I tried it once, just to store some almost finished compost for a few days until I was able to build my lasagna bed. I don't advise it. It's heavy and cumbersome, and the contents just shifted as a whole rather than mixing. Some people do this, but I found it far inferior to a pile or bin. Even though it had air holes drilled in top, bottom, and sides, it didn't appear to get air into the mix. I dumped it out after a couple of days.
I have since added another Biostack bin and I'm happy with the two of them.
Karen
Composter
Karen, thanks for your input. I wonder if it would mix better with one of those compost mixers? Just looking for a cheap cheap way to confine my "pile". $$ Is limited
We bought a compostumbler off craigslist.org for like $75 or something - list price $400 - $500. The wife "took up a different hobby." (Was the hobby composting, or gardening?)
x, C
I wonder if adding a piece of plastic pipe drilled with air holes, then put through the trash can side to side would help it mix, and get air to the inside of the compost.
Good thinking, Mrs. Lincoln! That's what DH always says - I dunno why. x, C
sjweld, I use garbage cans (multiple) because I'm small and bins are just unmanageable for me. I haven't had any trouble getting it to heat up,. It's still heavy to roll, but I can do it, and it's also a lot easier to stir. Another advantage is that (because of the lids) I have a lot fewer flies and mosquitoes. The only thing I'd recommend is that you get one with wheels. Much easier to move around when it's full.
Now THAT is genius, roll it to where you want to use it.
Cathy, that does sound like a good addition to the trash can plan!!
Also a good suggestion pbtxlady! I will copy and paste these ideas and email them to my DH. I am really pushing for a couple of these for Christmas/Bday - which is just shortly after Christmas. :)
I got my used Compostumbler for my birthday - which is the summer! DH said oh that's not a REAL birthday present but it's the one thing we use EVERY DAY. x, c
When I think of what I spent on a tumbler, when I could have done it this way, well let's just say I'm glad my DH isn't reading this! I'd probably use some outdoor caulk to hold the pipe in place.
Watch for a posting from me just after Christmas or the first of the year if I get my wish! I will post with pictures. DH is pretty handy so I am sure, with these sugestions, he will be able to fashion me a very good composter or two.
My wish is that my DH become very handy! lol I love him however many hands he has. x, C
rotflmao!!
Here's how my "system" works. I always have 2-3 large cans that are cooking. (Next year I'll need more, but this year I'm using a lot of leaves for lasagna layering.) Then I have one can for finished compost. I screen directly into that, and wheel it around where I need it. The cooking cans stay where they are, except when it's time to turn them. Then I just wheel them out into a clear part of the yard, duct tape the lids, roll them around, and wheel them back. If you need to stir, it's pretty easy to do with a shovel.
I don't think this is the BEST way to compost, but it works best for me. We have bags and bags of hardwood leaves every year, and I never have enough greens to start a good pile. We don't generate a lot of kitchen scraps, and we had rodent problems when we did use them. So the leaves would just go in in one big pile, and then later, when I'd add greens, the whole thing would have to be turned. It never got done right because it was just too big for me to manage. It was taking two years to "make." I was also passing up a lot of browns like shredded paper because I already had too much carbon.
Now I store the bags of shredded leaves in the old bin, and add them to a garbage can in the proper proportion when I do have greens. Plus, having lids means I can use all the kitchen scraps, so I have greens more often (that aren't going into the landfill). So my cans have better ingredients, and get turned better, and the whole process is manageable for me. I have better compost, a lot faster than I used to.
A couple more advantages. I live on a postage-stamp urban lot, and don't have a lot of room for big piles. This way, if I run out of space, it's very easy to run up to the store and grab another can. Also, since they are garbage cans, they can go anywhere. You know, my neighbors would object to a compost pile out on my driveway. But if I park a garbage can out there, they never know (LOL). You can also park one by the back door and dump your scraps without having to go out to a bin.
I originally started in a large plastic trash can but soon needed something larger. Hubby built two (so far) cinder block bins. We have just begn using the first batch. Bin number two is just about full of fairly new items. In a week or so we plan to just cover the new bin with a tarp an let it sit this winter.
Yesterday a friend of my husbands brought us about 15 huge bags of leaves. We haven't put them in the bins yet, but gosh this saved us having to scrounge around town for bagged leaves.
