Are composters worth it? Was considering building one.
gardening
- Thread starter hot grits
- Start date
I have attempted to grow in the summer but even when I shade everything without twice daily waterings and sometimes even then they all turn to crisps. My house has the perfect exposure to grow cacti and not much else, either 8+ hours of direct sun or full shade.
I love my composter even here in the desert it is good to go, I usually spread it out on my fruit trees.
Yes definitely. I would build 2 so you have one that is being used and one that is "cooking". You want to aim for about 30 to 1 carbon to nitrogen ratio. You can get close to this by doing a 2 part "green material" to one part "brown material" mixture. Even a 1 to 1 mixture should be fine. Give it a little water and a stir here and there and you will be good to go.
Sounds like another slippery slope! Haha
Nah. I just go overboard with everything. Throw some green and brown stuff in a pile. Keep it moist and give it a turn once in awhile. There is some stuff you want to avoid putting in there (certain kitchen scraps) so just google "green brown compost" and you'll get the idea of what goes in there.
Overboard is my middle name!! Thanks for the info.
Yeah compost is easy as long as you don't overthink it, I get shredded bagged leave from a buddy, like 70 bags, make a 3x3 pipe layered with green (not necessarily actually green, kitchen scraps coffee grounds from local Starbucks etc) about 24-36 inches high with a little dirt in there
Toss it like a salad periodically 6-12 months and you have some awesome humus/compost
Toss it like a salad periodically 6-12 months and you have some awesome humus/compost
Agreed, composting is easy and worth it. Try not to overthink it. My first composter is a tumbler style from Costco and it works great, but doesn't hold much. My second composter is a just a pile out of sight in the back corner of my yard. Both work equally well.
I just compost right in the garden so no nutrient loss and plant some catch crops/cover crops on unused areas but I have space to spare intentionally and rotate used space and plant green manures periodically
I may overthink it a little but I like to grow stuff and hate leaving my garden care when I can plant and improve my soul health
Love johnnys seeds and tomato fest.com for the most awesome heirloom seeds
Paul Robeson is a fav of mine
I may overthink it a little but I like to grow stuff and hate leaving my garden care when I can plant and improve my soul health
Love johnnys seeds and tomato fest.com for the most awesome heirloom seeds
Paul Robeson is a fav of mine
Just looked up the Paul Robeson, I'll have to keep a lookout for some seeds.
I get most of my seeds from seedsaver.org.
Btw, when it gets really cold out in KC I just throw our kitchen scraps directly in the gardens and let them breakdown there.
I get most of my seeds from seedsaver.org.
Btw, when it gets really cold out in KC I just throw our kitchen scraps directly in the gardens and let them breakdown there.
I'm also into gardening. I have 6 permanent raised beds in my yard (4x8) and till up some yard on again and off again, depends how fussy a mood the wife is in 
I also keep bees. I'm trying to over-winter 2 hives right now, one is looking good, the other not so good. I'm going to be breeding bees come spring, I will have ~20 hives by May in by small fenced in back yard
I also keep bees. I'm trying to over-winter 2 hives right now, one is looking good, the other not so good. I'm going to be breeding bees come spring, I will have ~20 hives by May in by small fenced in back yard 
Been putting in vegetable gardens for years. Unfortunately, most of the A horizon top soil at my current place was scraped off during the grading of the development. I've spent the last two summers trying to make it useful. Moved in a bunch of black dirt but it still needs lots of work. I'm fighting a concrete like hard pan.
I grow tomatoes, bell peppers, jalepenos, green beans, cucumbers & dill for pickles (I could live on dill pickles), watermelon, rhubarb, and sweet corn. Sometimes Jack-o-Lanterns. I throw some old school sunflowers in for the kids to watch grow. Spend a lot of my summer weeding and canning. Great hobby, for sure.
I grow tomatoes, bell peppers, jalepenos, green beans, cucumbers & dill for pickles (I could live on dill pickles), watermelon, rhubarb, and sweet corn. Sometimes Jack-o-Lanterns. I throw some old school sunflowers in for the kids to watch grow. Spend a lot of my summer weeding and canning. Great hobby, for sure.
@ lomey I Do the same in winter just toss em in over winter and cover with some straw/leaves usually have a hard time making out what it is by spring
cgraunke
BoM March '14
The one nice thing about the tumbler style is you can collect the runoff "compost tea" and use it as supplement fertilizer. Stuff is like Miracle Grow on steroids!
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2014
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I love hot peppers as well. I don't live far from my grandpa and he loves them as much as I do so I've always helped him grow them. We do some tomatoes and occasionally other small things but always chile peppers, jalapeños, habaneros. Working on doing some ghost peppers and either some Carolina reaper or Trinidad moruga scorpion. Anyone grown either of the last ones??
I'll be setting up 4 or 5 3'x1' boxes with the drip system. For fertilizer, I highly recommend a "worm farm". I don't have it any more but it was awesome. Had a 30'x30' veggie garden back when I lived on the ranch, and it kept things well fed. It Had 3 trays that you rotated from top to bottom, at the very bottom it collected the "compost tea" and came out with a nozzle one the end. I'll see if they still make them and post a link.
I don't need a lot of pressure either, but certainly more than gravity will feed it at. I raised my barrel about 12" off of the ground and there is a spigot about 2" from the bottom, but there's a total run of about 30' of tubing and the majority of it (28'+) will be level. If I can find a small electric pump and an outdoor timer, it will be perfect.
Way too many people these days have never tasted a tomato other than from a grocery store. Man, if they only knew how tomatoes are supposed to taste...