how to make compost – Page 6 – Crazy About Compost

Anaerobic Composting – Is It Worth It?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPQ4U4vtWd4 Anaerobic composting is a simple and fun alternative to the usual ways of composting, which include using a compost bin, a tumbler, or worms. While it may be the easiest method, it takes a really long time to finish and it has different environmental consequences...more on that in a moment. A popular method I've read about is to use two thick black garbage bags, a bucket to measure out the contents and some water. Add equal parts shredded food scraps (no meat/dairy/seafood), soil+some finished compost, and "brown" materials (shredded leaves, shredded paper). Add some water to get the material damp, but not completely soaked. Tie off the bag, then put it inside the other garbage bag and tie that off, too. All done! This process is often said to…

Anaerobic Composting Update

Ahhhh, the weather broke... kind of. I went out on the balcony for the first time since the Fall and checked out the garbage bag, it was stuck to the deck a little bit. Back in November, I opened this bag the first time around and the material was definitely breaking down in there, but it wasn't finished. I wanted to give it another six months and take a peek, so when May comes around we'll see how it went through the winter months, and if the cold had a serious effect on the process. An aside: I was collecting the last of the leaves off my street yesterday to use for my next compost pile, and I decided to try a biodegradable garbage bag since I had some different…

How to Screen Worm Compost (video)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtEIYdDmyZQ Here's a neat video on how to screen worm compost. Cassandra keeps it simple in this video and has some nice results. I do pretty much the same thing, except my screen is a repurposed basket with a piece of wire mesh placed in the bottom. She makes mention of running a fan over the top of the castings when you first harvest them...it's true- when you first remove your castings and put the worms back, the stuff is so gooey that a screen doesn't work so well. Drying them out just a bit will help, although I wouldn't want to dry them too much and risk losing some of their benefit.