Since last fall,I have saved absolutely-positively 100% of my leaves from last year, and all of the grass clippings from this year. I have about 100 cubic feet of compost this year. (about 3.5 yards) It seems crazy, this is double the amount I had last year. I'm not sure why.
My hostas (and FERNS!) are growing like crazy now that I've been applying compost in November for a couple seasons straight.
I try, I really do. But I'm the worst at making compost. At our last house my DH constructed an enormous three bin system for me and it stunk all of the time. Here I have a black plastic bin that we purchased at our recycling center. A lot goes in but very little comes out the bottom. When I open the bottom door there is some dark dirt and lots of ants! A good portion of our property is wooded and we have some big piles of leaves we've started in the woods. Those show promise and I've asked to have the grass clippings added to these. I think it was the grass that caused the problems at our previous place. Any tips would be appreciated!
VThosta/daylilylover wrote:I try, I really do. But I'm the worst at making compost. At our last house my DH constructed an enormous three bin system for me and it stunk all of the time. Here I have a black plastic bin that we purchased at our recycling center. A lot goes in but very little comes out the bottom. When I open the bottom door there is some dark dirt and lots of ants! A good portion of our property is wooded and we have some big piles of leaves we've started in the woods. Those show promise and I've asked to have the grass clippings added to these. I think it was the grass that caused the problems at our previous place. Any tips would be appreciated!
ants usually indicate that the composting material is too dry
I hear you about the stinking problem. I used to have it really bad because of the lawn clippings. This year, I spread around the clippings in a huge area to let them dry first. After about 7-8 mowings, I take the time to mix the accumulated clippings into the big pile of compost. Occasionally, it stinks a little, but NOTHING like it did last year. Drying the grass really helped me.
Another thing I did this year: I bought a 4ft 1/4inch round metal rod from Lowes and kinked the end of it a couple times. I use that with a cordless drill as a long aerating bit. I plunge it into the center of the pile several times to mix the center of the pile and get some air into it.
Compost is wonderful as is chopped up leaves put on the hosta in the form of mulch. One term for this is sheet composting. If you apply mulch, (leaves, wood chips, tree trimmings, most any organic matter) the plants will do better. If you put it in a compost pile the compost pile will reduce the organic matter, if you put it on top of the soil it will be reduced also.
One big advantage of mulch is the mulch holds off spring emergence avoiding the late freezes many of us experienced this year.
I put about 12 inches of ground up leaves on one particular area to see what effect this thick mulch pile would have. The plants came up late with only slight ill effect from the late freeze here in So Indiana.
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I’m sorry to report
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From time to time I leave the top off of the plastic bin to let in rain, but maybe need to do it more often. I've also stuck the garden hose into the bin to water it but again, maybe not often enough.
Yes, the grass clippings are what made my compost stink but at the time we didn't have enough trees either so I think it was just too much green material. After a while our neighbor asked for our grass clippings so that he could mulch his garden with them. Anytime I tried to do this I got mold... guess they do need to dry out first.
I'm now saving up coffee and tea grounds to add to the mulch bin but am tempted to put them directly on the soil as they look so good.
I put about 12 inches of ground up leaves on one particular area to see what effect this thick mulch pile would have. The plants came up late with only slight ill effect from the late freeze
So, you removed most of the mulch in the spring after the last frost?
Quote:
I put about 12 inches of ground up leaves on one particular area to see what effect this thick mulch pile would have. The plants came up late with only slight ill effect from the late freeze
"So, you removed most of the mulch in the spring after the last frost?"
Absolutely not, notice I said ground up leaves run over with a lawn mower. This is progressing from early spring to a few days ago without removing the leaves.
Conflict is as addictive as
Cocaine, Alcohol, Cigarettes
I’m sorry to report
That cooperation is not
I love making compost and make 4-5 cu. yds. each fall using other people's grass clippings, OP leaves, Halloween straw bales, discarded pumpkins, and stable bedding. Everything gets chopped and mixed in thin layers. Straw is the perfect brown if you run out of leaves.
