@@downunderfulla6001 interesting good to know. I guess long as it gets hot enough to make sure it kills off everything. If I'm going to get salmonella I want it to be from uncooked brownie mix . Lol
I made a composting mistake this season that I haven't seen anyone talk about. I have a three bin system and used the compost from the third and final bin to top up all my raised beds this Spring. Apparently my compost was full of sow bugs and they took down almost all of my seedlings. In doing some research I learned that I should have spread the finished compost out on a tarp in the sun (all the sow bugs will either dry up or run away) before adding it to my raised bed.
Tip 6. Don't let perfection become the enemy of good. Composting "wrong" is still better than getting overwhelmed with rules and not composting at all.
I agree. I throw in anything I have. In the summer there are lots of grass clippings and watermelon rinds. In the winter there are fallen leaves and potato peels.
My dad built something like this when I was a kid. A couple of design tweaks I learned from him. 1) mesh sides for more air. 2) hinge 2 corners and latch the other 2 corners so you can "unwrap" the box from the pile, set it right next to it and flip the whole pile back in.
Thank you for this. We got a Lomi and will make compost all winter, but I've come to the conclusion that I need a good sized bin. I like the open sides idea.
As cold composters, we don't add a lot of weeds, but happily toss in whole pumpkins at the end of halloween, pepper cores, etc. The next season's 'volunteers' are always a fun surprise, and we make space to transplant them into different areas when they come up.
Jeannine Hadid FUN! I used my cold compost in a newly created seating area and the entire area is now a field of tomatoes with two squash. I'm leaving them to see if those buds will turn into tomatoes and squash. I was surprised. Don't think I'll repeat that though...not for an area I want to look a certain way. But it has been interesting to see where those tomatoes pop up. 😆
I've a bunch of tomatoes that I certainly didn't got out to buy this year. The collard greens trying to take over the yard were less of a fun surprise.
@@JackrabbitCrafts One year I tossed the seeds of a spaghetti squash in my compost. It took over my back yard the next year. I was giving it away to everyone.
@@loriekey5860 This year we have mystery tomatoes all over the yard, all in places amended with homemade compost. A welcome and positive surprise during a weird time.
You can easily do this with just four pallets. I was lucky that the local appliance store was throwing out 2x4 s screwed together with particle board. I simply unscrewed them then built three side that could be simply screwed together. I made a fourth side with the slats connected which can simply slide up like you individual slats. Didn’t even have to cut anything and was able to reuse the screws I took out. Cost of building 5 of them was around 10 dollars. Some Tips 1. Only use heat treated wood (HT) not chemically treated lumber 2. You can use cardboard on top to check rain out or moisture in 3. A pitchfork forks better than anything 4. If you have a rodent problem just don’t add food scraps 5. My bins sit on the ground with no bottom. Keeps from getting to wet in the bottom and the worms love it 6. Coffee grounds, egg shells, and ash from your fire place are excellent to add. Just don’t to heavy on the ash. Determinate tomatoes planted with a cup of ash in the bottom of the whole will love you 7. Turn frequently 8. Give your neighbors a bucket and a list of things they can save for you 9. Shredded newspaper and cardboard are great 10. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Things will breakdown differently depending on where you live 11. Try to repurpose materials for your bin and garden. This is my favorite part when I make something for the garden at no cost 12. Add some finished composite to your new compost pile to kick start the process 13. Adding old potting soil to the compost will recharge it 14. You can take a five gallon bucket of wAter and add grass or weeds to it. Let it sit for a couple weeks. This is better than any water you can use especially if it’s collected from rain water. It can also be directly applied around plants when watering. 15. Be patient and let Mother Nature do her job
@@artwillvideos It's only a dollar, but it's a waste of a dollar. Compost doesn't need dirt, but if you want to anyway, dirt is freely available under your feet.
I recently built a double bin compost bin with pallets and it came out great. It's super efficient to use a pitchfork and move the compost to the adjoining bin which is same as turning. However I now realize I need 4 bins so I can always have a finished compost ready while making a new.
