composting coffee filters and other questions.
We are shredding our newspapers and intend on tilling in a couple of inches in our unimproved (as yet) garden soil early this spring , as soon as the ground can be worked, along with aged manure and purchased compost. I want to start saving our coffee grounds and filters to add to this mix. Will the filters compost as fast as the newspapers? Should I try to cut or shred the filters first? Last quesstion, how do I know what is good compost when I purchase it?
the coffee filters will compost just fine. even if they are semi-intact, digging them into the soil will quickly finish the job.
>>the best compost
aged manure, 50-50 with garden dirt.
not much gets better than that.
quite a lot of "commercial" compost is ground (tree) bark and/or other wood 'scraps' - nothing particularly 'bad' about it except for the price.
one can judge the 'quality' of compost by looking at the compost - should be well rotted, no big jagged chunks.
in our area I can get 'mushroom soil' - manure & straw - used initially for growing mushrooms, when 'spent' used as compost/organic material.
if you have access to fresh/aged manure, you can make superb compost 'all by yourself' - fresh manure does need a season of 'in a heap by itself' - aged can be used straightaway.
>>the best compost
aged manure, 50-50 with garden dirt.
not much gets better than that.
quite a lot of "commercial" compost is ground (tree) bark and/or other wood 'scraps' - nothing particularly 'bad' about it except for the price.
one can judge the 'quality' of compost by looking at the compost - should be well rotted, no big jagged chunks.
in our area I can get 'mushroom soil' - manure & straw - used initially for growing mushrooms, when 'spent' used as compost/organic material.
if you have access to fresh/aged manure, you can make superb compost 'all by yourself' - fresh manure does need a season of 'in a heap by itself' - aged can be used straightaway.
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ElizabethB
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- Location: Lafayette, LA
Shredded newsaper is good but only in small quantities and fineley shredded. Takes some time to decompose. Coffee grounds and coffee filters - no problem. Tea bags remove the staple and the string.
I am a compost purist - no cooked or processed foods, not meat or waste from carnivores. Only cured manure from herbivores - cows, horses. fresh rabbit manure is OK. Living in the southern region of the US maggots can be a problem in a compost pile if meat products or carnivore waste is included. Absolutely disgusting.
No scientific research for you just my experience.
When using newspaper shred finely and use ony a minimum amount. This should not be a major additive to your compost. Be sure to turn it in.
LOL[/b]
I am a compost purist - no cooked or processed foods, not meat or waste from carnivores. Only cured manure from herbivores - cows, horses. fresh rabbit manure is OK. Living in the southern region of the US maggots can be a problem in a compost pile if meat products or carnivore waste is included. Absolutely disgusting.
No scientific research for you just my experience.
When using newspaper shred finely and use ony a minimum amount. This should not be a major additive to your compost. Be sure to turn it in.
LOL[/b]
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rainbowgardener
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ElizabethB
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I agree with rainbow on starting your old compost pile. You can make use of leaves - my huband mows over them with the bagger on the mower. Grass clippings as well. All of your raw vegetable peels and scraps from your kitchen. Coffee grounds and filters. I am fortunate to have acces to cured horse manure - Sis and Brother-in-law breed quarter horses. I also located a couple of folks who breed rabbits in my community. They are more than happy for me to scoop up a couple of 5 gallon buckets of fresh rabbit manure - rabbit manure can be used fresh. When I need to add soil to my bin I go to Lowe's and buy busted bags of any kind of soil I can find - super cheap.
My husband made 2 4'x4'x4' bins adjacent to each other using scrap lumber and chicken wire. He made 2 because it is easier for me to turn my pile from one bin to the other rather than trying to turn just one bin. I never have a problem with foul odors or maggots. 2 months ago my bins were full to overflowing. They are now only half full. The compost is beautiful and ready to add to my garden.
Don't over use the newspaper - finely shredded and thin layers.
I find that composting adds to the enjoyment of gardening. By doing it myself I know exactly what is going into my garden.
LOL
My husband made 2 4'x4'x4' bins adjacent to each other using scrap lumber and chicken wire. He made 2 because it is easier for me to turn my pile from one bin to the other rather than trying to turn just one bin. I never have a problem with foul odors or maggots. 2 months ago my bins were full to overflowing. They are now only half full. The compost is beautiful and ready to add to my garden.
