How do you use a composter?
I really want to get a composter for my garden but I have no clue where to start. Here are some things I need to know:
1. Does it smell weird?
2. Where do you put it?
3. What can/can't you put in it?
4. How do you maintain it?
Any other info I should know will help!!
Thanks!
1. No, it does not smell weird unless you let it get too soggy – then you can get some pretty funky smells out of it until it dries out a bit.
2. It depends on the design of your composter and the layout of your yard. I find it works best to have it fairly close to your kitchen door, because then you are more likely to actually use it – but if it doesn't look good there, then put it in the back of the yard or along the side of the garden.
3. You can put in most organic waste (dried leaves, spent garden plants, overripe fruit and veggies, cooking scraps, hay, straw, the green things that fall off trees in the spring, moldy bread, stale beer, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters, banana peels, egg shells, grapefruit rinds, soggy cereal, kitty barf, hairballs, corn husks, watermelon rinds, dryer lint, shredded paper, pet hair, people hair, etc.). I've composted dead squirrels and snakes with no difficulty, but it isn't generally advisable to compost meats, fats or oils until you've had some experience managing a pile to get it hot and keep it hot.
4. Most composters available are "batch" composters. You'll collect a whole bunch of basic materials (usually grass, weeds and dried leaves – lots of people save their leaves in the fall, or even steal other people's leaves from the curb so they can compost them the next year) and put them in the composter along with kitchen scraps, and water them until they're just moist – "as damp as a wrung-out sponge" is the usual phrase. If you've got a tumbler composter, you tumble it a bit to mix everything, and then go out and tumble it once a day until you have compost. When it's done, you empty it and let the compost sit for a while to mature, while you start another batch. If you have a bin style composter, you let it sit for a couple of weeks (you can keep adding things to it during this period) until the material has shrunk in volume. Then you fork the material into the next bin, turning the dry stuff on the outside into the middle, and start another batch in the first bin.
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I also want a composter. I figured I was going to ask the person I buy it from for very detailed instructions. Or go on line for instructions.
References :
It only smells weird if it's too wet. Mix in enough dry matter, like leaves or shredded paper, to keep it the wetness of a damp sponge.
Don't put meat or dairy in it, and unless you expect it to work very hot, don't put any weed seeds in it, either. Avoid charcoal or anything else that has chemicals in it.
How it's maintained depends on the design of the composter. Some turn or rotate and some just sit there. I prefer to skip the composter in favor of a large pile on the ground, but your situation may not allow this.
Compost that is turned or mixed or rolled or whatever tend to work faster than that which is left undisturbed. Also, to get a good, weed-seed-killing hot temperature, it's best to have it big enough, like at least a cubic yard and bigger if possible.
Compost is the best fertilizer there is, and it's healthy for the planet. Good on you.
References :
1. No, it does not smell weird unless you let it get too soggy – then you can get some pretty funky smells out of it until it dries out a bit.
2. It depends on the design of your composter and the layout of your yard. I find it works best to have it fairly close to your kitchen door, because then you are more likely to actually use it – but if it doesn't look good there, then put it in the back of the yard or along the side of the garden.
3. You can put in most organic waste (dried leaves, spent garden plants, overripe fruit and veggies, cooking scraps, hay, straw, the green things that fall off trees in the spring, moldy bread, stale beer, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters, banana peels, egg shells, grapefruit rinds, soggy cereal, kitty barf, hairballs, corn husks, watermelon rinds, dryer lint, shredded paper, pet hair, people hair, etc.). I've composted dead squirrels and snakes with no difficulty, but it isn't generally advisable to compost meats, fats or oils until you've had some experience managing a pile to get it hot and keep it hot.
4. Most composters available are "batch" composters. You'll collect a whole bunch of basic materials (usually grass, weeds and dried leaves – lots of people save their leaves in the fall, or even steal other people's leaves from the curb so they can compost them the next year) and put them in the composter along with kitchen scraps, and water them until they're just moist – "as damp as a wrung-out sponge" is the usual phrase. If you've got a tumbler composter, you tumble it a bit to mix everything, and then go out and tumble it once a day until you have compost. When it's done, you empty it and let the compost sit for a while to mature, while you start another batch. If you have a bin style composter, you let it sit for a couple of weeks (you can keep adding things to it during this period) until the material has shrunk in volume. Then you fork the material into the next bin, turning the dry stuff on the outside into the middle, and start another batch in the first bin.
References :