What do you know about Composting?

[MurphyGuy]

Never use treated (city) water on your compost. Just as the pesticide, on the previously mentioned banana, has a deadly affect on the worms; so will the chemicals in the water. The little workers don't like chlorine or anything else a water treatment plant adds. Then your contaminated compost raises your food and you tip over. FYI, Hemp is one of natures finest soil cleaners.
Catch rain or use safe creek/river/lake water. Rain can be a bit acidic, flooding of natural waterways is how Mother Earth distributes goodies to the surrounding areas.


Yup, mankind has been playing in the dirt forever.

Dang, my compost usually has the exact opposite problem.. it has a tendency to get too wet rather than too dry. With all the fruit cores, tomato ends, and watermelon that goes in there, I usually have to leave the lid open to let water evaporate.

I've never had to add water to my composters..

 

[svetz]

How do you know if it's too wet or too dry?

Would anyone be interested in posting some photos of their aerobic kitchen-waste composting setup and doing simple explanations for us city slickers? There are lots of how-to's on youtube, but most don't show the final product or it looks "too perfect" so not sure how trustworthy they are.

 

[MurphyGuy]

How do you know if it's too wet or too dry?

Would anyone be interested in posting some photos of their aerobic kitchen-waste composting setup and doing simple explanations for us city slickers? There are lots of how-to's on youtube, but most don't show the final product or it looks "too perfect" so not sure how trustworthy they are.

Yeah, most of these supposed compost photos are nothing but store bought peat moss or something.

You'll know its composting because it turns black.. it might be granular or clumpy, but it will turn black.

A little too much water and it clumps (not a problem),
Way too much water and it can either turn anaerobic or become a slimy slurry (Not good)
Not enough water and it will go granular and fluffy but the composting action will slow down.

 

[WYtreasure]

I was thinking I could use air conditioner condensate if it's not raining.

Isn't that going to be distilled water with (in your case) salt air and dust mixed in?

I see where you would have to travel quite a distance to swipe decent fresh water. Fresh water from streams, rivers and lakes already contain minerals, food for your compost and little workers. They may not be the same little workers your compost is raising on it's own but hopefully they will all get along.

Moisture can be controlled by an array of methods. Burlap or straw are simple ways to prevent some of the evaporation and will hold some heat. Straw from the side of a highway would be a bad idea.
Maybe palm leaves would be a great locally sourced cover for you. Punch some holes in the valleys to allow rain to water your compost.

Too wet or too dry?
I know you will get a better response than this one but stick your hand in there and squeeze a handful.
If water comes out, it's too wet. If it does not clump together, it's too dry.

Keep clear of chemicals. Those perfect lawns and bushes you see are probably treated with chemical fertilizers and color. Avoid adding any of those cuttings. Consider your source for anything you put in or on your compost.

 

[Warren93nature]

All I Know is that compost helps establish a healthy ecosystem in your yard by feeding microorganisms that can in turn insects.

 

[svetz]

I ran across self-fertilizing grow towers that seemed really cool. Basically, the DIY versions are rain barrels with pockets "stretched" into them as any "standard" aeroponic grow tower (lots of videos on those).

What was of interest in this dirt-filled grow tower is the perforated 4" PVC in the center where you'd toss your kitchen waste. There's another version of this that you can put into planters, it's the same idea.

Worms would eat the waste, then travel through the soil depositing fertilizer. But, it turns out red worms don't really travel that far into the soil, they stay mostly in the kitchen waste. If you use "traveling" worms, they don't really eat the kitchen waste. So great idea in theory, but not so much in practice.

​

There's a version you can buy that has multiple stacked grow trays, in the bottom is a compost tray and a two-gallon drawer which collects the compost and "tea". The system makes more tea than it can use. Unlike the DIY versions I've seen, by collecting from the bottom you can make immediate use of the fertilizer. The grow trays also come apart, so it's easy to redo the soil each year. Grow towers look nice as they say you can grow 50 plans in a 4' square space, but not so sure how the plants on the north side fair.

