Cheapskate composting system.........sort of.

This piece of wire fence was on this property when I bought it so I twisted it into a circle and wired it together. It is what I call my "rough" compost pile. It is not scientific with a pre-determined amount of greens and browns. I dump all the green trimmings from discarded or dying plants or some that have finished their season of bloom in there. I dont always remove the growing mix from plants roots if it is difficult to do......I just dump old plant and grow mix in there.....smash it down and keep it all watered. Later in the growing season, I will dump everything from this pile into a second so-called compost bin you will see in the next post.

.......and here is what I am calling my "finished" compost pile. Actually, it is just the grow mix that I use in a lot of nursery type containers during the growing season and it is composting some between growing seasons. As you can see, it is mostly empty now during the growing season. At the end of the growing season I will dump the contents of the "rough" compost pile in this bin along with the grow mix from containers as they are emptied of plants. The real rough vines, flower stalks, etc are pulled out of the bin and thrown on the ground beside the bin. I will run back and forth over the rough stuff with an old lawn mower to grind it up as much as possible and then throw it back into the bin. Everything in the bin is mixed thoroughly with rake and shovel and wet down.

After awhile.......when the notion strikes me.....I will go to town and buy some stuff such as peat, perlite, Lawnscape mix, bark fines, composted cow poop, composted humus, etc, etc. Just whatever I think I might need to rejuvinate my next years grow mix. Nothing scientific, just by guess and by gosh. Then some day when I have a little excess energy (not many of those now-a-days) I will thoroughly mix all that mess together with what ever mess was already in the bin. While doing this, I will "de-chunk" and "un-string" the mix, pull out any chunks of stuff or stringy stuff that doesnt look like it wonts to compost very well. I wheelbarrow this chunky and stringy stuff back over to the "rough" compost bin and throw it in there as the beginning of next years rough compost pile.

I like this bin. I can stand at one end of it and use a heavy duty garden rake to rake everything down to one end of the bin. Then I can reverse ends and rake the stuff down to the other end. Between the rake and a shovel, I can thoroughly mix everything and spray it with water as I work. It may not be deep enough for good composting but there is some composting taking place. I try to shuffle everything around a couple of times a month and keep it moist. There is a lot less work going on here than shoveling stuff back and forth between separate bins. It cost me about 25 bucks, is made out of cedar fence boards which cost around two dollars each. It is about 4 years old and still sturdy enough.

Next growing season, I will sift this concoction through the sifter you see leaning up against the bin. It is made to fit over my wheelbarrow. The sifted stuff is put in containers for the new season. Stuff that wont go through the sifter is put back in the rough compost bin.

One more picture...........The larger pieces of rough stuff is chopped up by this old lawn mower. I arrange it so it is blown up against the side of the bin where I can just shovel it back into the bin.

Jerry,
That is really neat. I LIKE neat, and am working toward this end in my own space in the yard.

Since you're into sifting, here's a design idea you might like. The original designer is toying with putting wheels (3 on each side) on the bottom of the tray, and widening the rails (the 1x1s) accordingly. It will make the back and forth sifting motion MUCH easier than waxing the rails.

I'm hoping to construct one of my own some day soon.

Jerry,
Since mobility is always an issue, here's another design I'm hoping to do, too, since I've got overhanging trees right above my compost pile!

It is always interesting to see how people adapt tools and equipment to fit their own situations. My sifter is basically the same design as your first photo. It is made to slide back and forth on the top of my wheelbarrow. My compost bin is partially under a big cedar tree too so I could even make use of the second design also. Thanks for the ideas. Wish I had access to as many coffee grounds as you do. Your compost pile must smell kind of starbucky.:-)

Actually J,
My compost pile doesn't smell like anything except BLACK GOLD!

I bury my veggie peels, coffee grinds, and shredder paper deep enough so no obnoxious odors are escaping (to avert critters and such)

P.S. Hit up your local coffee shops (Starbucks, IHOP, Denny's) for their used coffee grinds! Just drop off a 5-gallon bucket and begin a regular swap of filled bucket with new bucket!

This message was edited Jun 19, 2009 4:08 PM

J, I like that idea, but, I think I will stick with my idea of the tumbler composter, I would probably want to use your "finished compost pile" wooden box for an above ground garden for growing root veggies in or potatoes? It looks really deep.
joy