Hosta Designer, if you dry out your grass clippings, you're losing a lot of moisture and nitrogen that are beneficial to the process.
I'm a compost junkie, of sorts... I had a miserable compost pile for a few years, pretty much cold composting, with not much for the end result, and then we got the two ponies, and I've got the BEST compost now, and and much as I need!
I have several piles, two for the stable waste, easy access to the stalls, and the other two are easy access to my garden for the garden waste. Found a guy that bagged his grass every weekend, layered that with my wintered over compost, and in a few weeks, I had the nicest stuff... I add some of the manure (mixed with straw) to the garden waste, and it really jump starts that as well.
I agree. Compost is great and so easy. Yes you can do all the layering and follow a formula. However we have a bin built with four corner pressure treated posts wrapped with chicken wire. We put in leaves and grass clippings. I used to put in my weeds from the gardens, however my pile does not cook hot enough to kill the seeds. Turn ((maybe)) once a year. DH places four PVC pipes (about 3" in diameter, with holes throughout) criss-crossed through the pile to help aerate it. Following the spring thaw, we pull out the beautiful, rich soil and put back anything not broken down. I usually get about 3 yards and it lasts through most of the summer. Hubby (compost is his project) always wants me to use up the dirt right away...however I do so much planting and moving during the year that I want some for all my ongoing projects.
Mary Ann wrote:Hosta Designer, if you dry out your grass clippings, you're losing a lot of moisture and nitrogen that are beneficial to the process.
Oh don't worry, I don't dry them to the point they are brown and crispy. Just enough to keep the mold/stink to a minimum. Plus my pile is about 4ft deep, so there's always plenty of moisture to go around!
I do compost, but I do it the lazy way. I have a piece of wire fence that I keep curved into a circle. It is about 3 feet high. No grass clippings (I have way to much yard to catch grass in a hopper) but I do put all my vegies greens etc from the kitchen, leaves, small branches, coffee grounds, manure and well basically everything except meat ,grease or cheeze products. No top or anything. Open to all the air. When I need to turn it, I just lift the fence up and set it to the side, take my pitch fork and turn it, then pile it up and set the fence back over the mound. It makes it really easy to ge to the finished product on the bottom. I have not ever noticed any odor, and amazingly the critter stay out of it! It is small and I don't get alot of compost at one time but it works for me. I know I could do it better and smarter, but like I said, I am lazy
Ginger
I compost also, to help with the stink, if I don't have enough browns, to add in the summer, I substitute with shredded paper. Works great! Paper is like adding fall leaves. Mary
Shredded paper would be GREAT to add to my compost heap as I generate lots and lots of it. Do you mean printer paper? That and junk mail is basically what I have. That would be great! Wish I had know this years ago!! Thanks for that tip.
Thanks, Mary. I have a full bin of shredded paper and thunder storms predicted for later today so I'll add some to the top of my compost bin... Have also been preparing a "lasagna" area so maybe I'll try to put some in there and top with some weeds. Thanks again.
If you apply the lasagna method then you can put almost anything in the area and it will decompose. Often a lasagna bed is prepared then toped with some type of attractive mulch, bark, leaves, tree trimmings (good) anything you like and leave it alone. Most reports talk about making a lasagna bed and planting immediately.
Conflict is as addictive as
Cocaine, Alcohol, Cigarettes
I’m sorry to report
That cooperation is not
I have really been adding to my compost this year too. I have a bucket I keep out of the way in my house for stuff I can use out of my home like pet hair, hair from our brushes, lint from the dryer, the cardboard roll out of toilet paper and paper towels and any junk mail or paper in general that doesn't have alot of colored ink. I also use stuff like coffee grounds, tea bags, left over veggies (no meat products). Then I just take it out every day and dump it.
Then there are the additives from my gardens. The usual, leaves, grass, alalfa, I don't use weeds though. I get rid of them as quick as I can....
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