Hey how's every1? i'm gettin info for next years outdoor grown and i'm wondering how do i make my own organic compost? i want my first proper grow to go wel so i lookin for the best way's.

Thanks peeps and happy tokin!

Are you talking about growing in pots with potting compost.

Or are you asking about garden compost for improving garden soil?

yea i want it for both, because i'm planning to plant them a month before u should inside, and then plant them outside i've been told that works, so hopefully it does

I assume what you are saying is you want to start your plants indoors in pots before the last frosts are over. If you are only doing a few just buy some organic universal compost and start your seedlings in this.

Start your outdoor plot by digging it over now in coarse lumps for the frost to work on over the winter.

Buy a plastic compost bin and use all the vegetable waste from your kitchen. Look here for bins:- http://www.straight.co.uk/products/homecomp.html

Here for info on composting info:-
http://www.getcomposting.com/guide.htm

By May time next year you can get a lot of compost made, use it for top dressing the soil round the plants.

Finally please don't post the same question in more than one forum.

Thanks man for all the info. Sorry dude i now know for the future.

is it ok to use cooked veg for the compost heap?
we regularly have bits n bobs left over (boiled spuds,carrots,brocolli etc) but looking at the info i can find on here i cant find a definate answer.
another forum about allotments that i been on lately most say yes its fine but then a few say no as it brings rats to your heap.
any1 here know if it will have any bad effects?
cheers

It can be used but it can attract rats to your heap. If its an open heap i wouldnt use them but if its enclosed go for it (just keep an eye out for those pesky rats)

Cooked or raw veg is not a problem in composting ... bad compost management is usually the cause of the rare occasions that rats occupy a compost bin or heap ...

Rats are opportunist !! if your rarely at your compost heap or pile and load it with food waste ... then it will go anaerobic (smell bad..without air) and rats or other unwanted guests will make up a home there ... the rat gets food and heat ....(rat Hilton)

By turning your compost bin or heap on a regular basis (min one time weekly) you will encourage aerobic conditions and faster composting ...

a little tip to make food waste compost faster .... get a small bag of composted tree bark (fine) and for every bucket of food waste add two buckets of the bark ....mix well and deep in your pile or bin... (2 inches)

don't worry about using lots the bark ... it breaks down very very slowly ... so it can be reused again and again ...so have two hot spots if you like and use them on rotation the food will be well gone with in two weeks ....

You should get about 9/12 months out a small bag of composted bark before u need more ... good value ...

good luck

If the compost bin isn't in plain site it's a good idea to piss in it once in a while too

If you've got rats in your area, well aren't they everywhere there's a sewer system and urbanisation.

Ultrasonic emitters are cheap from garden stores nowadays and they work well, they can breed Resistance to toxins but can't breed out their cyclic range in hearing.

Once you've got a decent looking compost after a couple of months, adding Humate liquor really enriches it by accelerating Humic breakdown/biodegradation and so increasing the available nutrient composition in the organic matter bulk and increasing the amounts of Humic acids as well as specifically, Fulvic acid.

Not necessary but will really enrich a medium.

Same can be done to re-energise recycled composts and enrich cheap growbag composts etc, add solution and let mature for a month or two, turning or agitating once a week or two, really does the trick for nice rich medium from growbag compost or spent and recycled, you can add spent compost to your organic bulk pile as well, it all breaks down.

There's a few brands which have been used in conventional gardening for donkeys years, like Humax, but Grandma Enggys does a canna product, H2 Extra Pure, which i started using and is good stuff, 5Ml per litre is used for when irrigating plants but i use 10Ml and a tablespoon of Molasses to a litre and add that to 60-80litres of compost and fantastic addition to ones own compost, recycled compost or making cheap much better, money well spent because Humates really give plants health and vigour, that's well known.

Look into Humates/Humic acid matey, very interesting stuff.

[You can even make Humate liquor yourself, plenty of info out there.]


Paxus.

High all,

It is really nice to start a composting pen man, I got mine started few years ago and I'm enjoying it and my plants enjoy that good ferts and I make some tea every week man.

It is a lot of fun if you know how to manage it, just start collecting organic shit around the house mate.

Good luck.

Dr

I rat-proofed my homemade composter with square mesh, the spacing is big enough to let worms in and small enough to keep rats out.

By the way listen to OT

I also am wondering about making my own organic comp!.The councill dropped 2 black bins for it except i dont want unwanted guests like RATS!!iS IT TOO LATE IN THE YEAR TO START MY OWN COMP OFF?.I herd frost being mentioned and ive herd it takes a while for it to de-compose ect.If its going to attract rats then i think i mite have to just keep on buying it in?.

Rats can chew through steel

its so rare to have rats in your compost ... and you can start to compost at any time of the year ... using 2 bins is a good way to go
using them in rotation ... I'm currently working on 2 websites for councils ... being interactive composting resources .. with free down loadable s software c/n ratios ect ....I'll let you know when there up and running ...will also have live composting chat sessions on the last sunday of the month to ... and all for free....

COMPOSTING SESSIONS ERE I COME

Are grass cuttings anygud?This is gud news then cos I'm always doing the lawn and I'm waiting for a nice day to do it? I will add some of the more vital things it needs and it mite beat what I'm using at the moment.Are grass cuttings anygud? It's funny you mentioned two bins because the council dropped to big black one's off with the new wheelie bins when they last arrived.We did not know at first what they were for but i think we found something explaining what they was but god knows where that is now.The problem is i will never know how strong/weak the substance is this an issue?Because next time I'm in the garden I'm going to do it now my mind is at rest with them RAT'S an oll.

In my experience grass cuttings are very good, especially when mixed with plenty of food waste. Hopefully someone can back me up on this as I'm not totally certain but I believe however that you don't want to have too much of any one thing, I think you may be ble to overdo it with the grass if you have a very large lawn.

