Make Lots of Compost for Free Using Guerilla Compost Tactics. Vermicompost Right in Your Garden - Make a Worm Bucket. Photo Credit: lessismorebalanced, Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License.
I am a big fan of vermicomposting. It can be done indoors or out, and it's still fun, even after all the time I've been composting with worms, to watch my apple cores and coffee grounds turn into amazing, nutrient-rich vermicompost. If you're looking for an even easier way to compost with worms, consider installing a worm bucket right in your garden bed.One of the more work-intensive parts of keeping a worm bin (depending on the style of bin you have) is harvesting the vermicompost. For example, the bin I have is just that: a bin. There are no levels for the worms to move to. Use Wood Mulch to Build Great Garden Soil. Most organic gardeners find that following nature’s patterns serves them well.
When it comes to building richer soil, nature’s plan relies heavily on trees — fallen limbs, leaves, cones, seeds and, eventually, the massive trunks. Adapting this plan for building garden soil by using a wood mulch — such as wood chips, sawdust or other woody residues — is a strategy that promises huge, long-term returns. Field studies dating back to the 1950s — and as recent as this year — suggest that a high-fiber diet of woody materials is exactly what many soils need.
Rotted bits of wood persist as organic matter for a long time, enhancing the soil’s ability to retain nutrients and moisture, which results in bigger, better crops. But wait: Woody materials are high in carbon and cellulose, so they need nitrogen and time in order to decompose. The outcome changes, however, if you add nitrogen or time. Garden paths paved with sawdust-covered newspapers feel like carpet underfoot. Mycelium Madness. Make Your Own Alchemy / Prepping, Planting and Harvesting. Does “black gold” make you think of “Texas Tea,” or that three-letter-word, oil?
Anti-Aging Face Creams. Preventing Flies from Hoarding Your Compost Bin. Composting is an environmentally friendly and cost effective way to reuse yard and garden scraps.
Unfortunately, a hot compost pile can also quickly become breeding grounds for thousands of flies, especially if you are composting manure. Proper compost pile management will help keep fly populations under control. How to Find Free Compost Ingredients. 1Ask your local coffee shop if they throw out used coffee grinds.
Coffee grinds are an excellent acidic amendment to soil, so use ash or lime to balance the pH. Ad 2Inquire with local lumberyards and home improvement stores for free sawdust. Be sure to use sawdust only from untreated wood. 3Collect newspapers. Separate the newspaper from the glossy inserts, and shred the paper to make it compost more quickly. 4Contact local dairies, feedlots, or cattle operations for composted cow manure. The ideal manure has been composting for at least 2 years. 5Call a local food processing plant to inquire if they have any left over organic material.6Visit your local zoo and ask about retrieving compost from the exhibit animals. Garden compost making. How To Compost With A Compost Pile - Pictures And Description. Custom Search When you think of garden compost - what comes to mind?
Warm sunny days spent planting a vegetable garden... only to be spoilt by having to plunge your gardening fork into a smelly mass of slimey, rotting vegetable matter. Well, if that is your experience, you're just not making compost correctly. Vegetable gardening and garden compost making are like Laurel and Hardy or Morcombe and Wise - I added the second pair because they`re more my era and I don't want you thinking I'm that old... get my drift! A Pile of Comments About Compost. Talkin' Trash...Heaps After you read the Q&A in last issue's eZine, we discovered that many of you are interested in talking trash...heaps, that is, when it comes to compost piles.
Several readers shared further information about the process of making compost, including one who has taught university level composting. - Editor "I compost all my wood waste. It doesn't compost fast, but with the right mixture of grass or other green waste and adequate amounts of water, it will make a dandy product. How do I know? "So, how is composting done? "Second, make sure the mixture is wet enough.
Composting: A timetable. Everyone knows that composting your fruit and vegetable scraps and other biological material is much better than sending those scraps to the city dump, where they would turn into methane gas.
But one thing people usually don't consider when starting a compost pile is how long it will take to turn into ripe compost. Here is a simple guide to give you an idea of how long it will take, using different composting methods. Hot Turn: 20 Days Hot turn piles are the most labor intensive and have more demanding basic requirements, but they produce finished compost much faster than other methods. Your compost pile must measure at least 3'x3' and have the proper proportions of carbon to nitrogen (brown stuff to green stuff, which should be about 30:1), and whatever material has gone into your pile should be broken or chopped into 1” pieces. Slow No Turn: 3-12 Months Worm Bin: 1-3 Months Black Soldier Fly: 3 Weeks Black soldier fly larvae are gaining popularity. Hints for a Good Compost.