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Chris
02-19-2011, 04:48 PM
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/composting/

Got maybe 30 more pages of stuff I might still add to this section, or not, or maybe a separate section, I'm not sure.

Lots of good science-y stuff here, some figures on actual carbon/nitrogen content of various things, and the list of compostable materials is very very good.

hunter63
02-19-2011, 05:35 PM
Good stuff here, Chris, and should be noted that everything will rot, given time, keeping moderation in greens, brown and moisture is the secret.
Having a back ground in the scientific way's and where-for's is always helpful.
Thanks.

Chris
02-19-2011, 05:41 PM
I actually even learned something compiling this. I didn't know human hair was good compost fodder.

hunter63
02-19-2011, 06:31 PM
Yeah there is a lots of stuff that can be used.
I mentioned the part about too much info, because in my experiance a lot of people have been "Put off" by trying to "do it right" or the amount of work involved, and just stopped.
Or the opposite, if a little does a little good, a lot will do a lot of good, and end up with a soggy, stinky, bug infested pile of "stuff"

It's kinda funny, that i have seemed to come full circle, from just tilling in stuff to comstructed bins (home made), to tumblers (home made), and trying to creat the perfect "hot mix", back to bins and tilling.
Moderation in all things....................

your_comforting_company
02-19-2011, 07:56 PM
That's some good stuff! Bookmarked it. Be sure to let us know as you add more. I'm trying to get more potassium in my compost, instead of buying fertilizer again.

Chris
02-19-2011, 08:36 PM
What I normally tell people is you can't really mess compost up (you can... technically if you added like salt or something to it, or really drown it, but ignoring that). The stuff will decompose eventually. All you can do is just try to speed it up.

LowKey
02-19-2011, 09:20 PM
What I dislike is compost in the spring. ie when all the winter tossings go all at once when they thaw. Last year was the first year I made a concerted effort not to let compostables go in the trash. It smelled so bad I had to dig a hole to bury it so the neighbor wouldn't complain. Nasty job. This year I kept several buckets of dirt in the garage and am layering it.

hunter63
02-19-2011, 09:49 PM
I generally save bags of leaves harvested in the fall and add some when ever I get an inch or two of hot stuff.
Then in the spring when it thaws it just starts going about it's business.

This gives me a start in the spring as well.

crashdive123
02-19-2011, 11:06 PM
More great additions. Thanks.

Rick
02-20-2011, 09:17 AM
Just remember that your compost pile is really a house for living bacteria. You have to feed and shelter it in order for the bacteria to do it's job. When I layer I usually sprinkle some dirt just to add some fresh bacteria then add a can of beer to give the bacteria some yeast to feed on then add my layer. Moisture and heat also have to be maintained at reasonable levels so the bacteria thrive.

Another great addition, Chris!

Chris
02-20-2011, 11:25 AM
What I dislike is compost in the spring. ie when all the winter tossings go all at once when they thaw. Last year was the first year I made a concerted effort not to let compostables go in the trash. It smelled so bad I had to dig a hole to bury it so the neighbor wouldn't complain. Nasty job. This year I kept several buckets of dirt in the garage and am layering it.

I do two things to combat that.

1. I put all kitchen scraps in brown lunch bags, then toss the whole bag in the composter when full. This adds the brown material and absorbs moisture.

2. If the moisture issue gets really bad (and it is moisture + lack of oxygen causing the anaerobic bacteria and the smell), I run some newspaper through my paper shredder and toss that in - great compost fodder.You can also use sawdust (untreated wood) in the same way.

Or use leaves like hunter63 does, but I use up all my leaves typically earlier in the fall.

LowKey
02-20-2011, 11:35 AM
Will try the brown bag thing. I seem to collect a lot of those from the coffee shop.

Rick, does the whole can of beer actually make it into the compost???

Rick
02-20-2011, 01:10 PM
Yes it does. I'm not a beer drinker. I have a case or two around the house for cooking and friends but I rarely consume it. I probably drink a couple of bottles a year and only when it's really hot. Corona is about the only thing I drink. Budweiser for cooking since it's not worth much for anything else.

hunter63
02-20-2011, 01:34 PM
Just remember that your compost pile is really a house for living bacteria. You have to feed and shelter it in order for the bacteria to do it's job. When I layer I usually sprinkle some dirt just to add some fresh bacteria then add a can of beer to give the bacteria some yeast to feed on then add my layer. Moisture and heat also have to be maintained at reasonable levels so the bacteria thrive.

Another great addition, Chris!