​

 

[svetz]

Johnson-Su Bioreactor The best composter design seems to be the Johnson-Su Bioreactor. It also seems to be the one most youTubers show with a slightly modified design that do away with most of its advantages. The Johnson-Su bioreactor works with any size or heap and never needs turning. It can be built in any geometry, with 4" PVC pipes no farther apart than 8" and elevated. Once the reactor is full and settled the PVC pipes are removed. Each column is now an air channel, so all of the compost is close to air, and the heat from the composting sucks air from the bottom through the columns. The heating phase is the first 4 to 5 days, afterwards, you can add red wigglers. Their technique maximizes the fungi community (which is disrupted by turning) and the conversion regions. Requires some irrigation.

The only downside I see to it is it's a batch reactor instead of continuous. I suppose you could have a few small ones that you rotate.

 

[WYtreasure]

Johnson-Su Bioreactor The best composter design seems to be the Johnson-Su Bioreactor. It also seems to be the one most youTubers show with a slightly modified design that do away with most of its advantages. The Johnson-Su bioreactor works with any size or heap and never needs turning. It can be built in any geometry, with 4" PVC pipes no farther apart than 8" and elevated. Once the reactor is full and settled the PVC pipes are removed. Each column is now an air channel, so all of the compost is close to air, and the heat from the composting sucks air from the bottom through the columns. The heating phase is the first 4 to 5 days, afterwards, you can add red wigglers. Their technique maximizes the fungi community (which is disrupted by turning) and the conversion regions. Requires some irrigation.

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The only downside I see to it is it's a batch reactor instead of continuous. I suppose you could have a few small ones that you rotate.

Maybe a number of folks in your community would like to host one of those. Every few months you can have everyone's waste and share your compost. Keep it local so you're not buying gasoline. A little red wagon full of waste then compost could be a great excuse for walking somewhere.

 

[MurphyGuy]

I ran across self-fertilizing grow towers that seemed really cool. Basically, the DIY versions are rain barrels with pockets "stretched" into them as any "standard" aeroponic grow tower (lots of videos on those).

What was of interest in this dirt-filled grow tower is the perforated 4" PVC in the center where you'd toss your kitchen waste. There's another version of this that you can put into planters, it's the same idea.

Worms would eat the waste, then travel through the soil depositing fertilizer. But, it turns out red worms don't really travel that far into the soil, they stay mostly in the kitchen waste. If you use "traveling" worms, they don't really eat the kitchen waste. So great idea in theory, but not so much in practice.

View attachment 92644 View attachment 92648​

There's a version you can buy that has multiple stacked grow trays, in the bottom is a compost tray and a two-gallon drawer which collects the compost and "tea". The system makes more tea than it can use. Unlike the DIY versions I've seen, by collecting from the bottom you can make immediate use of the fertilizer. The grow trays also come apart, so it's easy to redo the soil each year. Grow towers look nice as they say you can grow 50 plans in a 4' square space, but not so sure how the plants on the north side fair.

View attachment 92646​

Garbage.. Seriously, you'll probably end up using it as a garbage can.

What happens is the sun warms it up and evaporates out all the water from the soil. If you don't water the crap out of it every day, the plants will die.

I guess it could work in certain parts of the country, but here in Michigan, we tried a similar idea for the plants. Even used a white barrel, and the sun baked it dry.

 

[MurphyGuy]

Johnson-Su Bioreactor The best composter design seems to be the Johnson-Su Bioreactor. It also seems to be the one most youTubers show with a slightly modified design that do away with most of its advantages. The Johnson-Su bioreactor works with any size or heap and never needs turning. It can be built in any geometry, with 4" PVC pipes no farther apart than 8" and elevated. Once the reactor is full and settled the PVC pipes are removed. Each column is now an air channel, so all of the compost is close to air, and the heat from the composting sucks air from the bottom through the columns. The heating phase is the first 4 to 5 days, afterwards, you can add red wigglers. Their technique maximizes the fungi community (which is disrupted by turning) and the conversion regions. Requires some irrigation.

View attachment 92654 View attachment 92656 View attachment 92659

View attachment 92653

The only downside I see to it is it's a batch reactor instead of continuous. I suppose you could have a few small ones that you rotate.

