I planted some tomatoes this year in my yard that seem to be doing OK but would like to build a small raised-bed garden for next year for cukes, tomatoes etc, and really improve the soil with compost.

I'd like to begin making it now and am new to the whole process. 2 years ago I tied using a large tote bin but it was a stinky, nasty fail.

This time around I want to use a composting bin and see this one from Lowes has good reviews and doesn't cost a fortune like some of them.

Is now a good time to start to have compost for Spring 2018? Should this be in a shady spot or is it OK to be out in the open? I have two spots in mind to place it.

Redmon 65 Gallon Stationary Composter:

Mine turns out perfect. I run multiple units. For $6 this is a great reference Complete book of composting

seems handy and easy to use;
after years of various 'owner-built' and very extensive constructions, we have come to enjoy the advantages of simpler more economical containers.

For under $20 we got a Rubbermaid 40 gallon bucket with snap on lid; cut 8" hole in bottom, a series of 1" holes around sides; and set it about 12" into a semi shaded area out of the way.

We carry a 5 gallon bucket of kitchen veg waste to it now & then and replace the lid. After a couple years it grew full enough to need dumping.

Knocking it over the compost was still working and slightly odiferous. If it gets too wet, or too dry, the compost process slows.

After a few years, we added a second similar unit as being effective, economical and trouble free. We have adequate decrease in our waste management and augmentation of gardening soil amendments.

The larger designs that have some from of turning barrel simply failed under UV/gravity after a few seasons.

As we recycle all plastics/cans anyway, our trash barrel (50 gallon) rarely fills faster than 90 days. We've never had a domestic garbage hauler service. I make a small dump run load about every 3 months, under $18/load.

Composting is excellent idea.

I make, screen, bag and sell about 5 cubic yards of compost a year. Less now that I got rid of the sheep, but still a significant amount.

If you have the room and don't mind the aesthetics of it, composting works MUCH better in a free pile than any bin system ever made.

The real secret to fast and efficient composting is turning the pile regularly. This aerates the pile (the good bacteria that break down the material need oxygen) mixes un-composted stuff back into the center and controls the heat.

My Operation

The bin I'm looking at has these gates at the bottom that supposedly make shoveling out the finished compost very easy.

I've been considering starting myself.

Growing up, we always had a compost pile (a large one). We had a huge garden to feed seven kids and hence a lot of waste to compost. It was my job to turn it on occasion, which was not fun at all, but between the compost and fresh manure, we always had a great garden.

I have no intention of having one as large as that and don't have a fraction of the waste, so I've been looking at smaller self-contained units. This one is reasonably priced and I like that it's easy to turn and mix.

I have been composting for decades,but my way is adding grass and leaves all year long to the garden.
The earth worms appreciate that food and promptly turn it into worm casings.
Tried that pile it in a bin,that sucks.

from previous user of several of the plastic fantastic turning barrel designs, the ones we had all failed miserably after a few seasons.

Perhaps design/materials have been upgraded, and certainly empty they spin perfectly. Add a few buckets of compost fodder. Let set in the heat of the sun. Add gravity. Agitate as they tell you. Come back from a 3 day trip and count yourself lucky if something hasn't substantially
sagged beyond repair.

Another home-built design that proved more complex than needed, was 'something for the large amount of fall leaves' from several large maples, English walnuts and feral cherry trees.

Being (at the time) young enough to enjoy a little physical work out, I devised a waist-high circular woven-hog-wire enclosure stabilized by steel t-posts driven in the sod. We'd gather the leave collection from an acre & have marvelous pile that magically transformed into a rich soil amendment. It grew eventually to be too much work, so I just made a linear fence-line about 50' long and dump yards of the same fall product....which still worked down just fine without so much effort both in & out of the process. And the garden/berries/flower beds love the stuff.

I once had sloping ground & materials on hand to build expanded metal floor/3 bin covered compost shack, where I could dump stuff on the top side, gradually turn as it aged, into different bins while working it across the open mesh floor, and pull under with lawn tractor to pick up the final rendition. Effective, too much work, unnecessary on several levels.

We had a 'sliding door' plastic compost hut for a few years. It finally broke down and had to be hauled away.

One of the best 'composting' tools we ever had, was a 10hp TroyBilt shredder. Bought used, heavily worked for about 20 years, still on stand by if needed.

Understanding the process of 'composting' is crucial component no matter what your 'crock pot' processing unit may be. Good luck.

We tried one of the bins as pictured in the OP for several years.

PHPaul is right (again ) - the secret sauce really isn't a sauce. It's the ability to turn the pile frequently and thoroughly.

We found the bin to be a royal pain in the ass to turn the contents from the top effectively due to the constraints of the bin's sides. Never found a tool that wold work efficiently. Rake too wide, etc.

Consequently, we didn't stay at it long.

IMHO you should make it an excuse to buy that Kubota you've always wanted, and just free pile it

quote:

Originally posted by JRC:
We tried one of the bins as pictured in the OP for several years.

PHPaul is right (again ) - the secret sauce really isn't a sauce. It's the ability to turn the pile frequently and thoroughly.

We found the bin to be a royal pain in the ass to turn the contents from the top effectively due to the constraints of the bin's sides. Never found a tool that wold work efficiently. Rake too wide, etc.

