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Garden Gate:  DIY Cheapo Composting bin  |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 20 2009 : 11:04:37 AM
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I love this! Just some pallets and a bit of hardware or bungees!
http://ow.ly/hI2F |
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Tammyb
True Blue Farmgirl
511 Posts
Tammy
Bluffton
Ohio
USA
511 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2009 : 1:19:42 PM
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we have on compost bin out by the chicken coop that is mostly just a fenced in square. But the one up by the house is made out of pallets and works just fine. Have fun
Tammyb
Sisterchick #541
Live to leave a legacy
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2009 : 2:29:40 PM
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awesome! thanks so much for posting this... we took trash cans, the kind with lids that securely stay on, and punched holes all over the can for light to get in. it works well, but i was looking for something that may make the compost faster. using the trash cans, it took about a year for a fairly small amount of compost to be created. maybe this bin is just the thing!
on another compost side note.... i do have some sort of plant growing in my compost. i'm kind of excited to see what it is (it could be anything from all the different seeds we've thrown in over a year!) my mom-in-law's compost produced squash in her compost, a mixture of two different types from seeds she'd thrown in! she said it came out delicious.
"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."
-Guillaume Apollinaire |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2009 : 07:52:21 AM
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We used shipping pallets for our compost bins for years. But it seemed like the pallet decomposed before the compost did. And it is getting harder and harder to find pallets. A couple of years ago we went with cement blocks. Kind of expensive but they will last forever.
Belle |
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lovelady
True Blue Farmgirl
533 Posts
Toni
Indiana
USA
533 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2009 : 10:42:10 AM
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We also are using wooden pallets for our compost bins, but like Belle says, they are rotting faster than the compost it seems. We can get them whenever we need them because that is how our seed is delivered, but we may need to try the concrete blocks instead.
Belle, do you use anything to cover the piles that are not being added to?
Elizabeth~ I have mystery plants in my compost, too! I also have some butternut squash, random tomatoes, potatoes, and corn! And, they look much healthier than what I planted in my garden, so we must be cooking up some healthy compost! |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2009 : 11:19:04 AM
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Toni, we used to turn the piles, water, cover, you name it. Then we got lazy. We have 3 bins about 4' X 5'. We just pile the stuff in, weeds, grass clippings, chicken manure, spent veggie plants (except tomatoes) and kitchen pealings. We pile it up high for a full year. Then let it set for the next 2 years and move on the the next bin. When we start using the compost it is 3 years old. We sift it with a screen and what don't fall through the screen gets thrown on the next pile. And on and on. I mix the compost with peat moss and vermiculite for my potting soil. The only problem with not "managing" the piles is that all the weed seeds don't get hot enough. I am starting (the next time we clean out the chicken house) to do the manure in a black plastic tub with lid. Want to use the manure in our new garden where there are NO weeds and don't want the manure to add seeds to the soil. It should get hot enough in the black tub to kill any seeds that has passed through the chicken.
Belle |
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Claude09647
True Blue Farmgirl
761 Posts
Claudia
Our Dairy Farm
Pennsylvania
USA
761 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2009 : 2:56:10 PM
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What a great idea Y'all
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." |
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Amy Warwick
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Amy
Oakesdale
WA
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2009 : 06:46:58 AM
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Thanks for the post. I wanted to compost, but have been reluctant due to a lack of knowledge. Thanks for making it easy!
Amy
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it ~Aristotle
For information on SUMMER SNOW please visit www.amywarwick.com |
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FaziFarmgirl
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
Jane
Fort Worth
TX
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Feb 17 2010 : 12:57:50 PM
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Why not tomato plants?
quote:
Originally posted by Bellepepper
Toni, we used to turn the piles, water, cover, you name it. Then we got lazy. We have 3 bins about 4' X 5'. We just pile the stuff in, weeds, grass clippings, chicken manure, spent veggie plants (except tomatoes) and kitchen pealings. We pile it up high for a full year. Then let it set for the next 2 years and move on the the next bin. When we start using the compost it is 3 years old. We sift it with a screen and what don't fall through the screen gets thrown on the next pile. And on and on. I mix the compost with peat moss and vermiculite for my potting soil. The only problem with not "managing" the piles is that all the weed seeds don't get hot enough. I am starting (the next time we clean out the chicken house) to do the manure in a black plastic tub with lid. Want to use the manure in our new garden where there are NO weeds and don't want the manure to add seeds to the soil. It should get hot enough in the black tub to kill any seeds that has passed through the chicken.
Belle
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FaziFarmgirl
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
Jane
Fort Worth
TX
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Feb 17 2010 : 1:00:48 PM
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I tried composting about a year ago, and here are my problems:
I couldn't figure out what I should put the compost in while it was in the house, because the little pot we had was filled up 3-4 times a day (big family)
The location we picked for it was not ideal, it does need sun, and our entire backyard is almost shade
The rotting and stink and bug life growing in it was horrible
I now we need leaves and grass clippings ... that might have solved the rotting problem
I am not so much interested in making compost for garden use, as I am for disposing of biodegradable stuff not in the landfill. If I get compost, so much the better, but I really just want to not throw so much in the garbage. Ideas, comments?
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - Feb 17 2010 : 9:53:29 PM
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Jane- I would try working a bit more soil in with yours as well and turning it more frequently. It sounds like you are putting out quite a bit of kitchen waste and if it is too much for the funi, bacteria and worms to handle- then you can get the build up. A well balanced compost should not stink. It should smell earthy when turned. Another idea is to start a vermiculture (I believe is the term) aka a worm bin... you get those red worms and if you buy a kit you end up getting several layers. The worms eat, multiply and work up in layers. By the time they leave one layer behind you have those super rich worm castings left over to add to either garden or potted soil.
Another idea is that if your climate is warm enough- maybe you could seed your compost with the red worms. Night Crawlers are great in compost for turning it without labor the the red worms are the big garbage eaters!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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alterationsbyemily
True Blue Farmgirl
697 Posts
Emily
Chambersburg
PA
USA
697 Posts |
Posted - Feb 18 2010 : 5:25:23 PM
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I was so excited to see this! We actually have most of the hardware hanging around! Thank you so much
See my custom costumes, download free patterns, and hear some spook EVPs from Gettysburg, PA on my site, www.alterationsbyemily.com |
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Garden Gate: DIY Cheapo Composting bin |
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DIY Cheapo Composting bin
