Mothering › Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Talk to me about Composting
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Talk to me about Composting - Page 2  

post #21 of 32
3/20/08 at 5:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdaisy View Post
I would go ahead and compost if you want! It can just sit there, and then years later, should you have a flower bed or something, all of that lovely stuff will be there waiting for you!

And we compost rotting fruits/vegs, that is what it is going to do in the compost pile anyway. It just has a head start! From what I understand the only things you don't want to put in the compost pile are animal products such as meat or dairy. I have heard you shouldn't put in animal waste (like dog poop), unless you have a really "hot" compost pile, because of bacteria. But I know sometimes our grass clippings are not scrupulously clean, and we have never had a problem.

Edited to say: We also put in a very small amount of paper products such as a paper towel or two, or the cotton from a pill bottle. It takes longer to break down, but it is all biodegradable.
We put meat and dairy in our "hot" pile with no problem!
On a gardening board I belong to one poster wrote about composting a dead squirrel. If the pile gets hot enough you can really compost any organic matter. We do draw the line at dog or cat waste due to disease potential though.

But we put all sort of things in it - bits of leftover oatmeal, pasta or rice, crusts of bread, drier lint (only from all-cotton loads, and we do NOT use fabric softeners), newspapers, old cotton rags that are falling apart, chicken or fish bones - and of course all manner of fruit/veggie waste.
post #22 of 32
3/20/08 at 6:27pm
I am the worlds laziest composter. I built an enclosure in the corner of the garden made from four posts and chicken wire, and I just throw everything in there into a pile. Since it's frozen solid for about 5 months of the year, we just keep adding to it, then when it thaws out mix it up and spread some of it on the garden.

I do not add anything from animals or meat to it, or oil, because it adds to the smell and attracts WAY more flies.

It does wonders both for the garden and for the amount of garbage sent to the landfill!
post #23 of 32
3/21/08 at 2:53am
Ay, Dios! I wish I'd seen this thread before I started my thread asking about what ppl compost. I've been considering composting lint, but I know my lint is not always 100% natural (got some poly blends). I haven't used fabric softener in years. Will it really make a negative difference if I go ahead and compost my lint?
post #24 of 32
3/21/08 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by princesstutu View Post
Ay, Dios! I wish I'd seen this thread before I started my thread asking about what ppl compost. I've been considering composting lint, but I know my lint is not always 100% natural (got some poly blends). I haven't used fabric softener in years. Will it really make a negative difference if I go ahead and compost my lint?
Hmmm - I can't say whether it would hurt or not to compost lint with polyester in it. Polyester won't break down like cotton, but I'm not sure it would actually hurt anything to do so. I'm sure I've let some lint through that is not 100% cotton at some time or another.
post #25 of 32
3/21/08 at 4:42pm
DH and I have three vermicomposting bins in our basement. We don't have much of a yard, and what we have is planted entirely in food that we depend on, so worm composting was our way to go. Basically, they're enormous Rubbermaid plastic containers painted black, with vent holes and lids that sit on shelves in my laundry room. Inside live more worms than my mind can wrap itself around, and they eat our compost. The worms stay because the eating's so good, and they produce worm castings that we use in our growing, and also sell to the neighbors. The stuff costs a fortune if you try and buy it retail, so they're glad to get ours. If we can't use it all, we just drop it in the woods. It does no harm.

I'm not an expert. I told DH when he mail-ordered the worms that if he wanted to do it that was great, but that the whole idea disgusted me so I wasn't getting involved. But in all the years we've had it, there's been no smell, no bother or trouble other than "harvesting" the stuff occasionally, and all I have to do is hand DH a little bucket full of the scraps each night and he and DD1 go down to feed the worms.

We only compost veggie and fruit scraps. Meat and dairy don't appeal to the worms, and neither do lint or coffee grounds or anything like that.
post #26 of 32
3/21/08 at 4:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Llyra View Post
DH and I have three vermicomposting bins in our basement. We don't have much of a yard, and what we have is planted entirely in food that we depend on, so worm composting was our way to go. Basically, they're enormous Rubbermaid plastic containers painted black, with vent holes and lids that sit on shelves in my laundry room. Inside live more worms than my mind can wrap itself around, and they eat our compost. The worms stay because the eating's so good, and they produce worm castings that we use in our growing, and also sell to the neighbors. The stuff costs a fortune if you try and buy it retail, so they're glad to get ours. If we can't use it all, we just drop it in the woods. It does no harm.

I'm not an expert. I told DH when he mail-ordered the worms that if he wanted to do it that was great, but that the whole idea disgusted me so I wasn't getting involved. But in all the years we've had it, there's been no smell, no bother or trouble other than "harvesting" the stuff occasionally, and all I have to do is hand DH a little bucket full of the scraps each night and he and DD1 go down to feed the worms.

We only compost veggie and fruit scraps. Meat and dairy don't appeal to the worms, and neither do lint or coffee grounds or anything like that.
That's interesting. We compost our lint and our coffee grounds - tea bags too. Doesn't seem to bother the worms here. I also save our toilet paper rolls and tear them up as bedding.
post #27 of 32
3/21/08 at 8:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MiaPia View Post
Polyester won't break down like cotton, but I'm not sure it would actually hurt anything to do so.
Thanks for the reply. That's was my thought, as well.
post #28 of 32
3/22/08 at 11:29am
Anyone have any thought with "trying" to compost in a upstairs Apartment?? I have a back patio that's an OK size. What do you think I could use??
post #29 of 32
3/22/08 at 4:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by notwonamesalike View Post
That's interesting. We compost our lint and our coffee grounds - tea bags too. Doesn't seem to bother the worms here. I also save our toilet paper rolls and tear them up as bedding.
In such a small, closed system like we have, we really have to stick to stuff that the worms will eat quickly, or we wind up with more than they can handle and it builds up. Last year we had a mass exodus, where the worms were moving out, and we're trying to avoid having it happen again.
post #30 of 32
3/22/08 at 4:39pm
y'all, there's a great sticky in "diggin in the earth" that has all the scoop on compost. check it out -- http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ad.php?t=20598
post #31 of 32
3/22/08 at 4:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momof3invancouver View Post
Anyone have any thought with "trying" to compost in a upstairs Apartment?? I have a back patio that's an OK size. What do you think I could use??
I've read that as long as you have something to catch the runoff (another lid, etc.), it works out well.
post #32 of 32
3/22/08 at 5:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by beanma View Post
y'all, there's a great sticky in "diggin in the earth" that has all the scoop on compost. check it out -- http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ad.php?t=20598
Thanks, beanma. I thought it weird that there was no composting stickie or something here.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: The Mindful Home
This thread is locked  
Mothering › Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Talk to me about Composting