So excited third year composting. Have one turning bin I’ve had since beginning which gives me a small amount, but now I’m six months in with three large black bins. I lifted the lids to add something the other day, and they are heating. I’m so excited - compost made my day 🤣🤣🤣. So my hubby ordered me a compost aerator for my birthday - what a great gift seriously 😃.
I add a lot of clay in my compost barrel (roof gardening) and the results was amazing I use it as my potting mix It hasn't the best texture but if you choose the right plant it will be great My tomatoes can't stop producing Greetings from Greece
Charles Dowding only turns it once, and that is good enough for me. It remains hot for almost a year as long as moisture level is ok. And although I get some weed seeds surviving, diseased material is cured by the heat.
Oooooh, im diggin that compost aerator. My neighbors are 10ft away so i compost in old soil bags with tiny holes punched in to manage the odor. Doesnt give u much room to mix. Thanks for sharing.
I failed at hot composting but was able to get two garlic plants growing from my cold pile so I replanted them. They’re doing fantastic right now lol. It looks like I have a sweet potato growing out of my compost pile too. I will likely plant that then haha. Maybe cold composting isn’t so bad. Haha
Pallets are perfect, you dont even need to do anything apart from nailing three together and having the 4th front one loose just held in place with a couple of stakes
I use a few T-posts to hold the pallets up and some twine to hold the corners together. Very simple. It can be spruced up with plants in the open slots or paint if a more aesthetic look is desired.
Ay man hopefully you see this but I recently started gardening I’m only 18 so I’m learning you really gotta kill all your plants to learn how to make them live but you’re videos are extremely informative and enjoyable keep it up
Thanks for making this! I had a mistake in mine of not enough water in my hot box compost. So much to learn. Glad channels like yours are around to learn from
I REALLY appreciate these videos. My state began requiring households to compost as of this July (2020) so I have a bin and have put stuff in it but man. I've watched 4+ webinars and I still don't fully get it, lol.
I live on 12 acres I'm trying to learn to compost. I have not have much luck because I have difficulty getting Browns other than breaking up small branches and twigs. I know I was not turning enough because it's burning enough because my tomatoes began to sprout. But I love this channel I watch it I learned from it and I hope to be better at composting.
I'm about to start my new composting bin. I'm building it out of pallets. I seen a couple videos and all i am going to do is place it in the sun add two part brown and 1 part green. Give it water and add some food scrapes every so often
About #5, Knowing what seeds you put in there can be a bonus. Volunteers are an amazing thing and you can transplant them to where they need to go. I had dozens of cantaloupe volunteers this year. Thought the seeds had been irradiated but I guess not.
Awesome video!!,.. good to check my knowledge, our compost pile is rockin, hot food paper bags and I even add in worm grow and fertilizer, and I probably stir about 1-2 a week,..thanks👍🏿🙏🏿
I also add sawdust in the compost and it's an a-mazing brown layer! Thanks for all your great videos and advice on growing, I really love your channel so much!💓love you're new space too. I am really into composting and have 2 bins that i maintain regularly. I compost all year round and I live in the city in Milwaukee, WI where it gets below zero in winter yet my compost stays hot as I continue to feed it. My worms are very happy😃
Excellent Video on Composting. I have made 3 side by side out of Pallets. The only thing I'd change is I'd make it Larger .. almost 4X4' and I'd staple plastic chicken wire to the sides so that the Material doesn't fall out. As others have said, a Pitch Fork is a Great Tool for Moving the Compost and a Compost Thermometer is Essential so You know when to turn the pile.
When I was a young lad, we just had a pile of scraps in the backyard, we would occasionally turn it with a pitch fork, but that was it. Nothing fancy, then we would till it into our garden bed. No problems.
I highly recommend diving into your composts with a pitchfork so all the lil red wigglers remain in one piece. The shovel edge is quite an effective slicing blade. The pitchfork can also make the turning process a little more friendly in the weight-&-strength department as you can often go deeper into the pile, move materials, but not necessary have to lift all the materials up.
Can you show the sifting process to create “finished” compost? Also, a video showing all of the varied decomposers...rhinoceros beetle grubs, pill bugs, earthworms, earwigs, ants, centipedes, etc.?
