I know it's a little late in the season to get started with composting, but we just moved to the suburbs a few weeks ago and between the excess of yard waste and food scraps we have I really want to give composting a try. After searching the internet, I've been flabbergasted at how expensive these contraptions seem to be.

Does anyone have a source to which they can point me for a bin under the $100 price point? Am I being unrealistic to think that I can get a bin for less than that? I thought about creating a DYI bin of some sort, but we have already had issues with raccoons knocking over the trashcans so I am definitely hoping to find a container that I can close up to keep out the critters.

Thanks!

Contact your City's (or the County) Dept of the Environment. Chicago sells discounted compost bins and rain barrels to city residents, maybe where you are does too?

SMT wrote:I know it's a little late in the season to get started with composting, but we just moved to the suburbs a few weeks ago and between the excess of yard waste and food scraps we have I really want to give composting a try. After searching the internet, I've been flabbergasted at how expensive these contraptions seem to be.

Does anyone have a source to which they can point me for a bin under the $100 price point?

I bought mine ($95) at Green Home Experts in Oak Park: http://www.ghexperts.com/Garden/tabid/62/Default.aspx

Incidentally, now is a perfect time of year to pile some leaves in the composter to up the carbon levels. Today, I took a bunch of leaves. put them in a plastic barrel, used a weed whacker to pulverize them, and poured in the powder.

I've not stirred up my compost since June. Would now be a good time to do it - after adding some leaves? Basically I just dump kitchen waste on there, with occasional additions of newspaper. I will have leaves to put on there too, soon.

Composting Shit

Nancy Klehm is hardcore, no doubt.

It's interesting, I've recently run into this subject - a while ago, a friend gave me a copy of Beyond Bok Choy, a nice little primer on Asian vegetables. I was struck by one paragraph which read, "In a culture where nightsoil was used as fertilizer, eating raw vegetables was uncommon in Hong Kong when I was growing up. We seldom ate raw vegetable salads and never raw watercress, which was always cooked in soups." Not knowing the euphemism, a quick google revealed nightsoil to be unprocessed human solid wastes. Nightsoil has been a common fertilizer for some time, with corresponding effects on the cuisines of areas where it is used like those described above.

Of course, this is not the same as manure (sometimes called "humanure") as described above, which heats up like compost to kill pathogens. There is quite a bit of internet buzz on this subject, for instance, some waste water treatment plants are selling their treated sludge to farms as fertilizer. Some of the interesting pros and cons of this are detailed in several places in the Poop Report. (Yes, it has a search feature. And I used it.)

I've often been frustrated with our dog waste disposal system - I don't have a better solution, but I hate seeing it all wind up in the garbage, where it goes untreated to a landfill, not even being converted to sludge. Unfortunately, it has such a high fat content and breaks down so slowly that I can't imagine composting would be a good option.

Do coffee grounds do anything for plants? Or do they need to be mixed with something. Starbucks gives them away, just not sure what to do with them?
Thanks

They can be applied directly to the soil, but can make the soil a bit more acidic (a good or bad thing depending on the plant and soil alkalinity). They also make a good mulch and are considered a "green" in composting. I mix it into my vegetable garden soil at the end of the growing season and also use it as a mulch around some plants I have that prefer acidic soil.

mhays, have you tried a doggy dooley?

I'm afraid to keep it around where we are - I know Romi would fall in or dig it up or rats would get in...

Do you know anyone who's used them, Lee? I've wondered about them - but we have so little yardspace as it is, I can't figure out where we would put it. Or how it wouldn't fill up in a week with two dogs - unless you dig the hole all the way to the molten core of the earth...

I wonder if there's an issue with the stuff getting into groundwater - I mean, it's supposed to work like a septic tank, but there's no tank, just dirt. It would be a big plus if that was a viable way to compost dog poop.

I do not, but will ask around.

It gets into the groundwater anyway, to some extent (unless you pick up right away, it sits on the ground, bonding with it, it gets rained on and some is washed across, etc). This way at least it runs through dirt on its way, which is supposed to be a natural filter. Plus it uses enzymes to break the waste down.

There are some comments from people who claim to use it at http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/09/0 ... turns.html

At the Garfield Conservatory:

April 24
Basics of Composting –
Green and Growing Fair*
Learn how to start and maintain a basic compost bin. Different compost bin types will be on display and each one will be explained. Live demos will be conducted throughout the day of the Fair. Plus, visitors will receive a free compost education booklet to take home.

* These demonstrations will take place during the Green and Growing Fair, and will last from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

May 15
Setting up a Compost Bin from Start to Finish
Do you know exactly what should be going into a compost pile? Learn how to balance the key ingredients in composting: greens, brown, air and water. Hear the tricks of the trade from experienced Master Composters.

June 26
Building up that Heat in a Compost Bin
Learn how to activate a compost pile and build up some heat! Master Composters will explain which materials will help you to raise a hot composting pile.

July 24
Harvesting and Using Your Compost
Now is the time to start harvesting that finished compost from spring. Learn how to use your compost as mulch and potting mix. Compost sifting will be demonstrated. Note: Stay for Beekeeping Demos happening this day too!

August 21
Brew a Batch of Compost Tea
Join us in the shade for a spot of tea. Compost tea works wonders on your plants and applying it is a cinch. The process of brewing the tea is slightly more complex, but expert Master Composters will get you headed in the right direction.

September 18
Basics of Composting – County Fair*
Learn passive composting systems, such as, sheet mulching, leaf composting and leaving cut grass behind.

* Compost bin demos will happen throughout the duration of County Fair.

October 16
Winter Preparation of Compost Bins
Decomposition slows down in the winter. Learn how to prepare your bin for the winter and harvest your remaining compost for use in the fall.

Yep, I took a picture of dirt...

I'm very excited. After about 2 months my vermiculture (indoor worm composter bin) has yielded its first tray of casings (read: dirt) which I am now planning to spread around my patio vegetable garden. I was a little skeptical about having a big bin of worms in my basement but it's gone swimmingly (and dramatically reduced the amount of garbage I throw away--if only worms ate meat scraps and onions...). Any one have advice on how to spread this around? I just plan to scatter it through my big planter boxes holding vegetables. Should I avoid adding a little to my Earthboxes?

I am a beginner to composting and picked up some nice tips from here. I have to choose a composting bin but I think thats essential.