A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 How to make a compost bin

My corn stalks have dried up and so are the squash plants. Can I put them in the compost pile or are they too thick.

Thanks T - I'm sure I missed it...great point.

Sheri you sure can. The corn stalks would be great for keeping the pile airated (sp? aerated? Hmm...) I'd put them near the bottom, to keep the pile raised up off the ground. If you have an enclosed bin ya might want to keep it out since it will take longer to break down...I have a separate 'long term' pile I keep throwing limbs and thick-ish stuff into. It's an area that I plan on building up over time - so I figure if it takes a few years to break down its no sweat. Depending on how much corn/squash ya got, you might put some under your heap, and some in a 'long term' pile. Hope that helps!

Or, you can run over it all with the lawn mower. Just spread it out on the ground a bit and go for it. Use the catcher. Wear eye protection and boots. Then it'll just go in the compost and decompose as per normal.
The lawn mower is also great for pumpkin vine, tomato vine etc. Things that are just bulky and difficult to stuff in the compost. They won't go thru a shredder either as they just roll up and clog the shredder. Mower works a treat but please use the appropriate safety equipment.

Hi Longy,

Good to see you. How have you been? Great advice on that betwixt and between stuff. I have a bin and use it for aeriating as Mary suggested but then I have very little of that stuff. I just toss the sticks back in the bin after I've taken out the black gold so it can help the next pile remain airy lol. Bet the spell checker is going to have a heartattack over that miss spelling lol. Woohoo. I think I put something in the coffee this morning. I've got the giggles already hehehehehe.

Mary, you really are a treasure to have here answering all our questions. Thanks for the pictures, too! That helps.

I'm a transplanted city girl myself (ex-apt dweller from Toronto) so I'm having a lot of fun with this new hobby.

Now I think I'm going to leave my first compost heap alone to do its thing, and start a new one. Special attention to the quantities this time (75% Brown, 25% Green). Luckily I have a lot of space too and it's not a problem. I laughed when you said you'd have even more composts if your husband would allow it. lol. I have mine jumping in and doing a majority of the turning for me and I expect his reaction would be much the same.

Suzy, really glad I could help -- I wouldn't be here or be able to answer if it wasn't for that Longy guy up there - he did for me just what I'm doing for you...only, I was a little annoying, I think

A little off topic - but I LOVED Toronto. Went there a few years back, and really loved it - haven't found any place like it since. It's probably my 2nd favorite city in the world (that I've visited, and only 2nd to home in NYC).

You're on the right track with composting - it's all an experiment, and before you know it, you'll be talking like me (like I'm some kind of expert )

As for my parner, well, to put it mildly she doesn't excite quite as much as I do over compost - there was the time I dragged her out in the pouring rain to show her how the pile was steaming. Okay, I thought it was REALLY cool. She...well...wasn't quite as impressed

Composting is definitely addicting, though! And it keeps me outta trouble Well, mostly!

FORGET THAT! I want a 'STEAMING' compost too! lol. I picked up some straw bales from a farmer down the road, to contain and insulate the compost over the winter. Well, I ended up layering one whole bale all through the compost, hoping I'll get the desired results. NOW, I'll leave it alone. lol. (Other than turning.)

About winter composting, my husband grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan (gets pretty cold there too) and even though they didn't compost, he told me that as kids, the straw bales got so warm in the winter they would huddle around them to warm up while playing outside. And, steam even rose off them!

So my challenge is to keep this thing cooking over the winter. If it happens to start warming up (crossing my fingers!) and continues into the cold, I'll let you know.

Oh yeah, and about the farmer.... I told him he had a nice [BLEEP] and I got the straw for next to nothing! (He had a cute little donkey wandering around nearby when I said it though. lol)

ATTAGIRL! I'm proud of ya! We stop at NOTHING to get goodies for the compost. Okay, well, kinda not nothing...but you get the picture

Okay! Sounds like you're on the way to a steaming pile. Yaknow, they do have thermometers for them too, if you wanted to get one. I don't have one - I like the element of surprise Something like that...

Pretty cool about the straw bales - eh? In NYC we huddled around the sewer to get warm - that's why my brain turned out this way. No, no, I'm really kidding...as believable as that might be!

You really gonna get out in AB in the winter to turn compost? I think I'd have to pass on that one!

Standing over subway grates is good too, and doesn't smell so bad. lol. Gives you a bit of that Marilyn Monroe feeling as well.

Hmmmm... now THERE'S a good question. lol. I might have to get back to you, in say about... November? on that one. lol

SQ you might want to read the part about spontaneous combustion. I think it's Mary's string. So don't get the pile to large when your putting bales around it to keep it warm. Mary my mind isn't working at all well. Can you figure out what I'm trying to save and take over. You explain things so much better than I do.

