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Compost Piles

6K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  RadarDon 
#1 · (Edited)
I want to start composting food scraps and garden scraps (stuff that over ripens before I get to it). I have no idea where to start.

I was surprised that I couldn’t find much help through the gtt search. I have been meaning to look into this for awhile but I haven’t gotten around to it until now.

So, any do’s or don’ts? I am guessing I shouldn’t throw a half eaten beef roast on the pile, maybe stick to veggies? Do I need to add grass and leaf clippings?

Do you just add the fresh stuff to the top of the pile, or do you stir it all in? When do you start a second pile?

How far from the house should this be?

Any tips are appreciated as I begin researching this. Thanks in advance!
 
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#2 ·
For such a simple little thing there are a surprising number of ways to get 'er done!

Right now I just pick a corner of the lot and dump any/all vegetation and whatever I clean out of the chicken, rabbit and turkey coops on the pile. Grass clippings, leaves, wood chips all get thrown in too. I use my pallet forks to agitate the pile once a month.

The next spring I start a new pile. After 2 years, I shovel the pile through a screen. The composted material gets used in my gardens. Anything that isn't fully composted goes into the current year's pile. So I usually have 3 piles in total at any given time.

Don't throw meats, greases, etc.. in a compost pile. They just attract nuisance animals you don't want hanging around.

Some day when I have more room I want to pour a 8'x18' concrete pad and then build 3 3-sided boxes to compost in. I'd throw a shed roof over the top of it to prevent it from getting drenched in big storms.
 
#3 ·
I guess a lot of it depends on how big and what your plans are. I mainly run leaves and some grass clippings through there. My hop vines go in there as well as pumpkins after Halloween. How close it is to the house will impact what you put in there. Mine is way in the back of our lot. Probably 500' away down a big hill. We could I guess keep a separate bin close to the house and go back there once in a while to dump. I have found if you do just leaves it will take a long time to break down. You need to add other stuff like grass clippings. I have the dump from seat material collection system for my Z950R so around this time of year I start collecting grass clippings to introduce some to my pile before and while picking up leaves which is the bulk. I use the FEL on my X585 to turn it but don't do it too often. As it breaks down it builds up heat and that is needed to break down. If you keep turning it too much I don't see how it would build that heat up. I will turn mine 2 maybe 3 times a year. I have several piles going and am using compost out of it by late year 2 or 3. Not sure how big of a lot you have or how close neighbors are but where I have mine the neighbors behind us have llamas so they smell more than my compost. On the other side he is never back there.


Some day when I have more room I want to pour a 8'x18' concrete pad and then build 3 3-sided boxes to compost in. I'd throw a shed roof over the top of it to prevent it from getting drenched in big storms.
I am a little surprised you say that. I am trying to add moisture to mine all the time because it seems to stop breaking down if too dry.
 
#8 ·
Google and YouTube

There are quite few articles online - google search is a good place to start. Lot's of good advice about how to make a multi-bin system that allows one to "screen out the smaller material for use." Oh, and there's people who make a "Trommel" for sorting the material if one was so inclined.

Quite a few people use wood from pallets rather than pressure treated lumber.

And, there's quite a few videos on YouTube detailing different ways to build a composting bin.

To keep animals out of the food scraps, we have a plastic one that is more than 20 years old. It is cracking but still works to keep the critters from dragging the food around the yard. Everything else goes on big pile and it gets turned it with the tiller once in a while. If I was more serious, I'd wet it down with a hose rather than rely on the rain. I've recently used all compost I have so I'm considering building a bin that is sturdy enough and wide enough to use the loader to turn it.
 
#9 ·
This is what I built, it will eventually need to handle waste from 2 horses, right now it just handles yard clippings. I went with a roof because as others have said, too wet and it stops composting. I try to mist it and agitate it 1-2 times a week. From what I have read, every 3 days is optional, but I just don't get to it that often. If I was better about it, I might be able to get it down to the 3 month cycle I have read about from fresh clippings to completed compost.

All of the side boards are removable for later replacement, and I can clean it out really well if I pull all the boards. Pallet forks are awesome for turning the piles, it sucks trying to do it with a bucket.
 

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#10 ·
I want that exact same setup on a concrete slab with poured concrete walls/dividers. :good2:
 
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#11 ·
I have a pile that will be compost,,, some day,, maybe a decade? I am good with that,,

If my math is correct, the pile is at least 1,500 cubic yards,, now,, it will shrink over time,,

Some of the wood is over 3 feet in diameter,, that may take a little longer,,, :laugh:
 

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#13 ·
I started with an igloo compost unit our recycling center was selling on the cheap years ago. it worked OK for the produce scraps I had. When it met the demise of the tractor bucket during a snow storm I started making a pile. Also at that time I started collecting leaves as well as grass clippings in the spring. I don't like to collect the grass but at the rate it grows and the thickness,i fight with windrows all summer if I don't pick it up a few times a year.
I have had 2 piles going now for about 4 years in the corner of the yard. its not in an ideal spot for sun but its out of the way. Ill turn it when I add more to the pile from the yard and just dump my produce scraps on the top. Maybe an animal will have a decent helping of fermented veggies and fruits. :laugh::laugh:

The joy of the compost pile I have found is what will grow when the pile is used elsewhere. This past spring I moved plants from around the deck into an area I am trying to recover from brush by adding plants. I filled the holes with compost, 7 total plants moved and this summer I have 4 cucumber plants growing out of the 7 holes. Another year I grew pumpkins in the garden without planing them. It is always a mystery.
 
#15 ·
I have started my new composting piles this summer since my last one didn't work out. This one is definitely in it's infancy stages and now that I redesigned my garden, it's way too small. It needs to be much bigger and covered. I am thinking about building something more substantial this winter and scrapping this cheap build, since I don't have much time in it anyway. My notes below since I put this one up.

1. The sun and the wind dries out my pile too quickly - watering is a must
2. Needs shade to assist in retaining moisture
3. I want it big and wide enough to be able to accept my 72 inch loader bucket to load and agitate - using a manure fork is annoying
4. A heavy duty backing like a concrete barrier wall to resist the loader as I scoop would be nice
5. The more broken up it is before it arrives to the pile the better (ie running leaves through the mower and bag before putting them in the mulch pile)
 

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#16 ·
After responding to this post earlier, the idea of creating a bigger compost pile has been bouncing around in my head. I have some left over material from a couple builds I had, so I decided to purchase what I didn't have to actually build it and make it look right.

I got some treated wood, a couple odd sheets of metal, some structural screws. I will post images once I get it done. Since the wood is 8 ft, it's gonna be 8 ft wide, and 8 ft deep with a lean to roof sloped to the south. I will post pictures when I complete it.
 
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#17 ·
I dump my horse stall cleanings (some straw, horse dung and sawdust) in a pile on the top edge of a hill, at the edge of some woods. If I have grass clippings and leaves through the year, they go there too. The hill allows drainage, so it never stays too wet. At the end of the garden season, same time I'm getting up the leaves in the yard, I start dumping my leaves in the garden area, spread them out, and then use the loader and move stuff from the pile on the hill. Then I plow it under, and leave it through the winter. Come Spring, I'll spread 850-1100 pounds of pelletized lime, plow again, then till and plant. The stall cleanings are heavy with urea, the lime helps neutralize the acidity. I generally have a great garden as long as I get enough rain and can keep the deer and crows out of it.


My Dad built a compost box for his garden. It was 8x8 feet (two sheets of pressure treated plywood) and built on stilts, with one corner lower than the other three. The sides were about 18" high. He covered the bottom with a piece of old kitchen linoleum so whatever water collected couldn't soak through and ruin the plywood bottom. At the low corner he had a slide up section of the side, a place to shovel it out. He also placed a couple of feet section of roof gutter at the low corner/cleanout, and set a 5 gallon bucket at the end of the gutter. He'd throw anything vegetable in there; grass, leaves, table scraps, wood chips and sticks, but no meat or weeds. he turned it all once a week, and if it didn't rain, he'd water it with the hose. All the water that fell into the box would drain toward the low corner, drain into the gutter and into the bucket. That stuff was the nastiest-smelling liquid; it was black/brown like tobacco juice. He'd dilute it a gallon to four of water, and spray it in the garden as the plants were coming up. I've never seen stuff grow like his garden did. End of the season he'd shovel what was left out of the box and spread it in the garden and till it under, and start again. I don't know where he got the idea, but it sure worked well. He's been gone now 28 years.
 
#18 ·
Your dad was basically making "Compost Tea". It's all the rage with organic gardeners. What they do now is take a big piece of cheesecloth and wrap up a bunch of compost in it like a tea bag. Then you leave that sit in a barrel full of water for a few days while all of the nutrients seep into the water. Then put that in the garden.

Dad was ahead of his time! :good2:

I'm thinking about getting with the city street guys and have them dump a small load of leaves for me. I did this a few years ago and put a bunch on my raised beds. This year I think that I'll run the bush hog in the leaf pile to really chop them up first.
 
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#19 ·
Your dad was basically making "Compost Tea". It's all the rage with organic gardeners. What they do now is take a big piece of cheesecloth and wrap up a bunch of compost in it like a tea bag. Then you leave that sit in a barrel full of water for a few days while all of the nutrients seep into the water. Then put that in the garden.

Dad was ahead of his time! :good2:
Bingo! I had a friend that used to do something similar. He built a rack (out of wood) that ran down the center of his garden bed and placed 55 gallon drums on the rack so that they sat up about 4' off the ground. The rain gutter on his house drained into those drums. As he worked in the garden he'd throw any scraps into the barrels and they'd stew in there in the sun. When he needed to water the garden he'd just use a hose attached to the spigot at the bottom of the barrels. He grew some of the nicest veggies I've ever seen. His tomato plants always seemed to be 15 feet tall.
 
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#20 ·
Composting is where it is at. Inspiration build from this post, as I thought the pallets were ugly. This weekend, I rebuilt my compost pile with mostly leftover supplies. It's a good start, and that way I can get my loader in there. Just in time for fall leaves. I mow over the leaves first with the mower which will also bag them as well. Once I get the foliage in, and continue with food scraps, I will lay on the cow manure.

Compost tea is a whole nother level, lol.
 

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#21 ·
I've been thinking about my pile of wood chips and ways to more efficiently gather and compost them. Right now I usually drag everything I'm going to chip over to a specific part of the property and just add to the existing pile. I don't think that's the best thing to do for a variety of reasons. I've considered building a multi-bin big structure, kind of like the one pictured above, so I can let one pile "mature" while creating a new pile.

Several of the folks on this thread and other threads have also built neat "boxes" that go on their FELs to facilitate gathering yard debris. I've thought about building something like that where I could set it aside in the woods, blow wood chips directly into it and then go dump it on the pile.

BUT... today I was on Craigslist and saw this ad: Wire basket, foldable, storage, animal cage, crate, firewood, container. - farm garden - by owner - sale

Net Goal Mesh


These baskets are about 31 cubic feet, so a bit more than a cubic yard. Someone tell me what's wrong with my reasoning below... :good2:

The wire sides and bottom would allow air circulation for the chips to turn into compost.

I could take one of these to the woods and blow chips right into it. I may need some cardboard on the back and maybe some "hardware cloth" or maybe even window screen on the bottom to keep the chips from falling through when blowing into it. I could pull the cardboard out once it's loaded. I might lose some of the material out of the sides, but that should be negligible.

Since the fronts open, it should be fairly easy to put a loaded basket on my forks, drop the front and then load from one basket into another in order to "rotate" or "stir" the compost from time to time.

I could put a tarp or some other "roof" over them to keep excess water from them. The sides would still be open.

I could take a basket full of "mature compost" directly to my raised garden beds for application.



There's got to be something wrong with my reasoning. Can someone tell me what it is? :unknown:
 
#22 ·
There is nothing wrong with the idea. People have been building compost bins out of a circle of chicken wire for decades. That's essentially what you've got with those baskets.

I think it'll be harder to flip from basket to basket than you may think and if you try to fill one with compost and move it to your garden area you'll find that it's only 1/2 full by the time you get there but you can certainly use them to generate compost. If you try to fill one with just wood chips it'll take several years to break down. Part of stirring up the pile is to keep mixed types of materials spread throughout the pile. Different microbes like different types of material. Composting a single type of material is much slower than it is with multiple types.
 
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#24 ·
Lots of great info and advice here. We have had compost piles for years at several places we rented and later at other places we owned. Not sure how much compost you wish to generate?
Some things we learned like others here:
- avoid meat and bones (but lobster and crab shells will compost over a couple of seasons - we used to live in Nova Scotia)
- store-bought plastic square composters that sit on the ground become mouse condominiums full of those rodents; keep these far from your house
- store-bought elevated drum-type composters seem cool, are expensive, don’t get mice, and generally didn’t work for us - no real compost after 2 years despite adding “compost accelerator”
- mixing a little garden soil into your compost material from time to time really seems to accelerate the process- maybe it’s the added worms and / or soil bacteria?
- aerate your compost by turning it over monthly, and wet it if it seems dry and crumbly
- in cold frozen winter months the composting process still keeps going
- anything from plants is good, especially coffee grounds and dry leaves - except too much grass clippings
- our best compost set-up was made from old railway ties and used wooden pallets, dug into a hillside

==Grizzler
 
#25 ·
So, sorta piggy-backing on this...

It will be a year or two until we get a full-blown pile system going, but for the time being I was looking at the two-stage rotary drum composters - preferably something rugged enough I can lift a full one with the forks to move it.

Anybody have any recommendations? I spent some time on Amazon, but between reviews and what I had in mind didn't really see anything that lit me up...
 
#26 · (Edited)
Every spring I have to sweep about 2 acres of grass clippings at least once, it is too wet too long and the grass gets really tall before I can mow without getting stuck in the mud. I also have a lot of small branches I can chip for compost. My gardens love it.

I started with 4x4 chicken wire bins using u-posts on the corners. I got the compost out when I took them down and built my new one from a plan I found online using concrete blocks. It was about 4x4 ft also but I made 3 bins side by side so I could turn the compost. I was learning as I went.

I got too old too fast to enjoy turning manually. Enter tractor George last winter. I plan to use the loader bucket to turn the compost. Good crumbly compost shouldn't stay on the forks too well. Since the bucket is wider than 4', time to rebuild. Had to get a lot more blocks and plan better.

I got some cheap Lego-like pieces to build a model so I knew where to put each block. Handy that. Since I plan on using the loader I needed to beef up the walls. I used t-posts and cattle panels I had on hand to back up the outside walls and drove some rebar down in the ends and the center walls to keep them from falling too far. Cut larger 2x12 boards I had on hand for the gate boards which rest on some 4" blocks, and started filling. I want to get some teeth for the bucket before spring. The season's clippings were on a few tarps in front of the bins and I filled all the barrels, cans, wagons and such with chips before the bins were done. Chipped more after. The new bins hold a lot more so now I may be able to turn them as planned bin to bin instead of in place.

Oddly, I had a devil of a time getting the blocks I wanted this time around. It seems the main distributor makes a pallet of 15 end blocks and 75 inline blocks, and the retailers now have them with the same SKU for each type block. Dumb idea IMHO.

My compost recipe seems to work. The rhubarb were next to the compost bins and grew very well. I put compost (and sometimes extra chips) on my tomatos and they took off as well. I grew yellow ones for the local assisted living home. Something about red and acid and upset stomach. Very popular.

Oh, the Cub Cadet is one of my yard mules. Very handy.
 

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