I'd say "sure! go for it!" because ialbtc ("it all leads back to compost"). But then again, I've never had a compost "pile" (I have a 33 gal rubbermaid container.)

So, I am sure that others may take a moment to share w/you their reasons for having "sides" to a compost pile/bin. One reason might be b/c it's easier to get a good set of dimensions (larger than a cubic yard) to get it to "heat up."

And, then, that might lead you back to your own answers to the age old question, do you want to hot compost (faster) or cold compost (slower)?

All the Best,
Tree

Here is a link that might be useful: 201+ Compost Ingredients

Do you need a bin? Of course not! Can it just be a pile? Most definitely. If you have the room and containment is not a concern, then the best compost piles are just that...piles.

Containers, especially plastic ones, have many problems that piles don't have and piles have many advantages, especially ease of access as long as you don't have an animal access problem. Folks were composting in piles long before any bin or tumbler was even a gleam in the inventor's eye. ;)

Pile it on.

Dave

I have a cold pile because I am a lazy composter . It is just a pile . I have some sides now but that's just to keep the dogs out . The sides are simply odd pieces of left over fence and one side is a small gate from an old chain link fence . The gate is just leaning but it all works ! It ain't purty but I get some nice compost from the bottom .

Vic, Vic, Vic...
I'm so queasy, I can hardly typ---and I've got a strong stomach! I feel bad for the others.

Do you need a bin? Of course not! Can it just be a pile? Most definitely. Can I put bread in my compost pile? No, you can't.
It's just not something that civilized people would even consider.

To the new composters here, Vic was just kidding about the bread. He's such a kidder.

That Vic!!

Hmmm......animals could be an issue! We've got coyotes, foxes, and rabbits galore! I didn't think about that!

But I got my bucket to collect scraps, threw in some old bread (lots of it) and I've got some day old soda and left over koolaid to put on it and get it nice and soggy! And of course coffee grounds, egg shells and other stuff!

Annpat, vic is short for Vicky :)

Vic - female bread composter

Oh, forgot, Thanks for all the info and links
Tree, I never dreamed I could use all that stuff!

Now, another question. When I start this, do I just mix in all my "stuff" stir it up and wait for it to heat, and assume that if it doesn't get hot after a wk I've missed something?

I did read about it getting hot, cooling and then turning it. I didn't realy keep track of the ratio I put in it but its got some dead grass/weeds, fresh grass clippings, lettuce, BREAD, bananas, a melon rind and it rained like crazy last night! Plus gonna add some soda, koolaid, and some old beer that was left in the garage all winter. Does that sound like an ok mix? Oh, and have some dried horse manure I need to rake up (I read to soak it first, then put it in)

Vic

Oh that Vic! What a kidder she is!

dead grass/weeds, fresh grass clippings, lettuce, BREAD, bananas, a melon rind and it rained like crazy last night! Plus gonna add some soda, koolaid, and some old beer that was left in the garage all winter. Does that sound like an ok mix? Oh, and have some dried horse manure I need to rake up (I read to soak it first, then put it in)

These are all proteins (nitrogens), greens if you prefer for the most part so way toward the stinky side. ;)

You need carbons (browns) at a ratio of 3:1 for it to cook. Straw, paper, dead leaves, cardboard, etc. Check the list linked above and the FAQ here for more suggestions.

Dave

Not to be rude or anything?? BUT,,since when can you use Soda, Coolaid, beer and Bread in a compost pile??? I mean,,anyone can DO THAT,,BUT, how could it actually be good for the compost??? Thanks in advance, Courtney.
One more thing: I use Leaves, Straw, peelings and scraps from potatoes, parsnips, brocolli, egg shells, coffee grinds, etc. Never bread or soda.....hmmm.

Mine is "just a pile". OK, I have 2 garage door sections along the back that are about 2 feet tall (if that) but that was so dh would not go TOO far into the woods with the leaves and grass clippings! Everything just keeps getting piled up there. I just started turning my piles this year trying to get it hot to break up the oak leaves!I've been turning it once a week and adding more grass, kitchen scraps, leftover drinks, etc. each week and it's been hot each time and a lot smaller in size each time! Here's a picture from the other day before it was turned and those grass clippings added :)
{{gwi:286000}}

And, the pile never got finished the other day because this little beauty was discovered in my yard! He's somebody's pet parrot and it was going to be in the 40's that night! Took me 2 hours, but I caught him :) Now to find the owner! I don't need another pet :)

{{gwi:286001}}

Courtney
check the link on the post above by tree - 201+ for the composte pile. I've read a lot of things that said sugar is good for the pile, and beer, and bread (I think because of the yeast????)

Dave
Aren't dead grass/weeds browns? and I do have a lot of newspaper I was going to shred, wet, and put in also. But yes, I prob. do need more brown.

Vic

DJ
If only you had a nice moldy loaf of bread on top!
Cute bird

Vic

Vic, I don't think you need to wet the newspaper first since you are pouring in the Koolaid, soda, and beer, and it just rained a lot. Sounds like the pile is soggy right now. Don't know why you would wet the manure first either. Once in the pile the stuff that tends to the soggy side will make the dry things wet. You might want to put the newspaper on and then pile some other stuff on top of it so that it doesn't blow away.

As for animals, if they want to eat some of my compost they are welcome to it. In fact I have nails on the top of the sides of the pallets where I stick halves of oranges and watermelon for the birds to eat, so they don't have to poke through the compost pile so much. I am in the country, so don't have to worry about rats, I don't know what else I would care about being around.

