General – Page 175 – Crazy About Compost

Grasscycling – It’s OK to Let it Lay (article)

The internet is so boring today...and when I get bored, somehow I end up reading my home state's website. I know- it's totally pathetic. I've been working my way through their resources on composting, and I found a nice page on grasscycling. Yard waste makes up a large portion of our landfills, and the Fall season reminds me of this as I watch the leaves get swept up for the trash. It's crazy, as leaves are super critical for composting. Hoard them! But what about grass? You can definitely compost without grass, and it's better left to stay where it lay. Why is this? Well, here's an excerpt from the DEP article "Grasscycling - It's OK to Let it Lay": "Grass clippings left on the lawn decompose and act as…

How to Make Balcony Composting Even Easier in 15 Minutes or Less

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deHIIGUiC8s A guy by the name of "travelsignguy" often comments on my Youtube videos, offering feedback and suggestions. Last week I posted the video "How to Start Balcony Composting in 15 Minutes or Less", and he made a great process improvement suggestion right away. I know I don't like turning compost, and I don't think anyone does. He suggested to add a third bucket to alternate with the top bucket in the system. Perfect! In other words, drill holes in a third bucket on the sides and bottom, then each week dump the bucket with composting material into the empty bucket, and put that one into play. By doing this, you're effectively tumbling your compost. The material is being completely overturned, and this is a great oxygen exchange as well.…

Quick Compost for West Africa (video)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um07cEViUFU I now have a new item on my list for things to do before I die. Creating a compost pile in West Africa is obviously not the same as making one here in west Philadelphia. The mix of materials, the group effort, and especially the dancing during the compaction step makes this video so great to watch...this puts all my efforts to shame! It's great to observe the differences here... they aren't adding shredded cardboard and paper to their pile. Instead, they have large windrows filled with chicken and cow manure, sorghum chat, millet, etc. Further, their soil is really acidic, so they add cook fire ash to help neutralize the process. I have no doubt that they create beautiful compost, and I hope to one day participate in…