General – Page 154 – Crazy About Compost

Trash Can Composting

Trash can composting is an effective way to compost at home without spending a ton of money on a compost tumbler or big clunky compost bin. Are the results as good? With attention to a few key factors, the answer is definitely yes. For composting to work well, you need to primarily pay attention to airflow, volume, moisture, and contents. The above picture was sent in to me, and I love it. Up to this point, I've composted in cramped spaces using small kitty litter buckets, but haven't had a trash can to try. Realistically, it's about the same footprint and you'll get better results due to the capacity. For a successful trash can composter, make sure you drill plenty of holes- composting needs oxygen. Lots of commercially available composting…

A Steaming Compost Volcano!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOELM8V7p74 Wow! This is one steaming hot pile! I hope his dog didn't really eat some of the compost and barf it up in the house. With that much space and material, he should try having one pile just sit there unturned, and another pile of equal size right next to it, getting turned every few days like he does.

Simple Compost Harvesting for Impatient Gardeners (video)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oCA3UbLadE Here's a good MIgardener video showing how to sift through your compost heap. His pile is clearly past its thermophilic phase, as it's cooled down enough that it's filled with pill bugs and earthworms...these are the critters that turn your material from compost to finished compost, by further breaking it all down. This phase is essentially as long as you want it to be. His trick with using the pitchfork to separate out all the twigs and non-composted material seems to work well for him. I made a compost sieve for screening mine, but a pitchfork would make a great preliminary screening as well. He mentions nutrients leaching out into the soil... a simple method for helping prevent this is to start your compost heap with at least six…