Garden Composting Systems

Tumbler composters like the CompostTwin are a great investment in that it combines effectiveness and efficiency to get you good compost results. All you have to do is follow to the letter every “compost recipe” to get most out of the compost tumbler.
Composting is relatively very easy and does not take a genius to get the ball rolling. Here are some composting basics you should know.

The whole process needs 3 basic components: Organic waste, Soil, and Water & Air. Use old newspapers, dead leaves or garden clippings, grass, kitchen wastes such as fruit and vegetable scraps, and woody materials. Refrain from putting dairy products, meat, leftovers and feces into the bin. The soil acts as a source for microorganisms, while water and air provides oxygen for decomposition.
Lay down a 3 inch layer of coarse plant materials such as small twigs for good aeration and drainage. You can then add leaves and other dry organic wastes from your garden, yard or kitchen. Pile it 8-10 inches thick. Nitrogen encourages microorganisms that speed up the decomposition process to thrive. Add some fresh grass clippings 2-3 inches in the pile or fresh horse manure as nitrogen sources. Others use synthetic fertilizer. Check your manual for the correct proportions.
Don’t forget to sprinkle some soil in every single layer in your compost pile for organisms to be thoroughly integrated in the set up. Moisten the pile but avoid getting it too soggy or wet. Turn it occasionally to facilitate oxygen flow.
These are just some of the basics. Make sure to read the tumbler composter manual and follow instructions to get the best results.

Worm farming is just like composting with your vegetable scraps and other green and organic wastes minus the worms. Regular compost heats up to a degree that no worms can survive. As you may already know, biological activity occurring during the composting process releases heat. A set of boxes intended to be worm farms holds a special type of worms that aids in the process.

Commonly, these worms thrive in horse manure. It is safe to use because horse manure is not likely to carry pathological germs that cause human diseases and they don’t smell too bad. You can get horse manure from horse stables and integrate them to your compost to result in a worm farm.

Not all compost bins are good for these worms to thrive and do their composting jobs. It is recommended that you use a worm bin as they are designed to keep temperature and humidity ideal for worms to survive during the whole process. If not, a few buckets of horse manure will have to be thrown in for them to thrive and speed up the composting process.

Kitchen and green wastes should never in the garbage! It can make a great difference to your garden, if you have one. Organic wastes should go to the compost heap, a worm farm or both. People practicing sustainable living have one or both.

In addition, you can have a “Garden Soup”. It’s an interesting concept, by the way, and one worth trying. A garden soup is a large bucket with all your green wastes such as onion weed, bulbs, oxalis and many others. Just like any compost – dairy and meat products are a no-no. It is filled with water to the brim and covered with a lid. Allow it to sit for week or so. You will know when it is ready when you get wafts of fresh horse manure. Does wonders to the garden.

Building a compost bin can be all challenging, easy and tons of fun. First of all, you should know and decide what your true needs are and what will meet those needs fair and square. If you have simple needs, then go for a simple compost bin.

People use different compost bins for different types of compost and for convenience purposes. Double bins and three-bin systems are widely preferred. Still, there are others who find single bins very sufficient for their needs and don’t bother going out and turning it occasionally.

Second, determine what materials you will use to build your bin. Don’t forget to leave out some exposure to the elements as this is necessary for the process to take place. A rabbit hutch is ideal for a simple bin because it is almost good as ready. A combination of a 16-gauge, plastic coated wire mesh and some hardware cloths can be used too. Other materials that can be used for building compost bins include: hay bales, old cinder blocks or bricks, wooden pallets, and snow fencing.

Bricks and pallets are easy to procure and cost next to none. You can visit a demolition or construction site for reject bricks. Companies will gladly give out wooden pallets instead of paying for it to be disposed. You can stack these materials to form a square enclosure, leaving out spaces in between the blocks for ventilation.

If you lack the time or the skill to build it yourself, you can buy some very good ones online. They are available in different sizes and designs that can meet your needs and are very effective too.