Ditto to the not needing sides, but I find it easier to pile it up higher if it has sides. I put a lot of round fruit in my compost, and they roll out otherwise.

Leftover beer can also be used in slug saloons, draws them in and they drown happily in it. If you have any slug problems, use the beer that way in shallow containers set in your garden.

Marcia

Aren't dead grass/weeds browns?

Nope, sorry. Even dead grass is still 90% nitrogen. Lots of posts here about it that a search will pull up.

Paper, paper towels, brown paper grocery bags from the store, dryer lint, TP rollers, cereal boxes, all that paper stuff that goes into the various wastebaskets around the home, all work as carbons along with lots of other things and no, you don't have to wet them. Things will be wet enough. ;)

Straw is usually considered the "perfect" carbon. My personal preference is shredded fall leaves mostly because I have tons of them.

Dave

PS: and yes, I agree that all those left-over sugary liquids are fine for the pile. Many add molasses too as the beneficial bacteria love the sugar and yeast and hops. And believe it or not Courtney, most everyone but annpat composts breads and cereals and dry pet foods. Bread is HER hangup, not the compost pile's. ;)

djscrapbooks - I'm also a Red Sox Nation member (living in NW NJ) - cute bird :)

vic - glad the list helped. It was started by plantea.com, and then I just went to town brainstorming!

BTW, I like to use beer in compost pile for additional reason - it keeps the slugs occupied & I don't have to "empty" slug traps! In fact, just checked the slavia & found slug streaks (it's the only plant in the bed w/them) & just realized that I hadn't added beer to the pile in a while - time to go shopping! (I live in a beer-less home - but don't tell my Red Sox co-fans that, or they might not let me back into the Fenway bleachers again ;)

All the Best, Tree

Courtney! I'm with you. Bread! Snort!
Dave is kidding, though, about composting bread.
He's just trying to make people sick.

I'm not saying that bread won't compost---you know, if put somewhere far from civilization and gentlefolk. I'm just saying it's really no different from taking a donut and dipping it in your coffee cup. It's essentially the same thing.

It's better to put pop (=soda, where I come from) in the compost pile than into you, in my own, personal, Alfie, opinion.

Beer, on the other hand, is traditionally applied to the compost pile AFTER consumption.

Wow, sounds like I better get some newspaper in there today or I'm going to have a stinking mess! Now if I'm understanding this, I need 3 times the amt of brown to my green. I get confused with the amts. because the greens have brown in them, but paper stuff has no N. I read somewhere on here that if you do a 50/50 mix "by weight, not volume" it should be a good mix. So am I right in thinking that I am going to have to double the size of my pile with a lot of paper? Which I'm sure I could do easily, we just moved here and have lots of packing stuff and boxes (wanted to use those for weed block) I have a paper grocery bag full of newspaper, and since reading the list, started saving all the paper products around the house (adds up fast!) I only have 1 small tree, so no leaves to add.

Wetting horse poo - I read (again somewhere on here lol) that if you put dried horse poo in the pile w/o wetting it that it will stay in those little balls and not break down, sounded strange, but I've never done this before so don't know. The poo I will be using is stuff that blew into my yard from the horse ranch next door, it has been there all winter and is pretty much just dried up balls, but if it's going to blow into my yard I'm going to use it to my advantage!

Yes, it gets that windy here! That is why I do have the pile against a fence on one side so it isn't blown all over the yard!

So much to learn!

Vic - (dunks dougnut into coffee)

Don't worry Alfie, I have NO intentions of pouring perfectly good beer on the compost pile! That would just be sooooo wrong! The stuff I'm using was in the garage when I moved here and the cans look like they have frozen and thawed several times, I can't believe they didn't burst!
Vic

I've got nothing useful to add to this conversation, other than that I love dunking my donuts in coffee - especially the donuts and coffee designed especially for that purpose. I seldom have leftover bread, but when I do, it usually goes to the birds. I don't know if they care about sog.

Ok, before anyone goes nuts and starts posting all the good and bad and everything in between, I've read all that!

The question I have is can I add the poo NOW, or should I wait till I get more "browns" in this pile?

I have 2 large dogs and DO plan on putting the poo in the pile (if the USDA thinks it's ok, then I can live with it)And I can't see saving all the other stuff from the landfills to just add other "crap" :)

Vic

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Dog composting

Oh yeah, what about baby diapers?

What about baby diapers? Do you mean, can you compost the baby diapers? No, unless they're cloth diapers, in which case there are better things to do with them :-). Or do you mean, can you compost the baby poo?

I meant the diapers (wet ones) disposable.
Sorry, no I don't use cloth.
Vic

People who do swear by it.

uhhh why waste the beer?? LOL and vic you are soooo onery!! LOL HI by the way!! (one of your send to''s in one of your rr swaps) mine is sorda a pile that tabor (my son) made me. its not very hi, although we need to add some serious other stuff to it, it only has grass clippings in it, its gonna stink to high heaven pretty soon!! we're gonna for sure gonna have to add urine to it so it;ll break down faster, and umm shredded paper? that'll work right? for the browns.

Medo,
Of course I remember you! HI!
I didn't mean to sound onery!
Vic

DJScrapbooks,
there are parrots living wild in the USA although they are not native to the USA. They are escapees, etc. Near my office there are dozens of them living in big nests they have erected on utility poles. There are also colonies of parrots in Brooklyn, NY and in some places in California from what I hear.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brooklyn Parrots