Composting

abby8279 · April 2014

I am considering starting to compost. I know almost nothing about it. Can someone tell me some of the benefits of it? And how hard/easy it is to do? We live in a suburb with a pretty strict HOA so I was thinking about getting a nice looking tumbler for next to the house? In the summer I plant a few fruits/veggies in pots but I don't have an expansive garden. I don't want to do it if it's a lot of work. So please help me decide if it's worth it for us.

Rrrrrachel · April 2014

It's one of those things that can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. We have a tumbler and a worm bin. The tumblers can be pricey but in your situation probably worth it. If you keep it simple it's really easy.

unaveragejane · April 2014

We are very casual composters b/c we have a privacy fence and a blind corner behind the tool shed. I keep a small composting crock in the kitchen, and when it gets full we take it out to the compost heap behind the shed. DH also puts grass clippings in it. In the spring when he amends the garden soil, he scoops up the pile and puts that in, too. We really should be turning the pile, but I'm not supposed to do it b/c of asthma and allergies. It seems to be working okay for us regardless. The biggest PITA of it for me is washing out the little crock when stuff has been sitting in it for a while. Pyoooh!

tjkdlhb · April 2014

We have a tumbler. We've cut our garbage output down a ridiculous amount since composting. (We only do it in the spring-summer-fall though because I don't want to trek out through waist deep snow to get to a frozen composter.

unaveragejane · April 2014

Mapleme said:

I've started taking out food scraps to a local farmer for her chickens, but when we did compost we stored our pre-compost food scraps in a bag in the freezer so that they wouldn't get stinky. If we used a paper bag the entire bag could go in the compost.

This is brilliant! I wonder if I could just get some paper lunch sacks to use as liners in the crock, so long as I don't let things get...juicy.

unaveragejane · April 2014

I don't often have extra room in the freezer, but I will see if I can shift things around and try it. It would be nice not to have that crock sitting on the counter or disappearing under the sink.

oliversmommy32912 · April 2014

We use a garbage can with a lid and holes drilled in the side/top/bottom. The lid snaps on and we roll it around to turn it. It works just ok. The only real challenge we have encountered is making sure we have enough brown material to balance the food scraps.

freezorburn · April 2014

Any gardening organizations in your area where you can see some demos of different types of composting systems? That might help you figure out what you have space for and how much work you want to do.

There's an organization around the corner from our place in Seattle that does master composting classes. I guess it can get pretty involved ... or you can be fairly passive about it.

Brandiewine11 · April 2014

We're also fairly casual about it and do it only in spring/summer/fall. We don't have any special equipment b/c we have almost 2 acres so we just started a pile out by the tree line of the property. I keep a small container on the kitchen counter for food scraps. It gets taken out almost daily when we walk the dog, so it doesn't get stinky or gross. When DH mows the lawn he adds that to the pile and just turns it by hand every so often. When we fertilize the garden in spring, we use it.

In your situation, a simple tumbler sounds like a great idea.

abby8279 · April 2014

oliversmommy32912 said:

We use a garbage can with a lid and holes drilled in the side/top/bottom. The lid snaps on and we roll it around to turn it. It works just ok. The only real challenge we have encountered is making sure we have enough brown material to balance the food scraps.

That is one thing I read about that might be a challenge. How important is it to have brown material? We don't have any trees in our yard yet so no leaves to add. Only grass clippings that I can think of.

freezorburn · April 2014

Brown material seems harder to come by these days .... we hardly ever have brown paper bags or newspaper handy anymore. Can't remember if coffee grounds and coffee filters qualify?

Rrrrrachel · April 2014

I don't think so because brown is usually dry. Mine is not at all balanced. It still rots. That's what I mean by as complicated or as simple as you want. You can do it by the book and you will get better compost faster. Or you can dump whatever in a pile in the yard and it will still eventually rot.

countrycotton · April 2014

You might consider a worm bin, you can have a small one in the house, I've know people who keep them under the sink. They don't smell, and what you pull out is perfect fertilizer, ph, everything. Can't get too hot, so you can plant straight into the casting. ( casting, another word for worm poop) added plus you don't have to mess with nastiness on the counter or in the freezer.

YellowLily2013 · April 2014

Wow I'm so surprised everyone has trouble with browns... But it might be because we are drowning in trees!! So many many leaves!! That's why we started the compost bin in the first place. :P

freezorburn · April 2014

I actually had a problem with too much browns at our place in Seattle. But we were just keeping a cold pile and I would collect leaves in the fall. We were mulching our grass clippings so that was not a source of greens. And in Seattle you're not supposed to put food waste in your compost piles because supposedly it attracts pests, so my only source of greens was garden trimmings and coffee grounds (coffee grounds are okay). We put all of our food waste in a special bin for collection.

usernewname · April 2014

We made a composter with a garbage can and drilled holes. It's a lot more work though as DH will have to mix it with a shovel. But that's what he wanted, and we just compost coffee, fruit/veggies, paper etc. No meat though, we are worried about attracting animals.

ObLaDi · April 2014

We are incredibly lucky that our progressive city recently introduced curbside composting--it's cut our trash down by more than half.

If I were to ever move someplace that didn't have it, I would absolutely try backyard composting, although unfortunately I don't have specific tips. It feels so good to divert your food scraps out of the trash system. Good luck!!

sarenu1 · April 2014

Anyone know a good site to read up on this? I'm considering starting one next spring or even this fall, but I'd like to read up first.

Rrrrrachel · April 2014

We have an awesome ag extension here. This website has some basic info and lots of links. https://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/composting/backyard/ . Here's a hand out with some good info, including some build your own composter ideas. https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/hil/pdf/ag-467.pdf

Want a personalized experience?

Composting

Re: Composting

Choose Another Board

Search Boards