Don't over use the newspaper - finely shredded and thin layers.
I find that composting adds to the enjoyment of gardening. By doing it myself I know exactly what is going into my garden.
LOL
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toxcrusadr
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After testing a couple dozen bagged compost and topsoil products locally last year, the one conclusion I had was that you more or less get what you pay for when buying compost. $1.47 bags at the big box store do not have the organic matter and nutrient content of better products. OTOH some of the most expensive were not worth it.
Thank you for the all the good advice. We were so busy this summer trying to make this old house livable and cleaning up all the junk in the yard (Hubby hauled 7 huge loads of limbs and junk that was in the yard to the dump in a 16 foot trailer!) plus spreading a dump truck of top soil in low spots that there really wasn't time to start a compost pile. I'm going to start with one compost bin this spring and add more as needed. I know it takes a while though so that was my reason for wanting to add what I could, shredded newspapers, coffee and filters, aged manure, and purchased compost this coming spring. We are putting in foot high raised beds so we will have to buy more good top soil (THAT'S something that is hard to find!) and mix what we have in it and hope for the best. I've found it takes a few years to really build up good soil. This is the 4th house we've bought (over 40 years) and not one even had a tomato plant in it. How can people live with out veggy and flower gardens???
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ElizabethB
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You have been super busy! On your soil issue for your garden boxes - what size and how many? Even though I no longer have my landscaping business I still keep my license current so I can buy wholesale. Even at wholesale good quality bulk soil runs $25 - $30 a yard. For delivery there is a 7 yard minimum. I have 4 4'x4'x 1' boxes. When they were installed 4 years ago George picked up 2 yards of soil in his 16' trailer. I realy was not happy with the results. I needed much more organic matter. So I have been doing the composting thing. I have 2 4'x4'x4' adjacent boxes so I can turn from one box to the other.
I want to re-do my garden boxes in the spring. They are adjacent to each other an against a chain link fence. I want to separate the boxes and move them away from the fence allow a 2' gravel maintenance strip on all sides of each box. When we break down the boxes we will save the soil by duming it in the trailer.
When I rebuild my boxes I plan to add a couple more. TIP: get to know the nursery specialist at Lowe's. I will need more soil so I talk to my friend at Lowe's and she makes up "cull packages" for me - 6 -10 mixed broken bags of soil shrink wrapped on a pallet for super cheap. Much less than bulk soil. Like $10 - $12 per yard. I open the bags in the trailer and toss it up. Great for the garden, compost bin and pots. What I get is usually a mix of potting soil, garden soil and top soil. Often high end Miracle Grow soils.
Since you have a trailer getting the pallets home is easy breezy.
How my mouth runs on. check out "cull packages". Much cheaper than buying bulk.
I want to re-do my garden boxes in the spring. They are adjacent to each other an against a chain link fence. I want to separate the boxes and move them away from the fence allow a 2' gravel maintenance strip on all sides of each box. When we break down the boxes we will save the soil by duming it in the trailer.
When I rebuild my boxes I plan to add a couple more. TIP: get to know the nursery specialist at Lowe's. I will need more soil so I talk to my friend at Lowe's and she makes up "cull packages" for me - 6 -10 mixed broken bags of soil shrink wrapped on a pallet for super cheap. Much less than bulk soil. Like $10 - $12 per yard. I open the bags in the trailer and toss it up. Great for the garden, compost bin and pots. What I get is usually a mix of potting soil, garden soil and top soil. Often high end Miracle Grow soils.
Since you have a trailer getting the pallets home is easy breezy.
How my mouth runs on. check out "cull packages". Much cheaper than buying bulk.-
toxcrusadr
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Start that compost now and put your kitchen scraps in throughout the winter. Layer them with leaves or newspaper if you don't have leaves.
If you buy compost, you should add that to the soil directly and not into the compost. Since it's already composted, it doesn't add anything and will only shrink a bit further. Might as well add it to the garden!
If you buy compost, you should add that to the soil directly and not into the compost. Since it's already composted, it doesn't add anything and will only shrink a bit further. Might as well add it to the garden!