I've tried various composting techniques.
The one that works best is the horizontal barrel on a stand so you can rotate it.

The barrel type requires the least amount of maintenance, is the most forgiving of being unbalanced, and the easiest to empty and fill.


Without the ability to "tumble" the compost, if you get unbalanced, you're screwed. With the barrel type, you just add whatever you need and rotate a few times.

 

[svetz]

...Maybe a number of folks in your community would like to host one of those...

I've read about similar things where there is a hosted local composter and people bring their scraps and exchange them for fertilizer. There's a "garden club" nearby, possibly they'd be interested in hosting it as a community service/demonstration.

Garbage.. Seriously, you'll probably end up using it as a garbage can.

Good to know! Thanks!

...The barrel type requires the least amount of maintenance, is the most forgiving of being unbalanced, and the easiest to empty and fill...

The Johnson-Su does seem to be for composting a whole lot, the one in the video posted is a baby compared to some of the others.

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

I had a two composters when I lived near Denver, one I built and one that was an A-frame, sort of like the two to the right. But I never got either to work, it was mainly grass-clippings and I suspect it was too dry. At least the drum was easy to turn, the other was a real pain. Haven't tried red-worms. Stuff rots fairly fast here so I want to give it another shot. Not sure about kitchen waste, not sure how the wildlife (e.g., crocodiles, iguanas, termites, mosquitoes, neighbors) will feel about any smells.

I'm using 2 of those tumblers and have made some pretty nice soil with them. This time of the year they work especially well.

 

[MurphyGuy]

I'm using 2 of those tumblers and have made some pretty nice soil with them. This time of the year they work especially well.

Yup.. I have two of the 80 gallon versions and they work fantastic! The rotating drum type is the best composter design I've ever used.

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

The rotating drum type is the best composter design I've ever used.

...and the first one only took 4 hours to assemble! Good thing I bought 2! My carbon source is a pile of oak and hickory wood chips left over from a year and a half ago when I had a dozen or so trees removed to improve my solar situation. I had them chip everything (10,000lbs. worth) smaller than 6" limbs and dump next to my barn. It's damn near dirt now by itself! Then I also add ashes from the stove and crushed egg shells for good measure. They take awhile to break down. That bucket of eggshells also is full of old chickenshit, which I add sparingly. My compost finishes black and grows great tomatoes!

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

We collect all our kitchen waste (except for meat products) in these 2 receptacles. The coffee container is for eggshells and the stainless bucket is for everything else.

 

[svetz]

We're starting to store our kitchen waste in baggies in the freezer, that way we only mess with it every few days. Freezing does two things, first no smell issues. Secondly, theoretically, cell walls should get broken up by jagged ice crystals allowing them to decompose faster. We'll see how it works.

 

[MurphyGuy]

We're starting to store our kitchen waste in baggies in the freezer, that way we only mess with it every few days. Freezing does two things, first no smell issues. Secondly, theoretically, cell walls should get broken up by jagged ice crystals allowing them to decompose faster. We'll see how it works.

But why store it? Mix with sawdust and stick it in a composter outside.. Freezing will help it break down, but I doubt its worth the effort.. Just seems like an extra step that isn't needed unless you have some special circumstances that prevent you from just putting it in a composter immediately.

By far, the biggest thing you can do to speed up composting is to chop the food into the smallest pieces practical and mix with browns.. Huge advantage, but also not necessary. Anything smaller than a D cell battery will compost in a big hurry if the compost is mixed up regularly.

 

[Matt.B]

My biggest issue with composting at home is attracting pests. Unfortunately, our neighbours have a very, erm 'messy' home and garden...they also keep lots of animals.

So far, the pests (rats) stay mostly on their land because lots of places to hide and food. But I know if I start composting they will be straight over.

What I do do is compost my grass cuttings. If you just do them as grass it turns to sludge, which smells. But if you mix it about 50/50 with dry material (cardboard) which makes it good as compost.

 

[MurphyGuy]

My biggest issue with composting at home is attracting pests. Unfortunately, our neighbours have a very, erm 'messy' home and garden...they also keep lots of animals.