Hi dude

with grass cuttings they are very high in nitrogen ... but very easy to compost if you get it right .. they will almost break down in a few days if you get the mix right ... grass will go very anaerobic (with out air) and compacts very quickly as it breaks down ...

so using a carbon source to add open structure to your compost pile to allow air by convection to be drawn in the pile (passive aeration)

depend on how much grass cutting you have .... most would have to many to go in a black compost bin (council type).. so the best way is to use wood chips ... bark ... straw ..or leaves ...two to one by volume or equal in weight

so 2 times a carbon (as above) to one part nitrogen (grass)
so layer at 2/1 ratio and cover with an old carpet or even better horticultural cloth as they breath better than plastic

after the first few cuts (3/4) as the pile gets bigger .. the faster the process become ..and gets much hotter to ...the carbon source as it takes longer to break down will be the next links food source to as it starts to bring in worms and fungi ect

as the season go's on the and the grass becomes compost it reduces in volume by a factor of 70% sieve out and reuse the carbon source if its wood chip or bark

so just keep it open.. porous and covered ...

and let nature do what she does best


hope that helps

and maybe once per month give it a turn over .....

if you can get a compost temp meter (even an oven one will do)
keep an eye on the temps
with a bit of practice no reason why you can't get up to about
50 degree c plus

nice composting if you can do it

good luck

rip

edit spelling .... again

When I had space in my freezer I'd collect waste in a carrier bag over a few days, then defrost (wait or a little hot water) so as not to lower heap temps then add, as the freezing breaks it up and speeds decomposition.
You could argument the N of the grass cuttings in the compost with Comfery in various ways. I had a special little flowering heap to which I'd add anything with highish P n K, I'm a rampant banana eater, sounds a bit wrong that and the skins'd get wacked in that plus any potato skins etc Used as top dressing or compost tea during flowering.
Nettle thrashing is good for anger management and they're good N and for hot heaps or prior bucket composting too.
I'm unfortunately not in a position to do this any more but the outdoor bushes loved it.

Eya rampant banana eaters and raging grass cutter's .I really cant waite to get stuck in I'm just trying to work out how to have my heap(compost)??.These black bins that the council gave us are like big black oval shapped thingy's.In the shape of a massive honey comb .Well thats what they remind me of and the lid actually comes off??/.So i think you must have to dig an hole and bury it a little or something shall i take some pic's of it? .Cos i just haven't got a clue With what to do with them? And i see the whole idea is to get a mixture of everything ?.Is there any point in saving some urine?.Also do i need to know how potent it is? or am i just going a bit too far now! And I dont mean how potent my piss is? I ment my homemade compost !.

no dude don't need a pic of the bin .. there fairly generic in design ....

use the same ratios as I gave in my previous post .... but starting in the black bin is a little different ....make sure that you have a good layer of carbon at the bottom add your waste in layers ... its more important in an enclosed bin to keep it open in structure .. as when the lid is on there is very little or no oxygen getting in to the mix....and this is the single most important aspect that is often over looked and the main cause of smelly bins

so you have 2 bins keep them about a width apart and use them in rotation .....and the other good thing to do is to just lift the composter strait of and put the compost back in again .... great for aerating and speeding it up ..(thats why there shaped like that)
.............

I would not advise using the bins for grass cuttings as the volume way to much in most case's ..unless you only have a tiny lawn ....


good luck with it

riptd

Seriously urine is a very good activator for compost and is free is you feel like giving it a go. You could google compost and urine if you want more information

urine is the fastest acting, highest nitrogen portion of mamalian waste - not too adviseable to use it directly on yer plants, partly because most plants don't need that much of a nitrogen hit, but some folks use it in the compost pile

the manure from horse stalls is likely to have straw or sawdust bedding included, which will absorb the urine, so the stall bedding is usually higher in N than straight manure picked up from the field, but also higher in carbon from the bedding

the Chinese are famous for using "night soil" in their farm fields -

Experiments and tests using fermented human urine in the production of legumes, medicinal and aromatic plants in containers, began 15 years ago in the Rural Research and Training Centre (CEDICAR) in Mexico. This cultivation system has been called "organoponics" or "urineponics". It is a cost-effective system, saving money, water, and being capable of producing quite some legumes per year per m2. It has has been culturally accepted by most of the families and institutions.

Ok some gud info.But what about on them windy day's and nights when i have had to go pick them up at the bottom of the garden.They are like massive lids with an opening at the top and one at the bottom!???.If there's stuff in there i know it will not take off as easy but i still would not trust it?

Ok, I do not live in an area that the local council or government provides us with bins to compost in.... So I am looking at making a composter myself. I have a live stock feeding/watering bin like the one in this site: http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/st...rue&cFlag=1
After talking to someone that knows composting, it was recommended for me to flip it over, cut the bottom off and use the bottom as a lid, add hinges to it. drill 1 1/2 to 2 inch holes in the sides all the way through from front to back and insert plastic open ended pipes with holes in them to allow ventilation.
I have cut the bottom off and hinged it to use it as a lid, but I have not added the vent pipes because to me it would cause a lot of trouble turning the compost as it would pile up around the vent pipes and I would not be able to get my shovel/hoe/or whatever it is i use to turn with in there around the pipes.
What I am thinking is that I drill several 1/2 to 1 inch holes all around the bottom (formerly the top but it is flipped over now) about a foot up from the bottom.
Will this work and allow the ventilation I need? What do you folks recommend I do to make this bin work?
Why is it that I should not use meat, dairy and fried foods in the composter? But clean bones, blood, egg shells black and white paper (newspaper) can be used in it? Or am I misinformed?
Thanks all