Thanks TK. I've been a little concerned about the heat too, but I'll keep a close eye on it and I'm home all day as well. Chances are, it'll probably freeze up soon anyway. lol. The more I think about it, Mary's probably right. I see me taking a pass on running out to turn the pile in sub-zero weather. I hope it'll get a good head start and break down a bunch before the cold though.

Hello, i was reading all of these replys and i had to mow my lawn that wasn't done in 4 weeks and i put the grass clipping in a big pile in the back yard, the grass was to long to mulch and i really needed the clippings to start my conpost pile and i also started one in a trash can, well i added the kitchen scraps and grass and then some brown which was not alot until the pile dried out a bit. well the grass clipping pile when i turned it was hot and i added some of that to the trash can but has a hard time turning it so i dumped it out and mixed it withsome of the other pile and then but it back in the can . the can when i dumped it out smelled not so good and the other pile just the old grass when i turned it smell not bad, sweet smelling, so i was wondering if i'm doing this all right, i covered the pile with a tarp cause of all the rain we have been getting. Is that ok too? Now what do i do, keep adding the kitchen scraps and what else at that time, brown? greens ? papers, coffee grounds and how much of that? I water the pile afraid of it getting to hot. but the trash can is not getting to hot just smelly HELP!!!! What do i do with it went its done? Winter is coming and do i wait til i start my garden for next year or what? Sorry for the silly questionos but i'm new to this and just don't want to make a smelly mess and then can't get rid of it . Any help? Thanks, Danielle

No silly questions when it comes to learning
how..

It can be tricky at first, but stick with it,
you'll never regret learning how to compost and
all it's luxurious, luscious, nutritious soil..

Add more browns..

Your compost pile works on a ratio of say,
75% brown and 25% green..

I'm in the process of empting my bins
**hence my neglect of my compost answering duties


But when I empty my bins, what I did last fall and am doing it again this year if they are almost done or done and need to get the stuff out
and emptied so I can start new ones is.......
getting big 30 gallon black/brown *dark* garbage bags, and filling them, nottttttt tooooooo heavy,
remember YOU have to lift them and pick them up and store them... (and them might have a pokey/sharp point of something sticking out and puncture your bag and loose your compost out the bottm) but leave them in a big plastic sterlite tub or as I'm doing, that and then putting them into my basement..
That way, I have already done or almost done~that will be done...*oh my gosh, that sounds like a prayer* compost ready to be sifted and used in the spring with out having to wait for the piles to be thawed...

What I mentioned above will work...

But also, if you want to get your beds ready
and the compost is ready, put it on top of what you want to use next year...
(I always sift mine to get out the big pieces,
and things that take awhile longer to finish and put it back into the next pile I'm starting.)
The wormies will love it..

You can also start a new bed by putting some down on top of the area that's virgin, laying some cardboard down and shredded leaves on top, water, and more of the compost on top...
by spring it should be a wonderful joy to work the soil...

Don't hesitate to keep asking questions if I went
a bit fast or off tune..I have a habit of doing that...

I am having a similar prob with my compost. I guess I dont have the right mixture of 25% Green to 75% brown. My bin still has knats swarming it and also it is starting to attract colonies of ants *L* Didn't realize starting my compost would bring out all the bugs in the neighborhood. It's pretty much the kitchen scraps they are going for. I just cut out my huge kale plant because it was just infested with bugs beyond saving. Threw that in the bin so now I have knats, ants and whatever those bugs were on the kale. Good, Bad or doesn't matter? My compost is not getting hot. Hmm...guess I gotta keep working with it.

You might want to look up compost fact sheet that bill has. Some types of kitchen scrapes are not recommended. Like anything containing grease. Or any cooked veggies. I think those draw more bugs than they are worth. But I am new to composting and could be off base.

Yeah I suppose I should but I haven't put anything in my bin that contained grease or cooked veggies. So far I've only put fresh veggie scraps in. Oh but you know just yesterday I put old spaghetti noodles minus any sauce and old frittata (guess that had margarine or butter in it) on the pile. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea with the bugs already in the pile. I probably have a ton more ants. Who said composting was easy? *LOL* just kidding

It's interesting that as long as I have mostly brown in my bin I have no trouble at all with smell or bugs. But when I get to much green in there I get bugs, smell and the bin gets so heavy I can barely move it.

Yeah I had mostly brown in my bin until now and it was not smelly but I did have the gnats. I have some more brown to dump in there and then that's it for a while..my bin is just about full and yes getting harder to turn *L*.

