me.

i used to compost but it is kind of a pain.

for op: if you're composting for a garden you could consider row
composting. Basically you just bury the material where you are planing
your gardin. More info on the web.
My situation is this:

I can back my truck up at the local landfill, and for $20, they will fill
the back of an 8' bed with compost that they have made of organic
materials they have made. This compost includes fertilizers and all the
best of things my taxes can buy.

So why do I compost, you ask. So that I have a place to put my grass
clippings, kitchen trash, and various items.

I thank all the people who were in on the discussion and had positive
things to add on the topic. I learned a lot. About composting, and about
posters.

Steve

good for you dude. i'm really glad the city p/u's our clipping or i'd have a
compost pile too. i had one at my house in round rock but because the yard
was so large i filled my bin with about 4 mowings. i needed about 3 bins to
keep up. i didn't want to mulch cause the lawn really needed to breath. it
was choked from the previous owner cause he always mulched.

you have to keep after a compost pile. it needs green and brown waste, dirt,
water, sunlight, turning. it's quite a chore.

I really like that barrel idea cause the turning is the really hard part.
but in my old house that would of held about 1.5 mowings. and i mowed once a
week in the summer.



Mulching is good for the lawn as long as you don't take more than 1/3
of the grass height in a mowing. Also, if you aerate once every couple
of years, your lawn will have no problem digesting the clippings.
If the previous owner abused the lawn by letting the thatch build up,
by improper mowing techniques, then you may want to have it power
dethatched and overseeded at least once. You will be amazed by the results.
Why would you want to remove the life giving nutrients from your lawn?
That's what you do when you bag. You just have to allow your turf to
digest the clippings by proper management and proper mowing practices.

Red wrote:
On Nov 6, 11:02 am, "SteveB" wrote:

My situation is this:

I can back my truck up at the local landfill, and for $20, they will fill
the back of an 8' bed with compost that they have made of organic materials
they have made. This compost includes fertilizers and all the best of
things my taxes can buy.

Good enough for flower beds and general landscape use, but not for
vegetable gardens. You have no idea what herbicides & insecticides
was used on those "organic materials" before they went to the landfill
for composting. People put some really nasty things at really nasty
rates on their yards before they cut, bag, and put on the curb for
pickup.

Red


People put all those chemicals on their lawn, and then collect it all
up and send it to the waste center, which in turn means they will have
to put more chemicals on to replace what they removed. Stupid idea.
Good for the chemical companies. Bad for your yard and the environment.
I have no problem with using chemicals. It is the misuse and overuse
that is the problem.

wrote in message news:vt2Yi.188561$Fc.30933@attbi_s21...
jthread wrote:
"SteveB" wrote in message
...
"jthread" wrote in message
...
"GWB" wrote in message
...
I just ordered one of these:
http://www.thecomposter.com/products...x.html?=Google

good idea but kind of small isn't it?

i put all my compost material on the curb now and buy it back as Dillo
Dirt. totally worth it for me.

i used to compost but it is kind of a pain.

for op: if you're composting for a garden you could consider row
composting. Basically you just bury the material where you are planing
your gardin. More info on the web.
My situation is this:

I can back my truck up at the local landfill, and for $20, they will
fill the back of an 8' bed with compost that they have made of organic
materials they have made. This compost includes fertilizers and all the
best of things my taxes can buy.

So why do I compost, you ask. So that I have a place to put my grass
clippings, kitchen trash, and various items.

I thank all the people who were in on the discussion and had positive
things to add on the topic. I learned a lot. About composting, and
about posters.

Steve

good for you dude. i'm really glad the city p/u's our clipping or i'd
have a compost pile too. i had one at my house in round rock but because
the yard was so large i filled my bin with about 4 mowings. i needed
about 3 bins to keep up. i didn't want to mulch cause the lawn really
needed to breath. it was choked from the previous owner cause he always
mulched.

you have to keep after a compost pile. it needs green and brown waste,
dirt, water, sunlight, turning. it's quite a chore.

I really like that barrel idea cause the turning is the really hard part.
but in my old house that would of held about 1.5 mowings. and i mowed
once a week in the summer.



Mulching is good for the lawn as long as you don't take more than 1/3 of
the grass height in a mowing. Also, if you aerate once every couple of
years, your lawn will have no problem digesting the clippings.
If the previous owner abused the lawn by letting the thatch build up, by
improper mowing techniques, then you may want to have it power dethatched
and overseeded at least once. You will be amazed by the results.
Why would you want to remove the life giving nutrients from your lawn?
That's what you do when you bag. You just have to allow your turf to
digest the clippings by proper management and proper mowing practices.

I did just about everything you suggested. Except reseed. That yard looked
like a park when I sold it. The realtor put "park like yard" in the desc.
for the property. Thanks to Dillo Dirt, a lot of hard work, and water. I
don't really want to discourage mulching. Just like everything: moderation
is the key. When I sold it I made about $30k profit even after realtor fees
on that one. :-) Not bad for an 18 month turn around. I sure hope the market
hold here!!!

That yard really needed a break from mulching. Also. there is always plenty
of mulch left on the yard even when I use my catcher.

Jim

wrote in message news:vx2Yi.171454$Xa3.150789@attbi_s22...
Red wrote:
On Nov 6, 11:02 am, "SteveB" wrote:

My situation is this:

I can back my truck up at the local landfill, and for $20, they will
fill
the back of an 8' bed with compost that they have made of organic
materials
they have made. This compost includes fertilizers and all the best of
things my taxes can buy.

Good enough for flower beds and general landscape use, but not for
vegetable gardens. You have no idea what herbicides & insecticides
was used on those "organic materials" before they went to the landfill
for composting. People put some really nasty things at really nasty
rates on their yards before they cut, bag, and put on the curb for
pickup.

Red


People put all those chemicals on their lawn, and then collect it all up
and send it to the waste center, which in turn means they will have to put
more chemicals on to replace what they removed. Stupid idea.
Good for the chemical companies. Bad for your yard and the environment.
I have no problem with using chemicals. It is the misuse and overuse that
is the problem.

I've A/B'ed store bought compost and dillo dirt. So far Dillo Dirt "seems" a
little better. But your point is valid and a lot of people here won't use
it. I'm going to continue as long I have success. I like the idea of keeping
the yard waste out of the land fills.

Jim