Consequently, we didn't stay at it long.

IMHO you should make it an excuse to buy that Kubota you've always wanted, and just free pile it

I thought the point of this angled sided bin was that you DIDN'T have to turn anything, that you layered your waste in there and it slowly breaks down until it's ready to come out the bottom?

Am I missing something here?

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:
I have been composting for decades,but my way is adding grass and leaves all year long to the garden.
The earth worms appreciate that food and promptly turn it into worm casings.
Tried that pile it in a bin,that sucks.

I've been gardening for about 40 years and this is also the way I do it. We have woods on two sides of our yard and a lot of the leaves get tilled into the garden in the fall. The grass cuttings go in the garden the entire grass cutting season. Quite a bit of kitchen waste is used also.

PhPaul is spot on with the stir it up approach. We 'mix'/stir ours about once a week. Another key is to layer the things you are adding in the mix. For example, we have pine needles that don't break down very well, but adding the grass clippings on top, then some maple leaves and things start breaking down. There's a certain amount of moisture needed to keep the pile in it's cycle of decay.
We don't use any fancy bin, but just keep a spot in the corner of the yard.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by JRC:
We tried one of the bins as pictured in the OP for several years.

PHPaul is right (again ) - the secret sauce really isn't a sauce. It's the ability to turn the pile frequently and thoroughly.

We found the bin to be a royal pain in the ass to turn the contents from the top effectively due to the constraints of the bin's sides. Never found a tool that wold work efficiently. Rake too wide, etc.

Consequently, we didn't stay at it long.

IMHO you should make it an excuse to buy that Kubota you've always wanted, and just free pile it

I thought the point of this angled sided bin was that you DIDN'T have to turn anything, that you layered your waste in there and it slowly breaks down until it's ready to come out the bottom?

Am I missing something here?

Yeah. The bins don't work worth a damn. Oh, you'll eventually get something resembling compost out the bottom, but you'll also get compaction, which squeezes the air out, which leads to anaerobic bacteria, which leads to slime and stink.

I'll repeat and add a bit. If you want good compost quickly and without significant odor you need:

1. Proper mix of materials. The more carbon (dry, brown stuff) you have, the more nitrogen (green juicy stuff or manure) you need.

2. Air, hence the frequent turning.

3. Temperature control. 140° or so to start the process, less than 165° to avoid killing off the beneficial bacteria. Also controlled by turning.

4. Moisture. Ideally about the amount you'd find in a lightly wrung out sponge. Controlled by heaping the pile in a pyramid shape so the excess water runs off, add a little with a hose when turning if you catch a dry spell.

Or, you can blow a wad of money on a bin, just throw crap in there and hope for the best.

[/QUOTE]"Yeah...but you'll also get compaction..."[/QUOTE]

And try to "stir" that in one of them-fangled "bins"

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
I make, screen, bag and sell about 5 cubic yards of compost a year. Less now that I got rid of the sheep, but still a significant amount.

If you have the room and don't mind the aesthetics of it, composting works MUCH better in a free pile than any bin system ever made.

The real secret to fast and efficient composting is turning the pile regularly. This aerates the pile (the good bacteria that break down the material need oxygen) mixes un-composted stuff back into the center and controls the heat.

My Operation

We didn't want a large pile and the possibility of critters getting into it so we bought this tumbling bin...so far so good. It has two sections so when the first side fills up (but it hasn't completely turned into compost) you can use the second section..

https://www.amazon.com/Yimby-T...keywords=compost+bin

We tried various bins with little success. The 2 of us don't generate a lot of compostable material. Last year I bought a worm tower. It works great. After a little trial and error we got it working well. It now sits in the laundry room where it is easy to use. I started using compost tea as a foliar spray this year and so far our garden is 10 times better than it ever has been.

Find someone with horses. Take poo, set aside for one year turning every now and then. Perfect amendment and fertilizer in one. Put in raised garden with native soil, add lime. In two years perfect garden.

Or

Build beds now. Derock soil. Find aged poo. Fill beds with poo. Stir occasionally (just top layer of poo) add lime and till at end of winter. Till/turn one more time before planting.

Horses speed composting a lot. I've tried piles of compost, way too much effort for me. Just add a bit of poo every year after first major amendment. Anyone with horses will give it to you fresh. If they stockpile it and turn it, they usually sell it.

My tomatoes are doing great this year. Sighting in BB gun today to deal with squirrels. The bastards took a beautiful fist sized tomato yesterday.

I have a pile with chicken litter, kitchen and garden debri, grass and leaves. Trick is to turn it every couple of weeks and keep it damp and don't let it dry out. I also add grass to my garden all summer.

Go to :

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.../2010/10/compost.pdf

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu...osting-fundamentals/

It is simple fundamentals not technology.

quote:

Originally posted by Brianp90:

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:
I have been composting for decades,but my way is adding grass and leaves all year long to the garden.
The earth worms appreciate that food and promptly turn it into worm casings.
Tried that pile it in a bin,that sucks.

I've been gardening for about 40 years and this is also the way I do it. We have woods on two sides of our yard and a lot of the leaves get tilled into the garden in the fall. The grass cuttings go in the garden the entire grass cutting season. Quite a bit of kitchen waste is used also.

Ha; and the great part is,its free,nature knows what the soil needs