Wow - hot thread! lemme catch up here

SuzyQ - I wouldn't be caught out in that cold turning compost - and that says a LOT - I LOVE my compost! LOL!

Danielle - grass tends to be stinky, whether it's green or brown, I've learned. But hey, it still works, and ends up sweet smelling compost, and that's what matters to me!

Yes, yes, yes, yes. stick to the 25% green to 75% brown, and you'll be alright. At some point (when your can is full, I'd say) you'll want to stop adding to it, and let it work. You can start a 3rd pile at that point.

Don't worry about it getting too hot. There's no such thing. Well, there is but...as long as it's not near your house or garage, etc...anything that could catch fire from the heat (fire from composting, by the way, is not as common as you might think) Water the pile to keep it moist like a sponge - to give the little microbes the drink they need to keep working for you. A nice shower always helps me feel better and work harder too

Whenever it's getting smelly add browns. Usually grass (wet or dry) will be smelly - if it's an ammonia type smell, that could be the cause (but it's okay, just stinky). If it's not the ammonia smelly, then it needs brown.

I think Weezie got yer other questions about what to do with it when you're finished. Did we miss anything?

Weezie - One of my teachers - glad I make you proud Wanted to ask you about the lasagna bed - cardboard/compost thing. I've got a lasagna bed going - but didn't have near enough stuff for it...so right now I have cardboard/newspaper and dry grass on top...am thinking of spreading my finished compost over it - but then I'm thinking, doesn't it dry out, or get weedy from seeds and stuff? Would it be better to wait until spring to spread the compost?

JustAGirl - don't worry about the gnats - it's all part of the process. The ants - well, I was having ants come to visit my heap too (besides all the *other* ant issues I'm having this summer!) and that tells me that the pile isn't hot enough, or they are visiting the outside edges of the compost - so I turn it and cook their @sses! I'm not liking ants this year, at ALL LOL! The only thing I would do differently, is I would avoid throwing in any sick plants. You don't wanna risk spreading that disease when you spread your compost. One little plant probably won't hurt, but I wouldn't make a habit of it. I don't put in any rose cuttings of any kind - they all go straight to the trash. Why? I've been fighting black spot with a vengeance all year. Even if I can't see it, chances are there's SOMETHING wrong with the cuttings.

Spaghetti noodles are awesome - starch=sugar=food for microbes=hot pile! I might avoid the frittata though - too much grease in that. Though potatoes are good...little grease probably won't hurt. I don't get too crazy about avoiding a whole paper plate because it has a little drip of grease on it, yaknow what I mean?

WOW WHAT A MOUTHFUL!
I'll be quiet for a bit now

Thank you all for the information it's great to know i'm doing ok so far lol. So i can put my compost that is done and put it in trash/black ones bags in a bin and store it in the cellar?
How do i sift it??? what do i take out if not done how big? before i put it in bags or after in the spring?? Can i put my tomatoe plants big stalks that are all most done in as green?? i can mulch it up and is that ok? oh is my kitchen scraps green?? thanks again Danielle

Danielle,
There's a post by Tammy started, called Sifters, Huh?????
There's a bunch of info there for you to see.

Or garage, or last year, I did some in my basement and 3 bags in a big 84 Qt tub like.
That too a wee~bit to thaw, but it was alottttt
faster than the other big bins/piles I have, so I could get to if faster..

Anything the sifter doesn't allow thru,
I throw into the new pile I'm workin' on.....
That's good starts for the new pile cause it's already in the breaking down process and has those microbe's on it to get mixed into the new pile...

Did you have anytype of disease on your tomato plants??????? If yes, just burn them or put to the curb if you can't burn..
they're not really good for the compost because it can cause disease's to generate or continue from one year to the next..(pepper plants too)

Yesssssssss, they are mostly all green.
Maybe the stems to grapes are brown..

Keep us posted, we allllllll love to hear

Thanks Weezie13,
I'm not sure if my cucumber plants had any disease's and i already put them in, but i didn't with the cantalope plants. How can i tell if it does have a disease??? danielle

Danielle, I'm sure Weezie will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think if you're able to eat the fruit or veggie, you're safe to compost the remnants. If it has a disease, you can usually see it - like it dies off before time or is spotty or just really looks unhealthy overall.

How long should my grass dry before it can be considered a brown? Or is grass ever considered a brown?

Karrie - once you see it's all dried up and brown, it's a brown. I leave mine sit in the driveway for about 2 or 3 days. If there are weeds and stuff, I'll let it cook for a week or more just to be sure it's fried.