I’m no expert by any means and this my reply is pretty late anyways, my opinion of finished compost is nice nutrient rich, black fluffy soil is the best. My reasoning, you’re using it for the garden or potting mix right? If so throw a bag of perlite in their as well as native soil and compost. I believe this is the perfect mix… again just my two cents I have experience in sifting pure sand by hand my only concern is with such fine material without any filler would compact to much rendering it as just extra ground enhancement. I hope I made sense. The process would be nice to see as well Your comment needs more attention. Sorry if this come off as a poorly structured rant.
Nice vid, thanks you 😁 I’m gonna make one of those compost turners, got some steel bars I could bend in the garden from an old building project. That would be so much easier than turning with my fork 😁
Great tips! I compost bones and meat (in small portion cause we don't eat a lot of it) and it does fine but we have to be extra diligent about keeping the pile full of dry material all around to avoid pests.
Kevin, Thank you for another great educational and informational video. 1. Where did you get the spiral tool to drill into your pile? 2. I chop everything as small as possible to make it easier to turn every 3 to 4 days with a shovel. (Work!) 3 I made a barrel compoeter that is less volume than the bin but A. it finishes much quicker because I turn it more often. B. I roll it around in the backyard [very easy turning]. C. I can roll it out-of-sight if necessary. Please keep making more great videos. 07/15/2021
I usually will keep some plants that lasted the compost and grow in the garden. But I watch what seeds go in since I usually will harvest my own seeds from plants I grow.
I have three open piles. I'm adding to pile 1, turning pile 2 and using pile 3. When pile 3 is empty I turn pile 2 into that space, put 1 where 2 was and start a new pile 1.
I have 2 bins for that purpose. When one bin is full, I take the compost from the other, then start filling it. Because the full one will settle down after a couple weeks, I will often take the beginnings of the second and mix them in on the top of the first, then restart the second. Hoping to add a third, because I sometimes run out of space in the second before the first is fully composted.
Hi everybody. Thanks for the useful video. I have trimmed some weeds, and left them on the ground to keep soil covered until I will be ready to prepare new beds. Now they are dry, all yellow-brown color. How to consider them? They were once green, now - literaly - brown. This is one thing I havent yet understood. Sorry for errors: english is not my mother tongue.
Yeah, that’s why it’s traditionally called “greens” and “browns”. Anything that’s dried up and turned brown will work as a “brown” for your compost pile.
Try a handful of sugar and fertilizer. I don't use boxes or walls, I just pile it up and rotate spots. Anything biodegradable goes into the pile including paper bags, cardboard, leaves, food leftovers...
I don't turn my pile. I have pvc tubes drilled with holes that i shove horizontally at the base of the pile and 1 or 2 that I have going down into the pile from the top. This allows air to get through the pile. My temps get up to about 176 degrees F, sometimes a little higher. once it starts dropping in temp, around 75-80 degrees, i'll take a look and its usually finished at that point. takes about 14-18 days, depending on the amount I started with. Usually its 3x3x3 but sometimes it gets a little higher than 3 feet
I make about 5 cubic yards of compost each year using mostly mowed leaves and grass clippings. In the fall I collect about 40 contractor size bags of mowed leaves and store them under a tarp over winter. When the grass starts growing I start composting. I layer 3 baskets of leaves and one basket of grass clippings OUTSIDE of the compost bin. Repeat two times and then pitch the entire pile into the bin. Repeat until the bin is full. Add water and the pile heats up above 130 degrees in less than two days. (Layering is good to keep the proportions even throughout the pile, but composting is quickest where leaves and grass meet, so why wait to mix it? And the leaf/grass mixture doesn't mat down like a layer of grass will.) Leave the bin alone for three weeks, and the pile cools down due to lack of air and sometimes water. I then turn the pile into an adjacent bin, which adds new air to the pile, add water if necessary and the pile heats up again. I let the pile sit for another three weeks, then turn it into a third bin. After three more weeks the compost is ready for the garden. My 4 compost bins are 3 ft high, 3 ft wide, and 4 ft deep, and sit side-by-side, so its easy to pitch compost between bins. Duane Smith
The composter I built myself has two compartment if 1 meter so it is easy to turn it from one to the other weekly I also insulate it and cover it This way I can get a compost ready in 6 weeks and I reach 60 degrees Celsius
I have had a large plastic compost bin for almost 6 years and I have never turned it the only time it would have ever been turned ish was when I moved it from One side of my garden to the other side
While on holiday I found something interesting: ice tea, with green tea and prickly pear. It Tastes great. But I wanna eat dragon fruit even more again, but I have to wait until December 😢
I’m a lazy composter. Instead of turning, I stir. I use my o’o or digging stick to plunge into my pile....stir and stick it in again about 12 inches away. However, I also like to finish compost with a week of mega heat where I layer with grass clippings and really turn every 2 days.
