# do you compost?



## boomchakabowwow (Apr 25, 2013)

i started about two years ago. i dont have a lawn, so no grass trimming.

but i compost all my veggie trimmings, leaves, coffee grinds..etc. 

never thought it would be so interesting. my veggie garden looks great. i use it as a weed block on my fruit trees. i have a billion earthworms.

i use that bio-block system. pretty neat and easy. i love it when it was full of brand new material and it would steam from the heat. in winter it was pretty dramatic. my IR thermometer saw over 100 degrees once.

anyone else?


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## WildBoar (Apr 25, 2013)

We started last Fall, using one of those big rotating drums. We have a good batch ready to go, so we are not adding to the drum right now. I see that as a negative. We may need to pick up a 2nd one later this year so we can have a 'fresher' one and one that is about ready to go. Doing a big open pile isn't a good option for us, so the drum(s) will have to do the trick. We are a couple weeks out from starting to use the composted material.


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## bieniek (Apr 25, 2013)

Cool, good to see the oldschool coming back up 

My parents have it year round but they add the grass trimmings, egg shells and all kind of organic matter. My father built it himself [the room], the pumpkins and squash and courgettes are HUGE and taste so well. 

Theres some more stuff to be rediscovered like this hole you dig about a meter deep, stuff it with vegetables and burry them under soil again. In the winter time when theres limited selection you just dig out what you need. 

I wish I had a garden myself.


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## rahimlee54 (Apr 25, 2013)

What is the bio block system?

I just use chicken wire in a circle and turn it, works great, especially for my small raised bed garden.


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## scotchef38 (Apr 25, 2013)

At homw we compost and have a worm farm also and as my day job is teaching we also compost and recycle at college wherever possible.we also try to get the students to separate their scraps into edible animal feed and compostable material but this is pretty difficult at times.The long term goal for the college is to buy a large composter that the horticulture dept can use to grow fruit and veg for the cookery dept.There are also machines available that will process compostable waste into potable water which I would love to see in action.


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## TB_London (Apr 25, 2013)

Grew up mostly self sufficient so everyday after school was in the garden growing food. About 8 years ago before I moved to the big city had 4 allotments that fed me year round.

Building a clamp is a bit more involved than bieniek describes, but it works similarly.
If you're composting and you have space try and plant some Russian Comfrey plants, the leaves are a good compost booster or can be steeped for a liquid feed.

Some of my happiest times were spent on my allotments turning wasteland into food


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## mkmk (Apr 25, 2013)

I have a rotating drum composter, and have used it for several years. It works great -- but I agree that having two (or a two chamber version) would be a lot better, so that you can let a batch finish off while you start a fresh one. In my next house, I'll have a bigger yard, so I can do either a larger drum kind (probably up on a stand, so you can get a wheelbarrow under it) or just use an old-fashioned pile. Regardless, I'm a committed composter.

A nice byproduct: your indoor garbage can doesn't stink. I also toss meat scraps in a small bin in the freezer, and add them to the outside garbage the night before garbage pickup. Between that, composting, and recycling paper/plastic, I generate one very small bag of garbage each week. Well, that and what the dog produces....


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## Mrmnms (Apr 25, 2013)

I have a rotating drum and a rolling barrel on a pedestal. The drum is easier to deal with. Whatever my chicken don't eat get composted. The compost goes into 2 herb garden beds and a couple small raised vegetable beds.


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## SpikeC (Apr 25, 2013)

We have a city wide compost program here. We have a rolling bin that everything organic goes in that gets picked up once a week and is taken to a composting facility. The down side is that it disincentivizes backyard composting, the upside is that it greatly reduces our waste stream.


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## boomchakabowwow (Apr 25, 2013)

rahimlee54 said:


> What is the bio block system?
> 
> I just use chicken wire in a circle and turn it, works great, especially for my small raised bed garden.



opps..i meant Bio-Stack. 

kept my chickens out of it at least. my chicken bedding/hay made the best compost material. lots of good stuff in chicken poop.


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## Mrmnms (Apr 25, 2013)

Kind of weird to think last years chicken gickem will be this years arugula .


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## mkmk (Apr 25, 2013)

Mrmnms said:


> Kind of weird to think last years chicken gickem will be this years arugula .




Weird, but totally natural. It's the circle of poo. My niece came home from preschool singing a song about home "dirt made my lunch... and lunch made my dirt...."


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## Mrmnms (Apr 25, 2013)

I'd like to hear that song. I have a 5 year old I'd share it with.


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## mkmk (Apr 25, 2013)

I do believe it must be the Banana Slug String Band:

http://www.last.fm/music/Banana+Slug+String+Band/Dirt+Made+My+Lunch

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000G8P53S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I doubt there are two.


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## Mrmnms (Apr 26, 2013)

Hey, thanks for the info. My kids will be hearing it in the am!


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