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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Does it do any good?

12 years ago

A couple of things I've been wondering:

1. I built a two-stall bin. I was going to fill one bin and use the other one to turn the pile into (every week move the pile from one bin to the other). Instead, I keep an active pile in one bin. I use the other bin to hold browns. Right now it's about 1/2 full of leaves and straw. I figure it's better to do a half-assed pile then to just leave the leaves on the ground and the straw in a bale. I imagine some composting is taking place and when I add these browns to my "good" pile they will be partially composted and break down quicker. Will it make a difference?

2. Does it make sense to keep a bucket of compost tea handy for when I need to add water? Or doesn't it really matter.

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Comments (11)

bi11me
12 years ago
Plain straight browns will decompose very slowly, but it may help to mechanically break them down, creating more surface area.

Make your compost tea as needed, it doesn't store well. Adding it to existing compost won't offer many benefits, but using it on your "browns" pile might help speed things up.
jrmckins
Original Author
12 years ago
Good idea about the tea on the browns ... I get the feeling I'll just start dumping grass in that one too and have two active hot piles. :-:
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Kimmsr
12 years ago
Unless it is kept aerated Compost or Manure Teas quickly become anaerobic and then places that disease pathogens will grow and that is why it is recommended to use those teas within 24 hours after brewing as well as keeping them aerated while brewing. However, all the material that you would add to a compost pile already has the bacteria that will digest that material present. What they need to work is a Nitrogen source and usually compost tea is not a real good source of readily available N.
toxcrusadr
12 years ago
Of course, what you really need is a third bin. :-D
bi11me
12 years ago
Actually, at least 3 bins, and probably 5 would be ideal. I like to have 3 bins adjacent to each other, with an angled sifter that I can move my garden cart under at one end. Having adjacent bins encourages active turning, which means more compost is ready sooner. Once you completely lose control of yourself, as I apparently have (with 27 bins now) you have one to turn every day. There are so far no known medical treatments for this condition, so proceed with caution.
jrmckins
Original Author
12 years ago
My wife is given me crap now about the 2 bins ... I considered starting with 3. I guess we'll see :-)
toxcrusadr
12 years ago
You might have to make the next one big enough for her to fit in.

Kidding! :-o
jrmckins
Original Author
12 years ago
She'll fit ... if I use a wood chipper :-)
Laurel Zito
12 years ago
3 to 4 bins is so much better, but maybe space is a problem? I used to have 4 bins, but do you have a big space? I cut it down to 2 because of space. It would be better to have more space.
coachgrumpy
12 years ago
I have 2 4x4 bins and wish I had at least 3. I need to add the 3rd to turn the others into. I also have 2 compost tumblers, but I prefer the bins instead of the tumblers....
toxcrusadr
12 years ago
When I had a triple bin, each one was a bit smaller than the one before it, so as the pile shrunk it would fill the next bin when I turned it over. Fresh stuff always in bin #1. The whole thing was only about 6 ft. long.

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