Compost Bins

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Heloise
Posts: 835
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:11 pm

Compost Bins

Post by Heloise »

For those who practice composting, what sort of method/system do you rely on? Compost bin? A small corner of your garden? A small container in the home?

We've had an outdoor built-in wooden compost bin for decades and use it daily. So nice being able to have a special place to toss vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, even tea bags, knowing it all adds up to a fertile compost mix.
clemencia2us
Posts: 11403
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:21 am

Re: Compost Bins

Post by clemencia2us »

I have a roller composter. Big black hard plastic drum looking thing that used to sit on a platform that had small wheels.

I filled it up too much and cracked the platform.

Now I just roll it around on the ground.

I don't do as much gardening now, so I don't use it much. But I still drop all my kitchen green scraps and egg shells in there.
Heloise
Posts: 835
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:11 pm

Re: Compost Bins

Post by Heloise »

Clemencia. Love the idea of a portable bin! And being black I would suspect that scraps and waste breaks down faster?
dlrcpa
Posts: 1546
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 8:45 am

Re: Compost Bins

Post by dlrcpa »

Good question as my wooden one rotted away years ago and I have not replaced it with anything. I would like to get back to this. I have some wire fencing and posts, so could make a smallish one for the time being. Do you think it makes a difference if it's located in sun or shade?
Heloise
Posts: 835
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:11 pm

Re: Compost Bins

Post by Heloise »

dlrcpa wrote:Do you think it makes a difference if it's located in sun or shade?
Hmmm... that's a good question. I would say sunlight would be a good thing for composting, as I believe it would help keep everything heated and working. Breakdown would be greatly increased under direct sunlight, or at best, an area where it would be in direct sunlight for a majority of the day.
RecoveringDreamer
Posts: 346
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:00 pm

Re: Compost Bins

Post by RecoveringDreamer »

Heloise wrote:For those who practice composting, what sort of method/system do you rely on? Compost bin? A small corner of your garden? A small container in the home?

We've had an outdoor built-in wooden compost bin for decades and use it daily. So nice being able to have a special place to toss vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, even tea bags, knowing it all adds up to a fertile compost mix.
Mine is gross. I'll admit that from the start, however it works well.

I have three large trash cans with holes drilled at the bottom. I will always be actively filling one. Usually one is filled with leaves from the yard. I actively fill one and when possible add leaves or cardboard (but I'm terrible about adding enough brown material). Once it is full, I start on the next. Usually by the time I have two full and start to add to the second, it is spring and I dump out the first two.

Con: not using enough browns to keep it dry leads to me having lots of soldier fly larvae in my bins. It is gross.

Pro: Black soldier fly larva break down material into compost super fast. It is a nice, dark black compost that works wonders in the garden. It is especially nice that the peak of preserving season is when the larvae are at their highest numbers.

It is gross and I don't want lots of flies. In late fall, the larvae burrow deep into the bin and go dormant. Generally, I wait until a nice cold freeze, then dump the compost out onto the garden beds. It is a huge buffet for the birds and they swoop in and eat almost all of the larvae. Any that aren't eaten freeze to death. I never never actively noticed a black soldier fly, so this system keeps the flies in control.

I know this sounds awful, but I have no plans to change it. I know farmers who buy black soldier fly larvae to put in their barns in winter to keep the manure under control. It isn't for the squeamish, but it works wonders.
A Life Beyond Money
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