Looking for Information on Composting

Hi L.
I just started composting a month ago and love it. My friend brought one to me, and showed me what to do. Do a layer of food (no animal products) and a layer of brown, like dried grass clippings or leaves. Add some water so it's moist like a dried sponge. If it starts to smell add some more leaves and water. You can also stir it up, and chop food smaller to help it go faster. I was also thinking of getting the Compost Activator from Gaiam.com to speed things up. It can take 6 weeks - a year (my friend doesn't stir or chop her food small) I'd like to have 2, we eat so many veggies, and 1 lawn cutting it's half full all ready. If you know anyone in Hennapin county in MN, the city has a compost bin program, you can buy one for about 30 bucks! You can check with your city to see if they have a program, I just read canton picks up compost. But I don't know anyone who uses it.
:) A. H

I lOVE my composter! I have a round one that you can spin too, which makes it easy and fun for the kids. It also has a slot on the bottom that lets the "juice" empty into a container that you mix with water and pour on your garden. I love that feature. I feel so good about throwing greens that have gone bad, melon seeds and rines, coffee grounds....everything that would normally end up in the trash without my composter. I got mine from Gaiam.com, but it was expensive from there. It will last forever though. I haven't bought any fertilizers since and my garden looks great! I did an experiment and used compost on one plant and nothing on another, and the plant with the compost bloomed so much more and grew much bigger.
The kids like putting stuff in it and know what would go in and what wouldn't. The spinning feature breaks up the stuff faster so you can use it quicker. You can also buy this compost starter powder to get it going. I did buy that along with the composter and was able to use my compost within a few months. If you dice things up into smaller pieces, that helps too. More surface area to decompose. I juice carrots and the pulp decomposes great! I think everyone should compost, there would be a lot less trash and much more nutrients in the soil. It doesn't make sense that it ends up in a landfill mixed with batteries, old toilets, styrofoam etc....

Have fun!

Thanks for composting! My parents had a compost pile going since I was 10 and now my husband and I do. We have 2 bins made for the purpose which makes it easier and looks better for the suburban landscape, but a homemade structure works fine. We have 2 so we fill one while the other cooks. It takes awhile, but once a pile is heated it will be ready to use in the garden annually. The trick is the balance of "green" and "brown" materials, and water. Its not difficult at all, though. Green includes grass clippings and yard stuff, and any vegetable scraps from the kitchen, including cooked, but no animal products at all (except eggshells, although they take along time to break down.) Brown is dry twigs, leaves in the fall and dead things that are dried up. Not sure which one coffee grounds fit into, but they can go on there, too. We put the filter and all since that paper is degradable. The pile needs to be mixed regularly. Ours are round so you spin them. They get too heavy for me, but a pitchfork on an open, pile even kids can help with. You should go to the library or invest in an inexpensive manual. One that will give you options and instructions. So glad to hear you're taking it on and teaching the kids. Your garbage can will fill slower! We have a lidded tupperware next to the sink that we fill as we go and carry it out as it fills. Thanks again!!!

Hello-
Just want you to know, we bought a compost bin, added grass, leaves, veg scraps and did NOTHING to it (did not turn, did not add in layers, just added worms we found in yard). In a year- we still had beautiful compost! So of course you should try to do it the right way- your compost will probably be done much sooner, but know- even if you get caught up in every day life and fall behind - it will still work!

Hi L., I'm not the most educated on compost, but have some info. Yes organic. No meat or bones. Shredded paper is good(old bills, etc. Old newspapers.) I kept a bucket under the sink for mine, then every evening dumped it on the pile. If the pile gets direct sun it will be a faster prosses composting. It has to be turned(I've seen drums that you can buy that are on a rod that turns, make for composting) You will be able to get an idea while turning if is looking like soil or not. Good luck.

I don't have info, but I know a GREAT resource for you! You can call the City of Lansing Waste Reduction Services (I used to work there) at ###-###-####. Ask to talk to someone about composting advice. They are well trained, and have even taught master composting classes.

I got my composter from www.greenfeet.com a few years ago. It's a round one that you spin and it's made from recycled plastic, theoretically, you can have compost from this in about a month or so. For Xmas I requested a counter composter for the kitchen scraps so that I do not have to go out back to dump my scraps every day - it looks nice, contains any odors, is easy to clean and keeps the flies away (I didn't always have a lid on my scraps previously). It is wonderful to just grab you potato peelings and throw them into the container!

Good luck with the composting and check out greenfeet for other environmentally friendly options.

You've got some great info already - we ordered our spinning big tub type composter from the "Gsrdening With Kids" catalogue. They also sell manuals and other supplies you might want. It's a great activity for kids. We used to have a huge garden and it was always fun to watch how whatever we planted were the compst was grew so much faster than everything else! Its a great way to lessen your garbage and the kids will get into it, 5 seems like a great age to get started.
Have fun!

L.,
Glad to see someone else interested in composting nowadays.I use a varitey of items including everything except dairy,meat and bones.you can use yard waste food leftovers there is so many items .I have found this website very helpful. www.compostguide.com it shows differnt ways to start and things to use. We live on a 10 acre farm so I just use a 4 x 4 fenced area and move it around when full. We also have some livestock so they eat alot of my slop ( potatoe, carrot, onion peelings, egg shells. just about anything you eat except dairy and meat.

Here's a great article that arrived in my inbox today ironically. It's a blog I subscribe to and love...her topic today...composting, and she has a link to a greater source as well...good luck!!

http://blog.smartsimplewoman.com/the_smart_womans_guide_t...

Hey L.~

If you are looking for a year round composting project for your family I would recommend investing in a vermiculture kit. Do an internet search for Flowerfield Enterprises, they can totally hook you up! Depending on how much you organic material you generate, you may also want to start an outdoor compost pile to break down the rest. With my outdoor pile I let it go from 12-18 months. We have a longish winter in Michigan, so some of that time the pile is in a deep chill. I just started my worm bin about 6 weeks ago, so I haven't really used any of the composted material in there. You can put unbleached paper products in your compost. Worms really like shredded up paper- that's the base of their indoor habitat. I do not compost meat, dairy, or potatoes. The meat and dairy can get really funky. If you put potatoes in your compost pile, and spred it on your garden, you can potentially have potato growing everywhere.

Good Luck and have fun!

L.,
(my sister's middle name!)
Well this is something that my late dad was very much into. He had one of those tumblers that you throw your food wastes, mowed grass, etc into and let it sit and tumble and get evenly mixed.

He loved his gardening. there are those gardening companies, probably online now. but the name escapes me. I'd get a paper from them now and then. You can order a wide variety of produce plants. All sorts of corn, berries, fruits, veggies. But they had supplies too. Or go to a farm supply store (TCM or something like that)