GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: compost

Make Better Compost With This Addition – GF Video

You can make better compost by having the ideal carbon nitrogen ratio. Unfortunately, most home compost bins don’t have that ideal ratio. There are several compost accelerators on the market, here is one by our sponsor, Eco Scraps.

How to make better compost

The ideal carbon to nitrogen ratio, or browns to greens mix, according to Cornell University, is 30:1 by weight. That means 30 pounds of brown leaves to 1 pound of green grass. Coffee grounds are also high in nitrogen, btw.

If you compost pile smells like ammonia, it has too much nitrogen. I worked at a community garden with a large compost operation and found that by adding wood shavings from a local wood shop made a huge difference in the ammonia smell. Plus the curly nature of the shavings helped us make better compost. The woodworker was happy to get rid of huge bags of shavings, saving him carting fees and landfill space. Pretty amazing how they broke down quickly.

But too much nitrogen is rare, the average home compost pile has too much carbon (browns) in the mix, so a compost accelerator like Eco Scraps adds nitrogen. I suggest layering the accelerator as you add material to your pile. Just tossing it on top of an existing pile wont help.

From Cornell University

Another key if you want to make better compost is to provide air to your pile. This can be done just by turning it, but if you have the pile in a bin (like my pallet compost bin) that’s not always easy. You can buy a compost auger, Augers on Amazon link, I have used these and the good ones work well. (You get what you pay for) You can also find a neighbor who is throwing out some 1″-3″ pvc pipe, drill holes in it, and layer these in the pile as you build it.

We have a bunch more composting videos here, let me know your thoughts below.

June 10, 2016
What is Green Manure? – GF Radio 348

Today we explain what is green manure, how to grow it, and what to do to it. Responding to two viewer mails in one week, we figured we might as well talk a bit about gardening and the use of green manure. Buckwheat is often used for green manure, but there are also other plants you can use.

You can buy green manures from the Organic Grower Supply division of Fedco Seeds.

But first we have to talk about how to behave on an airplane. Eric tells of a recent flight and the antics he got to watch and endure. Rick has his opinion, of course.

And we talk a bit more about geothermal energy, with an email from KC and using a lake as a heat sink to cool building.

But Eric wants to hear from you about how to behave on a flight, and how to moderate the behavior of other passengers.

July 18, 2014
How To Build A DIY Pallet Compost Bin Video

Build your own pallet compost bin! Its easy. I’ll show you how with these photos and video. You’ll be composting in a few hours. Recycled pallets are perfect to make this bin, they are strong, have built in vents, and are free. This bin is also dog proof, our Labradors can’t get in it and cause trouble. Learn how to compost with our composting basics video. Want more DIY pallet ideas? See this page for more of my pallet projects.

How To Build A Compost Bin

If you have several pallets to choose from, pick those that are made of hardwoods. I am still amazed to find pallets made from oak, but yeah, they are out there. Hardwood pallets will last longer.

Basically, we are building a box, with an open top and bottom. Its best to not site your bin where the ground is wet or muddy. You want your compost to drain, not hold water.

We used some shelf brackets we found in the trash to hold the the walls of the compost bin together. Or you can get some online. Wire, angle brackets, and wood all work. I have used recycled shelf brackets to build my raised vegetable garden beds, and they will hold up longer than the wood they are screwed into.

Once the sides and back of the pallet compost bin are screwed together, I drive old pieced of metal pipe down in between the slats of the two side walls. Wood stakes will work as well here, or even rebar (metal rods).

The door of the compost bin is hinged, and again, use Use What You Got™, used door hinges work fine. I hung the door about 1.5″ higher than the bin walls, using small pieces of wood to hold it up. This is based on experience; if you don’t do this, the door can drag on the ground, I’ve found. To add strength to the bin, I hammered some metal pipes in the two side pallets. Metal fence stakes or other long strong things will work as well.

The hinge side of the door needs the most stability here, as it holds the most weight. I used a piece of chain i had laying around to secure the door closed. The door will have to hold up quite a bit of weight when the bin is full, so think about that when crafting some sort of latch.

The floor of the compost bin is dirt. I don’t put a base in the bin. I like the idea of worms moving from the soil up into the compost and the dirt provides some natural drainage. You could also put into the compost pile some red wiggler vermicompost worms to help break down the pile.

What to add to your compost bin?