So far, the pests (rats) stay mostly on their land because lots of places to hide and food. But I know if I start composting they will be straight over.

What I do do is compost my grass cuttings. If you just do them as grass it turns to sludge, which smells. But if you mix it about 50/50 with dry material (cardboard) which makes it good as compost.

Grass is nitrogen, cardboard is carbon. You need a mix of the green's and browns to get the right bacteria going.

Sawdust makes for a really good carbon addition.. wood ash too, but be careful to not add too much. Throw in some stick and twigs as well.

 

[svetz]

Grinding the Hard Stuff?​

How do you all deal with hard things like corncobs? Do you have a grinder/mulcher (if so, please say more), not put them in, or just let them keep going and going and going.

​

Electric composters​

Most of these types of machines just dehydrate kitchen scraps and are not doing any real composting. But 3 models use microbes, which makes me think there's some sort of composting going on (I forget if it's the Geme or Reencle, but they point to a paper for composting on Mars ; -). Don't know anything about them, but here they are if you haven't seen them:

• Lomi
• Geme
• Reencle

 

[MurphyGuy]

Grinding the Hard Stuff?​

How do you all deal with hard things like corncobs? Do you have a grinder/mulcher (if so, please say more), not put them in, or just let them keep going and going and going.

​

Snap them in half or into thirds.. they will break down pretty quickly.
Cut watermelon rinds, pineapple skins, etc into golf ball sized chunks. you don't have to, but it helps.

When it comes to corn cobs, the only time you might run into a problem is if you shelled the corn without cooking the cob.. in which case you want to cut it into smaller pieces.. But if the cob is BBQ'd, boiled, or baked in an oven, then no worries.

Electric composters​

Most of these types of machines just dehydrate kitchen scraps and are not doing any real composting. But 3 models use microbes, which makes me think there's some sort of composting going on (I forget if it's the Geme or Reencle, but they point to a paper for composting on Mars ; -). Don't know anything about them, but here they are if you haven't seen them:

• Lomi
• Geme
• Reencle

They are all gimmicks. Perfect compost needs three things.. Nitrogen, carbon, and movement. Get the greens-to-browns ratio even remotely close and turn the compost every week or two and it will work great. The closer you get the green/brown ratio, and the more you turn it, the faster it works.

 

[aenyc]

This is what we have in the backyard. Anything organic from the kitchen goes in there and makes decent top soil. The only issue is that this process works pretty much only in summer.

 

[svetz]

Cooking Oil on Compost?​

.... if your compost can reach compost standards provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (over 55°C (131°F) Fahrenheit for 3 days), adding cooking oil to the compost heap will be effective...

Anyone ever hear of this or try it? Supposedly also reduces ammonia and increases nitrogen in the compost.

 

[svetz]

Snap them in half or into thirds.. they will break down pretty quickly.
Cut watermelon rinds, pineapple skins, etc into golf ball sized chunks. you don't have to, but it helps.

Thanks!

They are all gimmicks....

I think most are. Not sure about the three listed as they use microbial action, but I want to believe. From the Renecle page:

Reencle is NOT a Dehydrator NOR a Grinder​

Reencle operates on totally different and unique mechnism using microbial technology(ReencleMicrobe™) which makes it neither a dehydrator nor a grinder, such as as Nagual, Lomi and Vitamix. The rest of the composters releasesd in the market like Lomi, Nagual, Vitamix are similar to a dehydrator and use high temperature to reduce the volume of food waste. ​

 

[MurphyGuy]

Thanks!


I think most are. Not sure about the three listed as they use microbial action, but I want to believe. From the Renecle page:

Reencle is NOT a Dehydrator NOR a Grinder​

Reencle operates on totally different and unique mechnism using microbial technology(ReencleMicrobe™) which makes it neither a dehydrator nor a grinder, such as as Nagual, Lomi and Vitamix. The rest of the composters releasesd in the market like Lomi, Nagual, Vitamix are similar to a dehydrator and use high temperature to reduce the volume of food waste. ​

All composters use microbes.

This is a composter: