Backyard Composting

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by jerry111165, Aug 23, 2013.

  1. Anyone have that composting guide that SeanDawg posted in the Lounge a while ago? It covers the Indore Method in more detail and I wanted to paste it up here because it's really on par with TwM.

     
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  2. Thanks J!
     
  3. My main goal was to dispose of my yard clippings for free, it's 3 dollars every bag of waste you put out here. So what I think I will do is use both of the tumblers for mainly grass clippings in early spring when the grass is really going, and then once the grass slows down a bit, I was going to go to the grocery store and see if I can get a bunch of vegetables they would be throwing out, add those all to 1 of the tumblers and maybe one more load of grass, and then let that go until fall in hopes of having finished compost for my indoor soil. The other tumbler would just be used for the outdoor garden, and allowed to partially compost and I will empty it onto a tarp or wheel barrel and then just top dress my vegetables with that.

    I'm trying to just have 1 good planned out pot grow every winter that will last me the year versus running in the summer when its hard to stay cool, so if it works it should be perfect. A couple pics of the tumbler I built and the piece of pvc that gives the aeration.

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  4. Interesting design Bcheese - have you tried it yet? How does the airflow pipe connect to the unit?

    J
     
  5. #45 jerry111165, Aug 25, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 25, 2013
    Winter Composting Tips -

    "Cold-Weather Compost

    The sight of steam rising from a compost pile on a cold winter day is sure to warm the heart of every organic gardener. It's a sign that when spring comes, you'll have a batch of fresh compost to use for getting seeds and transplants off to a healthy start in your garden. Frigid weather outside can slow the decomposition process, but you can maintain an essential core of heat, which indicates that crucial microbial activity is occurring inside the pile. "The outside layer of the pile will be ambient temperature," says Mark Van Horn, a researcher at the University of California-Davis, "but if things are right, the inside of the pile will be hot." These hints from the experts we spoke to will help keep your compost cooking through winter in any region.

    Microbe Management
    Even in winter, a compost pile is alive, an ecosystem in flux. "Microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes account for most of the decomposition activity in a compost pile," explains Dave Wilson, research agronomist at the Rodale Institute. The microbial action in decomposition is exothermic, which means that heat is a by-product of the chemical process of breaking down the material.

    The microbes' metabolism slows down as the temperature dips, which explains why food keeps in a refrigerator or freezer. In winter, your goal is to create an ideal habitat for microbes. Think of it as "micro-husbandry."

    Feeding. Microbes need a balanced diet, a mix of carbon- and nitrogen-rich materials (also known as "browns" and "greens"). Your kitchen scraps, such as vegetable and fruit peelings, coffee grounds, and houseplant trimmings are handy sources of nitrogen-rich ingredients. You can also compost eggshells and even domestic waste products like shredded newspaper. Manure from chickens or rabbits is loaded with heat-generating nitrogen. If you don't have access to that, you can add alfalfa pellets (sold as rabbit food) or blood meal to give your pile a nitrogen boost.

    For carbon-rich ingredients, use straw, fallen leaves, shredded newspaper, or sawdust. You can toss in small amounts of ashes from your fireplace or woodstove, which also enhance the calcium, phosphorus, and potassium content of your finished compost.

    Particle size. Help chilly, sluggish microbes by doing some of the work for them-chop or shred both browns and greens before adding them to the pile. Tamara Listiak of the Texas A & M Cooperative Extension recommends shredding the material into pieces smaller than 2 inches. The pile heats up uniformly, and the small particles form a kind of mat that shields the pile's warm core from outside temperature extremes, she explains.

    Layering. During warm periods, you can just add ingredients to your compost pile as they become available. But in the cold season, take time to add layers of brown ingredients to your green materials. The layers help insulate your pile, trapping heat and gases inside.

    Moisture. Winter winds and low humidity can suck the moisture out of your compost pile. The microbes need moisture to survive. During warm spells, water the pile. Leave it damp, but not soaking.

    Fresh air. In warm weather, frequent turning is the best way to keep microbes well supplied with oxygen. But in winter, you want to cause as little disturbance as possible to the layer of insulation. Wait until spring to turn the pile.

    Outside Insulators
    While your pile is cooking inside, you can boost its external temperature, too.

    Solar power. Where winter is long and frigid, site your compost pile in full sun.

    Snowbound. A long-lasting blanket of snow insulates compost from deep freezes, but it can inhibit thawing. Leave it on piles to which you are not adding new material; scrape it off when you put on a fresh layer.

    Tarp trap. Covering your pile with a canvas or plastic tarp prevents heat and moisture loss more effectively than a layer of snow. Just remember to add water to the pile regularly when you've shielded it from natural sources.

    Bale out. Pack straw bales around your bin or pile for another layer of protection from wind and cold.

    In the pits. Dig a trench and fill it with compost ingredients to use the ground's stored heat as an insulating buffer.



    Homemade Insulated Composter

    1. Using a sharp utility knife, cut the bottom out of a plastic trash can.

    2. Poke or drill holes around the sides of the can, 6 to 12 inches from the top, for ventilation.

    3. Dig a 1-foot hole and sink the can into it.

    4. Insulate the aboveground part of the can with straw bales, packing dried leaves into the gaps.

    5. Put a few scoops of soil or compost in the bottom, and layer brown and green ingredients as they become available. Keep the lid tightly closed between additions."

    Borrowed from Organic Gardening dot com http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/cold-weather-compost?page=0,2

    I really like the idea of building a hay/straw bale insulated, protective "structure" around your compost heap. Here in Maine it can get pretty drastic as far as temperatures and snow depth go, so I don't continue my composting efforts after first snowfall, but for those in slightly southern regions the hay bales could be an excellent idea - hey, in the spring why not use the hay as part of a new compost heap!

    More winter composting tips -

    http://www.compostguy.com/winter-composting/

    http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/compost-all-winter/

    http://www.mmsb.nf.ca/winter-composting.asp

    http://www.greencalgary.org/resources/composting/winter-composting/

    I was reading through some of these tips this morning and there really were some good ideas; for example, build yourself an area out of hay bales or old wood or something so that you can cover your autumn leaf pile or other ingredients and keep them dry and accessible all winter so that you can build other heaps throughout the winter. Having a leaf (or any other materials) pile frozen under snow would certainly put a damper on building a new heap, but lets say you built an enclosure for your leaves or whatever (manure) out of walls of hay bales and threw a sheet of plywood over it - you'd be ready as soon as you wanted these materials instead of digging through the snow.

    Here's a really handy idea - if you're handy with light carpentry and have a bunch of old storm windows laying around (or you could very well just use sheet plastic and a light wood frame) - video: http://crazyaboutcompost.com/2013/01/08/winter-compost-hot-house-video/

    What I'm trying to get across here is that composting is very and totally possible with a little planning ahead in the wintertime. Our microbes, providing that you keep them with a constant food source will certainly keep your pile from freezing in the wintertime, making it reasonably simple enough to compost year round.

    j image.jpg

    COMPOST HAPPENS
     
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  6. Yet another great source of renewable energy? The microbial action of a compost heap can heat your home! Leave it up to Mother Earth News to come up with this amazing way to harness the energy created by compost.

    "Simple DIY Water Heating with Compost.

    [1] MOTHER's newest compost mound shown here partially completed Is a low, rectangular heap with sloping sides (a shape that eliminates the need for a cage) and two flat coils of polyethylene tubing buried inside it.
    [2] The rings are connected to insulated hoses which will carry water in and out of the pile.
    [3] The warmed water travels 80 feet (see the diagram at left) and then is circulated through a heat exchanger inside this converted water heater.
    [4] MOM's second Jean Pain-style compost heater will be a hard act to follow! Supported by a wire frame and sheathed in black plastic, the circular mound maintained for almost teal months its highest temperature of 140F.
    Simple design. And you can vary the materials to keep the heat running for longer.
    Using finely chipped wood is one possibility, but so is using bark dust. Put this all in a big pile surrounding water pipes, soak the pile with water really well, and in a couple of weeks the decomposition begins, bringing hot water into your home."

    "MOTHER EARTH NEWS' second compost heap surpassed its predecessor by registering an inner temperature of 140F for two months and then leveling off again at a plateau of 130F, which it sustained for another two months before dropping any further. The success of that particular heatmaking cylinder convinced us that we could produce temperatures as high as those claimed by M. Pain for his experimental mounds. Later, when the next pile we built actually registered a high of 155F for a good portion of its 4 1/2-month life span, we knew we were onto something that was potentially very important!

    Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/renewable-energy/compost-water-heater-zmaz81jazraw.aspx#ixzz2cyXNXwAl

    I had to put this in here; it was just too cool. I'd love to try it sometime. My home is actually set up perfectly to try it - we have an outdoor wood boiler unit with which we burn firewood outside and pumps hot water underground through insulated supply & return lines into our heating system - it wouldn't be hard at all to tap into these lines and bypass the wood boiler... Hmmmm....

    Interesting to say the least.

    J
     
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  7. These folks in Minnesota use compost to heat their greenhouse and the water for their aquaponics systems.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV9CCxdkOng
     
  8. I used 3 inch pvc, so it's a 3 inch pvc closet flange, it was with all the other pvc fittings at the hardware store. The flange is just screwed into the barrel, and then has screen epoxied over it to keep the bees out. The pvc just slides into the flange at the bottom and then the 3/4 inch galvanized pipe that the tumbler spins on go's through the top of the pvc to keep it from coming lose while your spinning the tumbler.

    About 2 weeks ago this one got 1 of those 35 gallon bio degradable bags full of grass, about half a bag of flowers and plants from around the yard that already did they're thing for the year, all my stems and fans from my last grow, and quite a bit of veggie scrap because I just started my worm bin too.
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  9. Jeez Chunk talk about a symbiotic relationship circle of life...compost heating the water for the greenhouse and the fish and then the fish and compost can be used for medium and nutrition.

    It's enough to make an organic gardener - well, never mind... Lol

    Cool!

    Speaking of cool, the Coast of Maine lobster compost's got nuthin' on Jerry - I went out back and turned the new heap agin this mornin and the steam was a risin'...

    image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg

    J
     
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  10. Hey Coast of Jerry, I'm surprised you didn't smash them up a bit first.

    Looks kind of creepy....

    HaGGard

     
  11. It's pretty hard to get pictures of steam - you'll just have to trust me... ;)

    J
     
  12. Haggard, if you smelled these drippin', stinkin', starting to rot lobsters you wouldn't want to do anything but dump that sack out and run either, let alone smashing them up and getting that juicy crap all over ya... Lol

    They will literally disappear in no time.

    J
     
  13. Jerry, I have a buddy that works for a kind of seafood distribution company. They keep live lobster in large shallow cement pens. When they have dead lobster or fish they just toss them in the pens. There is nothing left after 24 hours. It's really cool to see. They are awesome cleaners.
     
  14. That's exactly what they, and crabs do on the ocean floor - they crawl around cleaning up any piece of scrap dead anything they can score - they're the vacuum cleaners of the ocean.

    I'm trying to find a similar company around the coast that will give up lobster shells to me on a grander pickup truck loads scale. I'm working on stepping up my own compost scale and need alot more. I have no doubt I'll find the right place.i do quite well with what I do but I need/want ALOT more. I have no problem with my base compost materials; I just need more lobster shells to add. Being one of Maines major resources I think I'll be fine.

    J
     
  15. Now only if I had a backyard, or a front yard for that matter.  :devious:
     
  16. One of your friends has a backyard.

    J
     
  17. Very valid point J! 
     
  18. vermicomposting takes up little space and i never smell a thing Pete! Sorry Jer, i know this is back yard composting.. lol
     
    i wanna start an outdoor compost. But not exactly sure where to start. was gunna start with the annual 3 day raking of the yard, but the sooner i get it started the better!
     
  19. Make sure the leaves are not Oak. I believe they are extremely acidic
     
  20. I think red or white oak is ok. Maybe not poison oak. For sure not black walnut.
     

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