I made some good progress early last week when cleaning up last summer's beds. I had about two wheel barrels full of stuff. If I hadn't had surgery last week, I could be out front finishing up that job. Yard work will have to wait another week or so. Actually, does it ever get completely done? ha-ha
Happyy Composting.
Ruby
I know MY yard work never gets completely done.....but then I would aways rather do that most days than inside work. (and it still never gets done)
Sheesh - the day my garden is finished is the day they plant *me* in it!
Snort! I'm with you, sistah.
I'm so glad!
I don't think gardens ever get finished. After all working in them is half the fun. If we even think we may come close to a finish we will just find a change that needs to be made or a slab of grass that is worthy of so much more!!
When I die I want to have my ashes spread in the garden That way I will always be a part of it.
me2, i'll haunt anyone who plants me in a box.
Well, since you mentioned it ... my mother wanted her ashes spread all over the planet - oceans, mountains, you name it. She died a few years ago and I fully intend to honor her wishes. I will spread some of her ashes over my young cottage garden, but so far, I haven't felt my garden "worthy" of her ... it's as if I need my garden to be further along before I think it will be good enough for "Mumsy." I figure that when if *feels* right, I shall sprinkle her about the place.
Just felt like sharing that ... lol
Ithink that is sweet! But ifI were your "Mumsy" I would be haunting you to put me out there now to help sweeten the soil and let me help it grow. I'd alsowant you to cover me with a layer of compost and water me in well. I want happy flowers around me and lots of fat worms to keep me company when you are not there.
LOL - I think so too, Zany! I keep having this inner dialogue which says, "Hurry up and do it" ... but then I think to myself, "No, it's not nice enough yet!" ... Okay, howzy bout next Spring when the Irises are in bloom? Followed by a healthy layer of aged horse manure?
hey, w. is there a particular plant you would associate with her? You've probably thought about it.
I was thinking today about the tiger lilies from my dad that (I think) bloom on his birthday, and the pansies I've been planting which my aunt got me hooked on, which kind of do bloom for her birthday(feb 15th) when the weather cooperates.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Believe it or not, there really isn't anything particular that I associate with her. Though, now that you mention it, she did grow tiger lilies at our home in NY. Her birthday is at the end of September. I'm going to meditate on this subject for a while and see if anything springs to mind. Great idea!
... and happy Thanksgiving right backatchas. We're gearing up for some pie now.
wellllllllll,,,, mums do bloom pretty late. mums~Mumsy, get it? Maybe this will be the year you can do it. I'm sure you just want to feel right.
OKAY, That's IT. I'm Planting MUMS FOR MUMSY. You're the Best, Sally!!! I Love it!
I'm going to research some of the really groovy old fashioned Chinese Chrysanthemums in honor of this occasion.
THANKS for Giving!
Please spread her around a bit and give her more than one type of bloom to enjoy! The nice thing is that once they spread me around they can give me credit for making all the pretties better and the stuff that doesn't make it they can still take the blame for :~) can ya tellI've given this a lot of thought?
Oh, yes, I will spread her all over the place! But, I also want to plant some pretties in honour of her and I just love the idea of Mums as she was always "Mumsy" to me -- kind of a goofy name for her that stuck a zillion years ago.
I travel quite a bit more than she ever did, so I intend to take her globe trekking as well. :~)
thats really neat.
That is a wonderful tribute to her and the perfect way to celebrate her life. I can't think of anything or any way to improve on it.
By the way I like your name of Mumsy.My darlings all call me "Mommy Dearest"
Heh heh ... well ... don't be fooled. It wasn't all w(h)ine & roses ...
No mother/daughter relationship is... grins
LOL... it never is but it's nice to remember and be remembered for the good times and let time compost the bad memories with the rest of the manure.
This message was edited Nov 22, 2007 6:05 PM
And doesn't it always come back to compost?
Wrightie - a different perspective: Instead of waiting until everything is "just right" for Mumsy, why not give your garden(s) the best of a Mother's touch?
In doing so, she is there to help you along in the endeavours that are precious to you - and isn't that exactly what us Mums do for our children?
She would become an active part of what you are creating and it would honour her in more than one way.
Katye, my brain is telling me the same thing. Isn't it strange that I've been resisting - it just hasn't "felt" right yet. I'm thinking that I'll just take the plunge in the Spring. I cannot bare to do it during the ~dead~ of Winter. LOL!
w- your mid atlantic friends would like to help with this too, when you're ready~~