compost pile

   / compost pile #1  

DannyD

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2004
Messages
1,527
Location
Indiana
Tractor
BX 23
need some information on what you folks have done to make a successful compost pile. I have leaves, and some yard clippings, fertilizer, but that is about it.

I am going to put together a bin behind my shed to start this, should be about 10' x 10' and 3 or 4 feet deep.
 
   / compost pile #2  
Danny,

We live out in the country and have plenty of room so I just make a pile without a bin. Last year I pulled a sweeper behind the mower whenever I cut (about five acres) and when the hopper was full emptied it into a large pile in a place where I'd already mowed. After mowing I went to each area with the FEL and transported the grass clippings to my compost pile location. This generated a huge amount of clippings. Also added sawdust from my woodworking and from the shop dust collector when it accumulated. Any trimmings from flowerbeds or the garden goes into the pile. This time of year leaves will be mixed in if I get around to sweeping them up. We also add just about any uncooked household food waste, but no meat or grease. Coffee filters and grounds. Eggshells, etc. If it gets too dry you may have to water it occasionally. If you have enough material and can run a hot pile, keep check on the temperature and turn with the FEL when it starts cooling. A little dried molasses or commercial fertilizer will help get the heat up if needed, but the main thing for heat is adequate greens and mass with some moisture for the microbes to grow. It's not that complicated; you're just accumulating materials to an area so they can decompose with the assistance from microbes. Pretty hard to mess up, unless you have too much "green" matter and get it too wet. Then it smells like a barnyard. More browns will help that.
I've not been too active with it this year because of my wife's illness, but we still have about twenty yards in a pile from last year that's great stuff.
Oh yea. They say not to add diseased plant material to your compost. I've also read in many places that a hot pile will kill weed seeds. It may kill some of them but there are a few that I've seen that survived. Bermuda is one of the survivors.
 
   / compost pile #3  
Glenn's given good advice. The way to keep the pile balanced right is to hold aside some brown leaves to add with the grass clippings during the growing season. But its hard to keep a pile hot during the winter because there are few greens to add, but if you can keep the center wet you'll do some good. And throw a layer of topsoil on every so often.

I was working on my bin today, and I'll try to add a photo of it tomorrow. My bin is a 12'x12'x6' high kennel kit from HD, except that I leave it open to 24'x12'x6'. Tall is better than wide, as the pile compresses during decomposition. And each time the pile drops a foot or two I use the fel to turn the bottom to the top.

I mulch grass clippings and some shredded leaves right back into the lawn during the growing season. So on a couple of weekends each fall I go to the town landfill and pick up truckloads of the nicely bagged leaves that folks take there. (Yes, its an interesting conversation.) I have also arranged with two lawnmowing/landscaping services to dump the leaves they've collected from their customers.

And if you're going to use the compost on a vegetable garden, don't use any materials that you don't know for a fact were grown without herbicides or pesticides. I actually keep a second, smaller compost pile for that purpose.
 
   / compost pile #4  
Danny, instead of fertilizer I put in cottonseed meal and dried cow manure. I also put in rotted tree wood. I use no chemicals - organic.
 
   / compost pile #5  
Here's the pile this morning. The chain link fence sections keep the pile contained but can be moved easily to let me turn the pile with the fel.
 

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   / compost pile #6  
I too prefer to have an open pile,rather than in a bin,that way i can stir it with my tractor[you need something to push against].I also use most of the things mentioned above.In middle summer months i get alot of pea pods,cucumber peelings,corn husks...all the veggie by products..of course the most is leaves.I also use woodchips,you would be surprised how quick they heat,and break down,
After the first of september,i start a new pile,allowing the old one to finish rotting,so its ready for the garden come spring.I have been composting now for a few years,and my garden soil is what i always dreamed it should be.With all the farmers in our area going out,manure isnt easy to get,and i think we all get enough toxic chemicals in our bodys,the less the better.
THE ORGANIC GARDENER...ESCAVADER /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / compost pile #7  
I too just have a pile. It's been just grass all summer and added leaves recently. I mix it up the last time next weekend when I take off the TracVac and put on the RB. It's been a dry summer so the compost pile isn't working too good. Might have to water it.
 
   / compost pile #8  
I have a compost pile of leaves and manure. I have neighbors who need to get rid of sheep manure and horse manure. I just started last year and it is doing well. I know the good of compost for my gardens. I have the best tomatoes each year because of the great compost they grow in. I do keep track to not have leaves or grass from chemically treated lawns.
 
   / compost pile #9  
I've had an ongoing compost pile for many years. I always try to save a small pile from the previous year to use as a compost-starter for the next year. I harvest some of the first fallen leaves and get them turned into the existing compost pile to get the process jump started. I've used fertilizer and ashes from the grill or camp fire to get a "fresh" pile started.

This is how I tell if my compost pile is cooking. I go out on a cool evening after dark (5:30-6:00pm /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif ). Today was perfect.

I drive the tractor out to the compost pile. (see attachment)

Picture 1 of 3.

Don
 

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   / compost pile #10  
Then I drive the bucket into the base of the pile, making sure I get good bite, lift and dump.....and if I see....(click on the attachment)

I know it's doing what compost piles are supposed to do.

Picture 2 of 3

Don
 

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