We have our Composting Basics video that explains a lot about how to compost in your yard, but a few key things are to not add meat or greasy stuff to the pile, and to make sure it is not packed down, air needs to circulate in the compost pile. You can also read more in Wikipedia. Let us know your questions, suggestions, and how you compost below:

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November 20, 2013
More On How To Compost & Photography – GF Radio 313

We talk about how to compost, and Eric tells of of his idea to reduce traffic congestion with zipper merges.

Rick talks about putting low rolling resistance tires on his Prius, and we recall some of the information that Daniel of MPGomatic http://www.mpgomatic.com/ told us. Listen to his appearance on GF Radio here.

We then get into hyper-miling, which Mike and Eric talked about on GF Radio here.

How To Compost is the next subject, with the new GardenFork How To compost video on composting. we talk about how to make a compost pile, and Rick wants to get an electric leaf shredder. Hot and cold composting is talked about, Rick has some suggestions on how to build a hot compost pile. We read some viewer mail and and answer composting questions. Can you just put vegetable scraps into your garden? How does the cold winter affect composting? We touch on pit composting and fence post composting as well.

Rick again is harvesting leaves collected by his neighbors, they do all the work and Rick gets free compost material for his garden beds. The electric shredder will help break down those leaves. The smaller the pieces of material, the faster they will break down.

Rick points out we did not talk about worm composting, aka vermicomposting. we plan on making a how to worm compost video, watch Rick’s excellent how to build a worm composter video here.

We move onto street photography, and the rights of people to take photographs, and Eric asks what are the rights of people whose photo is being taken? Rick brings up a recent court ruling that allows citizens to take cell phone video of police in public situations. Rick posted about this on his site here.

Finally, we would like to hear from you about other independent podcasts that you like. We love the podcasts from NPR, etc, but we would like to promote other indie podcasts.

photo by Alviman – MorgueFile

October 7, 2013
Composting 101 – Backyard Composting Basics – GF Video
Composting! Learn how to compost in this video. What food can you compost? What food should not go in the composter? What kind of bin should I buy or build? Watch the show and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

To compost in your backyard, you’ll need a bin of some sort. You can buy one – here are a few models – or you can build one – here are some GF videos with compost bin plans.

Composting Ingredients

Here is a brief list of things you can compost:
- Eggshells
- Coffee Grounds
- Salad Greens
- Corn Cobs
- Vegetables
- Newspaper, napkins, paper towels
- Light cardboard
Stuff you should not compost:
- Meat
- Foods saturated with oil
- Cat Litter and Dog Waste
- Cheese & Dairy Products
Most backyard composting takes months to break down, because of the lack of a large biomass, the pile cannot achieve the ideal temps for hot cooking of the material. But this isn’t a reason not to do it. Taking food scraps in to the backyard instead of the trash can is a super eco green way to live, and its real easy. There’s really no wrong way to do it.

Backyard Composting can be as simple as a pile of leaves and yard waste in the back of the yard, or in a more structured bin, its up to you. Whatever type you go with, be sure to aerate the pile, turning it over on itself, or lifting it up and poking holes in it. The pile needs air to work.

I’ve found that most of the compost accelerators don’t do much more than a good shovel full of manure will. What do you think? Let us know below:
October 2, 2013
Don’t Dump Me, Bro’

106 bags of leaves

You can hear the discussion I had with Eric on “Tom Sawyer Composting” here on Gardenfork Radio.

Here’s the leaf composting bin I created just yesterday. 106 bags of leaves (mostly 30 gal. bags) gathered from around my neighborhood, shredded with a mower. Add a bit of high nitrogen fertilizer before the rains this evening and it will be cooking by morning.

If I’d had the time, I’d have been able to build 3 more yesterday, based on the number of bags at the curb in my neighborhood. They’ll all go to the dump today.

Pity. All that good nitrogen and carbon going to waste in the dump.

Don’t Dump me, Bro’.

(and yes, I garden and compost in the front yard. That’s the edge of my winter garden to the right of the compost.)

November 29, 2011
Always Outsource Floor Sanding, OK? : GardenFork Radio

How not to sand a wood floor is just part of this week’s GardenFork Radio. We also talk about hydroponics, aquaponics, composting, chainsaw safety, and some new viewer mail! Call our Listener Voicemail 860-740-6938

Mike's Bag Garden

June 30, 2011