yeah. the seed issue. as you know, i have a field of tomatoes and two squashes up in the middle of that field. a LOTTA germination. 😆 thinking back, i think my problem began by taking compost from my unfinished winter pile in my garden, not from my finished compost bin near my driveway. lotsa learnin' going on up here. 👍🏻
you can make a compost bin with 4, same sized wooden pallets; cut the fourth pallet in half to make a "gate" ...paint with a nice yellow ochre colour .....
One mistake I've made is having a very long narrow compost bin (about 2 ft x 8 ft x 2 ft or .6 m x 2.4 m x .6 m). It struggles to get hot enough and as a result many weed seeds didn't die and ended up in my beds. Also, I didn't break down branches enough and had to hand sift my compost to get out the larger pieces before using it.
A tarp is a great immediate fix! But with the weight of the water in it, and the wear and tear of lifting it to add to the bin, the areas where it rests on the corners of the bin wear out fast. Go pick up a tarp to get you through this season, but if heavy rain is a legitimate concern in your region, build a lid for it eventually. Kevin lives in San Diego - the dry climate comes with a lot of downsides, but not worrying about rainfall damaging his compost/seedlings/etc is a nice benefit.
Same here in East Texas but I'm not composting yet. Just learning. We throw compost material in a corner of the garde. Got a few volunteer tomatoes this year.
As for water most tap water includes chlorine as a disinfectant. They do that to kill bacteria. If you have a rain barrel, that's a better source of water.
I’ve been composting for 6ish months and I wanna know when to put it into my dirt. I also wanna know how to prevent flies and nats because whenever I put food in flies will swarm everywhere
Your pile might not be getting hot enough. I'd cover it with a tarp, or layer of dirt (finished compost) to keep heat in and insects out. If you get larvae, turn the pile into another bin with the larvae in the center. The pile heats up, the larvae die and contribute to the pile !
You can’t just throw food scraps in a normal compost pile, specifically for that reason. You have to throw it in a bokashi bin for a few weeks to break it down first.
Is it possible to bury the compost or food waste in your plot of land that you plan on turning into a garden? Or is it necessary to compost above ground then spread it over the garden?
Do you have a materials list/build design for the compost bin? I imagine it can be scaled up to however large it needs to be, but just having something to start from would be amazing
And to add, I find that an old piece of rebar or a long branch works wonders as a compost turner; just stab it into the heart of the pile, then move it around (sorta like when digging a hole for a seed)
I have literally just a pile in a corner of my yard. I have several mature oak and maple trees in my yard and we use it as a disposal for kitchen scraps, not meat, but but I’m also not super careful when we scrape the plates. We also keep a bin in the freezer for the compost and when it’s full it gets mixed into the top. It’s nice to have a place to keep it when you don’t want to go outside (I live in Michigan). My in-laws use a box made from chicken wire on a frame with a lid to discourage the bears.
@@LillibitOfHere we have a large oak tree and a pecan tree and do a lazy pile of leaves and grass clippings which rarely gets turned except when I add kitchen scraps. I bury them down to deter the urban possums.
It's better to go tall and skinny, than shorter and fatter. Heat rises, so the taller you can go, the more heat will be utilized in the "chimney effect." This is why the top of your pile is always hotter than the bottom. I just make tall and skinny piles, but if you make bays like this, going twice as high for the diameter will do wonders for keeping your pile hotter and more efficient.
