I just have a bin that my brother built for me (and he is no carpenter)...just a framed out box with a chicken wire fence. Works like a charm! ;)
smotpoker
everyone could benefit from composting and vermicomposting. i just want to point out that there are large differences between composting and vermicomposting. Both processes create great stuff though.
i had written a long explanation, but got high and accidentally lost it. its too nice outside not to go out for a bit, so i'll come back and try again later.
peace
(Edited by smotpoker at 11:36 am on Feb. 12, 2005)
smotpoker
wow, it was nice this afternoon!
i decided its time to talk about composting again.
true composting is a process that takes months, and involves aerobic respiration to break down materials efficently. In effect you take a piles of organic matter and mix them together in a pile. For best composting the pile needs to be a mixture of green and brown manures. Green manures are things like plant material, grass clippings, green leaves. Theyre all high in nitrogen, which is essential in true composting. The brown manures are things like wood chips, sawdust, animal manure, and straw. These materials are high in carbon. mixing the Carbon and Nitrogen materials, combined with moisture and oxygen can reach temperatures upwards of 185 degrees. C:N ratio's between 20:1 and 40:1 are for best results. thats by weight. It breaks down the organic matter, releasing the carbon in the pile slowly through co2, a byproduct of the aerobic processes inside the pile. Depending on the mixture a pile can lose 90% of its mass during this process. To keep a pile well aerated, turn it once a week, or its too large, you could bury pvc pipe running the length of the pile, open on both ends, with holes drilled into it.
a compost pile is considered finished and ready for curing when no matter what is added, C, N, O2, or H20, it wont heat up anymore.
from there it can sit or go into a soil mix. Tea's are also good alternatives to mixing it into the medium.
(Edited by smotpoker at 11:58 pm on Feb. 25, 2005)
smotpoker
vermicomposting is way simpler. Most commonly used are red wigglers. On average, in an established worm bin, a pound of worms will eat about 3 pounds of feed a week. As long as they dont get too wet, or too dry, their food doesnt build up and start to rot, or they starve, they'll stay in your pile happily turning your organic trash into black gold
(Edited by smotpoker at 12:18 pm on Feb. 27, 2005)
a compost pile is considered finished and ready for curing when no matter what is added, C, N, O2, or H20, it wont heat up anymore.
--- Not true.
The processes are going on all the time in most soils. I practice low scale composting where I add to my existing soil and "fire it up" for about two weeks once a year.
What kind of setup are you thinking about?
Randy
smotpoker
I'm talking about making a compost pile from scratch with raw materials like grass clippings, kitchen scraps and straw. There is only so much raw material to break down in any pile, and once everything has brokendown, theres nothing left but a pile of nutrients sitting in stable organic compounds, ready for slow release to plants roots.
So it would seem that if there is nothing left in a pile to decompose, then it can't build heat. and thats what i meant.
And randy, mind telling me a bit more about your low scale composting? are you talking about your pot plants or in a garden outside? If you mean your turning organic matter under your soil, that is considered passive composting. Your not going to be able to reach high enough temperatures to achieve the full breakdown of material on the scale a composting pile can.
dont get me wrong, its still a great thing to do for your soil. The more OM the better.
True composting is the aerobic breakdown of organic material under controlled environments. Micro-organisms consume oxygen while they feed on the OM. It generates considerable heat(135-180 degrees) and releases CO2 and water vapor, such that mass of the pile shrinks considerably.
The generation of heat is directly related to the microorganism activity, which is why aeration is required.
I have a three-chambered compost area I use for organic recycling. Making your own compost is easy once you understand what needs to happen. Patience and 'no-meat-in-the-compost' is key.
smotpoker
yea indi, the no meat rule is important. I also carry the same rule with most dairy products.
In some places, like some poultry farms, they compost all their dead birds. Just toss them into the middle of the pile and wait 6 weeks. On larger scales even cows and horses can be decomposed inside a large compost pile.
but for the average homecomposter meat and dairy products rot before their broken down. not good.
like indigo said, composting is way easy once its understood. Alot of the composting i'm talking about is directed more to a farm orientation, but the biological process's that do the work stay the same for a farm or in the back yard.
