I am looking at buying a property. The land is wooded with several sections of granite outcroppings (2+ acres of solid rock). Current owner has cover approximately 1 acre of the rock with approximately 8 ft of wood mulch.(yes it is 8 ft deep with solid rock below the mulch. His neighbor works in the forestry business and dumped his mulch here) Will this break down in the next few years and be usable for a garden? What can I expect to happen?

I had a small enclosure I originally built for chicks that I’m no longer using, so I decided to repurpose it. I flipped it upside down, filled it with last year’s leaves, and added a generous amount of straw and wood chips from the chicken coop. I’ve also been peeing on it when outside doing chores. Is there anything else I should be doing?

You know the drill

Recently received a large chip drop in my driveway. Before moving it to the backyard, would it be worthwhile to add a pvc pipe system to the new pile so that I can aerate it without having to manually turn it. Plan on running some 2” pvp pipe with holes about every inch at various depths with a connect for my blower or compressor to add air to pile. Would this work or be a waste of time? Thanks in advance for any advice?

This is a plastic bin in my backyard. I put my kitchen scraps in there every other day. It has a secure lid and stones around the base (to a distance of around 20 cm) so that nothing can burrow directly into it. Usually, I give the top layer a mix every time I add to it, so these burrows are fresh.

I live just North of Lake Ontario, so it's getting cold. Rats? Rabbits? Something else? Squirrels even? Should I do something about it?

https://preview.redd.it/dmk0iy5psa4e1.jpg?width=716&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb68c2b58ea0e9ba9c5da9b32a19663071c73960

As I was sharpening knives before I cut fruits for worm compost bin, this question occurred to me:

What are good hobbies somewhat related to composting?

Spending my day shredding for my compost pile. Working on my 2nd barrel right now.

Yesterday I read an article about adding yeast to compost piles to speed up composting. Has anyone tried this?

Edit. I think I actually posed this question twice. My apologies. Rather new at this.

I want to start composting at home and plan on using the compost for my garden and flower beds. I have been doing quite a bit of research the past few months, but am looking for help in deciding which setup/container in my backyard. I’m hesitant to use a plastic container, especially since my compost will be used for my garden. So far, I’ve seen that popular metal choices include the Behrens, Demeter, and Jora (a bit out of my price point). But the reviews for Behrens seems like they rust easily and the Demeter might not be the best structural setup. Then again, should I be concerned with using a metal container for my compost? My husband and I aren’t very handy, so I would prefer a pre-made container or an easy DIY. Would wood be the way to go? Thanks in advance besties

Hello,

I‘ve moved to a little farm this year, so I’m quite new to the whole thing and just experimenting around.

One thing I am doing is, that I collect my food waste (no cooked meat of course) in a small container, and when that‘s full, I spread it around one of the many trees on our land (mainly oaks and chestnuts). Then I grab a rake and cover the compost with some old leaves and loose grass from around the tree.

My thought is, that the tree roots, the mycelium around them and whatever little bugs live in the soil will take care of the organic matter that I put around the trees. I don’t need composted soil, as we got an abundance of very fertile, slightly acidic soil on our land. So I „feed“ the trees with my food waste.

So my question is, if anyone here has done something similar? Could it work? I mean in a way that benefits the trees?

(I bet someone will comment that I need to pee on it 🤣)

The piles should not get too much piss so that they start stinking

Bkark!

We have some carrots that were recalled for E. coli. Can I compost them?

My third open air pile, c’mon high temps!

Hey all

I recently bought some compost from a store I trust and it smells of manure. I think that means it hasn't fully developed? Is it dangerous to use for my inside pot plants?

The smell isn't too strong if I'm not close so hopefully won't bother me... I just worry about the plants.

I'm reading online about how to fix the compost by adding more browns but does anyone have any hacks that are actually accessible to me as someone who lives in an apartment and has just a balcony?!

Or will it resolve by itself in time? In its plastic bag or in pots indoors?

Thanks 🙏🏻

Half price day at the thrift!

Hi! I am in Zone 9A and setting up a community compost for our community garden. I've done some very basic home tumbler composting, so I could really use some advice to make sure we set this up right.

So far, the plan is:

• 5gal bucket pick-up system
• laminated instructions on buckets + community compost zone
• ready-source of browns for balancing added greens
• turn once a week
• test compost before using for garden

For the compost bins:

• construct out of wood + hardware cloth
• at least 2ft buffer from walls, shrubs, etc
• gravel pad: 6" deep + 1” diameter (or larger) stones
• base of 6” of course browns (wood chips)

What am I missing or overlooking? Any extra advice regarding rodent prevention?

Anything helps. Thank you 🤎

Sifted a cubic metre of compost. 1/4” screen. Made from food scraps, sawdust, wood chip, and firepit ash. Sawdust seemed to finish at a lighter color than otherwise, interestingly. All ready for top dressing winter plantings.

I’ve seen recommendations to turn your compost pile every 7 to 10 days. I tend to turn it every time I take a batch of kitchen scraps to the pile, like every three days or so. Is that too much?

And what if you have worms in your bin? Should you hold off on turning altogether while the population is high?

My wife picked up a cute little bucket to sit by the sink and contain our kitchen scraps. But upon closer examination, it comes with a Prop 65 warning. I know the path between kitchen to compost pile to garden back to kitchen is a long one, but should I be concerned?

Not a joke - I think? But you’ve all got me so turned around I don’t know where to pee anymore.

Anyways, here’s my new bin in Houston. Any warm weather tips? I started it off with about 50/50 mix of brown and green. Four big dead mums that I chopped up went a long way.