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long Island

I have built a simple wood frame out of 2x4`s. It is about 4` tall, 4` wide, and 3` deep. I covered the whole thing with wire fencing. I have filled it to the top with shredded maple leaves, and I have been adding coffee grinds, egg shells, banana peals, salad scraps. I also added something called starter fertilizer.

It looks to me that this bin of leaves might take more than the 6 or 7 months left till spring to become usable compost.

I currently have the bin located at the end of my freshly tilled patch.

This is my question: Is it a good idea to have the compost bin directly in the patch over the winter and into the spring? OR Should I move it somewhere else in the backyard ?

11/19/2010 5:35:41 PM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

I would have it outside of the patch, if the mix doesnt fully compost, you dont want it on your patch introducing possible pathogens.

11/19/2010 6:07:09 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

From my limited and painful experience...two key ingredients are needed...moisture and air!!! Turning the pile is the key to usable compost!!! Peace, Wayne

11/20/2010 3:03:10 AM

Quebec

How often should you turn cow manure to make compost is the more the better or should it be more like once a week?

11/20/2010 5:57:27 AM

Johnston, R.I.

A little cow or horse manure wouldn't hurt your project one bit..Turn it every 10 days to two weeks and add some manure or blood meal occasionally......It should be done by spring......

11/20/2010 6:31:22 AM

long Island

Thanks Tom, That's what I thought. I am moving it out of there today.

11/20/2010 9:20:11 AM

long Island

Its moved. Done

11/20/2010 10:17:10 AM

Muddy Waters

If you tarp the pile will that stop pathogens from entering patch?

11/20/2010 6:59:38 PM

Colorado Springs, CO

Are you saying that it is 3ft. 'deep' of the shredded leaves, first, and then you have been adding the eggshells, coffee, scraps, etc. upon that top of the leaves ? What exactly is that 'starter fertilizer' stuff you are adding ?

Did you do any layering as you built the pile ?....like a few shovelfuls of soil and manure after several inches of the leaf chips ? You need the microbes from soil or manure to keep things cranking.

I would sprinkle corn meal and dry molasses upon the top and water them down and into the interior. Without worms, and perhaps with minimal microbes, you appear to have a static (cool) pile there. From your description of the components so far I do not see any dire pathogen threats there.

Is the new location you selected still directly upon native soil ? You do want worms to find this pile.....and they will, if you build it and maintain it correctly. If you find any worms in the weeks ahead, before your soils freeze, make a 'hole' into the deep center of the pile and drop those guys in !

You want worms !....and they love leaves.

11/20/2010 8:08:11 PM

long Island

Yes, it is 3ft deep, maybe even 4ft
The one lb bag of starter fertilizer I got from the nursery
It contained a long list of stuff and has a very strong odor.
i have been turning the pile every week.
I can add some cow shit.
I plan to add a shovel full of lime.
yes, its still in my backyard, just on the other side of the house.
I am getting the molasses today.
I will look for corn meal.
There are a lot of worms in my patch,
every shovel of dirt contains about 2 or 3 worms.
I can collect them and bring them over to the compost bin.

11/21/2010 9:30:44 AM

South Hero, VT

Composting stops after pile temperature drops below 40 degrees. Your finished pile will be 1/3 of what you started with. You can raise temperature of pile and hasten composting by building a simple cold frame from 2 x 4s and plastic, leaving a slit at the back to allow moisture to escape. If it smells like pig poop, add carbon rich materials(wood chips, shredded newspaper).

Adding soil from your garden/patch/woods helps even more.

Compost happens by itself. It's just a matter of how fast you want it to happen

Finally, when it gets too cold, the worms head below the frost line. They will return when the soil thaws.

11/21/2010 12:48:30 PM

British Columbia

Wally. There are two components to compost, nitrogen and carbon. A quick web search will turn up a list of the carbon/nitrogen ratios of common compost materials. We aim for a 25-30 to 1 ratio. I use a lot of seaweed that is 19-1. Green hay and grass is around 25-1. Leaves are much higher carbon- I forget right now, about 90-1 I think. I collect a couple of truck loads of maple leaves ever year. I mix them with grass, rotten hay and seaweed. This is layered is about 2 inch layers. I think it is the better to mix as much as possible. Right now, my compost pile is steaming away - perfect! The carbon adds fuel, the nitrogen adds the components necessary for microbe growth. Some minerals thrown in always help, and you can tweak it with extra booster like sugars(molasses). An inoculation of microbes helps a lot, do this by adding garden soil or better yet, a shovel full of compost from another gardeners active compost. This is a real boost to a new compost pile. Coffee grounds from a commercial source that still have the paper filters is great to encourage worm growth as they like the paper for laying there eggs on. Almost any organic is compost-able. Mine has deer carcass and departed chickens in it. By spring it is all beautiful soil amendment. Just watch that carbon/nitrogen ratio. Too much carbon= too slow. Too much nitrogen= stinky. The other great trick to getting compost to "finish" is turning it on occasion. A cover of a tarp helps if it gets real cold or if you have lots of rain. You want it wet- but not too wet. It's called field capacity, just wet enough so air still gets through to encourage the aerobic growth.

11/21/2010 10:42:07 PM

Seattle, WA

Google "compost calculator" for the C:N ratio. Also, invest in a compost thermometer, they're not too expensive and will tell you when to turn the pile.

11/23/2010 2:04:23 PM

long Island

Great info. Thanks to all

11/23/2010 9:12:19 PM