I add beer as well, but generally strain it thru my kidneys first...............LOL
I do add shredded paper from time to time, seems ironic to use old bills to a useful end....newspaper works better.

LowKey
02-20-2011, 03:45 PM
I was gonna mention you may have found a use for Budweiser... :p

Usually I don't have beer around the place unless someone leaves a few behind. And sure as heck not gonna pour the Strongbow or Magners in there (Both good to drink - and poured on steaks while barbequeing.)

crashdive123
02-20-2011, 06:55 PM
Yes it does. I'm not a beer drinker. I have a case or two around the house for cooking and friends but I rarely consume it. I probably drink a couple of bottles a year and only when it's really hot. Corona is about the only thing I drink. Budweiser for cooking since it's not worth much for anything else.

See - that right there is your problem. Try putting the beer in the fridge first to cool it down and you'll probably like it more. Drinking really hot beer....sheesh!

Rick
02-20-2011, 08:06 PM
My brother got packed and moved from Heidleburg, Germany on two cases of hot beer.

hunter63
02-20-2011, 08:54 PM
I've had warm beer before, generally OP's (other peoples) but do prefer mine cold.
Beer also work well for slugs, not the drown them in a bowl of beer, but sip it with your head lamp on hunting them down at nite, then salt them down, they melt.

As far a collecting components to compost, it becomes a mind set, the search is a constant thing, drive by a pile of bagged leaves, and feel the need to pick them up.
Coffee shop coffee grounds, hair form the barber, local farmers giving away manure, sawdust form tree companies, don't use too much as they take a long time to break down, and lock up nitrogen.

Our city does composting on a big scale, so resulting compost is free when it's available, and goes fast.

Grass clipping layered into the pile about 1/4" in deep works well. (Also as mulch), free from neighbors........
Not much of anything leaves the yard, and hasn't for 30+ years

Rick
02-20-2011, 08:56 PM
I sat out tuna cans of beer last year in my strawberry patch to kill slugs. Worked like a charm. Dang little @#$#!

IaSpanky
02-23-2011, 09:47 PM
You can make a "simple" tumbler from an old 55 gallon drum and some pvc would show you pics of mine but the neighbors tree took it out last fall :( on the bright side have lots of oak fire wood. I will work on a write up of how I built mine.

your_comforting_company
02-24-2011, 07:32 AM
Beer also work well for slugs, not the drown them in a bowl of beer, but sip it with your head lamp on hunting them down at nite, then salt them down, they melt.


I try not to put salt anywhere near anything I want to grow. I've killed nuisance plants in the past, like ivy, with salt. When I scrape a salted hide in the yard, the salt kills the grass, so I had to start putting down plastic to catch the salt, then I put it in places weeds need to be killed (like trumpet creeper or virginia creeper; not the good weeds)

Deer hair does a good job holding moisture in the soil, but really needs time to break down before adding to the garden.

Chris, I would love to see some info on "fertilizer substitutes", like ashes for "potash" and stuff for adding nitrogen and potassium to the soil. My neighbor has been burning leaves and I'm collecting his ashes and spreading them in the garden to sweeten the soil. It's also supposed to help with the sclerotium rolfsii fungus that got in there last year.

hunter63
02-24-2011, 02:54 PM
I try not to put salt anywhere near anything I want to grow. I've killed nuisance plants in the past, like ivy, with salt. When I scrape a salted hide in the yard, the salt kills the grass, so I had to start putting down plastic to catch the salt, then I put it in places weeds need to be killed (like trumpet creeper or virginia creeper; not the good weeds)

Deer hair does a good job holding moisture in the soil, but really needs time to break down before adding to the garden.

Chris, I would love to see some info on "fertilizer substitutes", like ashes for "potash" and stuff for adding nitrogen and potassium to the soil. My neighbor has been burning leaves and I'm collecting his ashes and spreading them in the garden to sweeten the soil. It's also supposed to help with the sclerotium rolfsii fungus that got in there last year.

I haven't had a problem with the small amount of salt that is used.

I used to rotate tilling in my leaves with burning them every other year, city stopped leaf burning a while back, so I still till some in every other year, and compost the rest.
Leaving them in black garbage bags over the winter turns them into a leaf mold partically broke down material, that mixes very well the the "greens', kitchen waste, weeds, grass clippings, stems etc.

crashdive123
03-04-2011, 08:54 PM
Hehehehe.

I msut be in a giddy mood tonight. I saw the title of this thread and was reminded of an old thread titled "Crap Threads".