Never Composted Before
How do I compost. I would like to do it cheap or free.. I will just be growing herbs and vegetables. Mainly tomatoes and chile,s. I don,t have a lot of time to spend on doing it, but I will put some effort. I work two jobs as a chef so I am really busy. Thankx.
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kimbledawn
- Senior Member
- Posts: 225
- Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:18 am
- Location: Memphis
You should have an easy time composting with your jobs.If you save all of the wastes from the day except meat or dairy in a trash bag, you can dump it in your compost pile when you get home. You can also add cut grass, leaves, saw dust, shredded paper, torn tissue and paper towel rolls, used coffee grounds, etc.
Once you get started you'll find things to put in your pile. I started out with a box of banana peels my husband got from a smoothie shop , a pile of leaves we took off a neighbor's cut tree and our kitchen waste. Then I discovered that I could use the litter from a guinea pig at my job and I put buckets around and collect coffee grounds and I also (when I have space in my car) pick up bags of leaves and grass that people put out. I let those things sit for awhile by itself incase it has bad stuff in it usually when I find worms and bugs have started eating it , I add it to my main compost pile.
Good luck. composting is addictive!
Once you get started you'll find things to put in your pile. I started out with a box of banana peels my husband got from a smoothie shop , a pile of leaves we took off a neighbor's cut tree and our kitchen waste. Then I discovered that I could use the litter from a guinea pig at my job and I put buckets around and collect coffee grounds and I also (when I have space in my car) pick up bags of leaves and grass that people put out. I let those things sit for awhile by itself incase it has bad stuff in it usually when I find worms and bugs have started eating it , I add it to my main compost pile.
Good luck. composting is addictive!
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Do some reading in all the Stickies and all the stuff that's already been posted here, there's ton's of good information and lots of different people's ideas and ways of doing things.
But the basic non-rocket science way to get started takes just a few elements:
*something to keep your pile contained and critters out of it. Can be wire bin, wood frame (with spaces between the slats for air), concrete blocks etc. Whatever you have on hand or can get from Freecycle
*throw in your organic materials, kitchen scraps, including paper towels, coffee grounds with the filters, pretty much anything organic (except meat), weeds, leaves, etc.
*try to keep a reasonable balance between greens (wet, soft, eg kitchen scraps) and browns (dry, hard, eg fall leaves). See the sticky on greens and browns for more about this.
*every time I put kitchen scraps on my pile (dump the bucket that I keep in the kitchen), I cover it with a thick layer of weeds, leaves, etc to keep it from smelling
*if it's dry enough to water your garden, water your compost pile too
Organic material + air + water + time = compost!
But the basic non-rocket science way to get started takes just a few elements:
*something to keep your pile contained and critters out of it. Can be wire bin, wood frame (with spaces between the slats for air), concrete blocks etc. Whatever you have on hand or can get from Freecycle
*throw in your organic materials, kitchen scraps, including paper towels, coffee grounds with the filters, pretty much anything organic (except meat), weeds, leaves, etc.
*try to keep a reasonable balance between greens (wet, soft, eg kitchen scraps) and browns (dry, hard, eg fall leaves). See the sticky on greens and browns for more about this.
*every time I put kitchen scraps on my pile (dump the bucket that I keep in the kitchen), I cover it with a thick layer of weeds, leaves, etc to keep it from smelling
*if it's dry enough to water your garden, water your compost pile too
Organic material + air + water + time = compost!
Also keep in mind the ringed out sponge analogy. It should be just like a ringed out sponge, moist but not so wet you can squeeze out water. Too much water and it will compost really slow, not enough water(aka dry) and it will compost just as slow, so keep it moist like a ringed out sponge and it will compost at the right speed.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
but expect it to take 3 to 6 months or more depending on the ingredients you put in (harder woodier stuff takes longer), the ambient temps, how much it is watered, how much you turn or aerate it (I personally never turn mine, I just turn it over so the top becomes the bottom of a new pile when I want to get to the finished compost at the bottom; even so punch holes in the pile with a stick helps), etc.