LOL I have been planting recently and decided it was time to get at my compost. While easy to make, ya just never know if it's hot enough in there to cook it all. But what a dork I am, because as I released it, I saw that it was black and airy and just gorgeous, I was so dang *happy*. Lots of broken egg shells (they cook at a slower rate), but I scooped it all up and planted some flowers and other things. I was so proud. :joker:

Laurie

Doncha just love that?! It's always amazing to me, too - I don't do anything to the pile, and it always eventually turns into black gold. And now my pile is also home to a little chipmunk, who is probably eating the fresher stuff and getting a round tummy. :) Last winter it was the groundhog's turn.

It is wonderful, Margaret! You put all your kitchen garbage in the pile and it all comes back to you! In the end, you get a little more for the money put out for the organic apples; all those little cores have been working for ya! lol

Laurie

I have a compost pile out here, but it's on the chilly side and mostly pine needles, so it goes very slowly. But that's ok because I'm in no hurry:D

I also have a worm bin. My son loves them and they eat through our leftovers ravenously. They're cool!

I love hanging out with geeks : ) Congrats!

How often do you start a new pile?

Mine is mostly wood shavings and chicken poop from the coop, but my kitchen scraps also go there, they are just a small amt in proportion to all the poop and shavings! :joker: I started the pile about, oh, 9 months ago? I think? I'm still adding to it, and it's getting a little unmanageable, lol. The chickens go and scratch through it all the time (my little aerators!) so it's not much of a pile anymore either. Should I scrape it all back up together and start a new pile?

Do you guys contain your piles, or are they just... well, piles?

I haven't added shavings since about march. Will it be obvious when the pile is decomposed enough to add to the garden? Do I have to wait until it is black dirt?

This particular pile was well over a year & a half. It was big. I have a plastic compost bin from the town- about 4 x 4. There are still scraps at the top, but when I lifted the side bottom panel, the stuff on the bottom was cooked. It's a dark brown bin, with a cover. My youngest daughter searches for big fat worms under our mulch after it rains & puts them in. I can't imgaine how many worms there might be in there...lol There were no worms at all in what I removed- they headed upward, I guess. Dang miracle, I tell you. :cuc:

Laurie

:( I'm a worm box failure. I love them and tried it back when we lived in CA and all I got was really slimy, rotten garbage. I think I needed more worms. I've thought about starting one here, but what do I do in the winter when it gets to be -10 or in the summer when it's over 100 for several days in a row. Won't the worms die/freeze?

I so want some of that super-rich, wonderful dirt!

I live in MA, and I thought worms hibernated somehow? The black the dirt is all about worm poop, so they must survive. I'm gonna do a little worm research now. PS You mean a worm box sep from a compost, right? I;ve nevr tried that, but I know someone who kept worms under her sink. I think the trick was lots of shredded newspapers in with the clippings.

Laurie

Yummy, isn't it? I get such pleasure from compost, and everyone I know IRL thinks I'm weird (of course, that's not the only thing they think is weird about me, lol). I'm so glad I "know" at least a few people who understand. :heart:

I've been meaning to start a compost pile forever but have the same questions - do I leave it in a pile or use a container? My city doesn't provide containers for compost, should i buy one, or what could I use to make one? I might have some scrap lumber that I could hammer into a rough box, it would need a removable side, right? So I could get the compost from the bottom out. What about the smelliness factor - does compost smell bad?

I was just coming here to post a new thread asking these questions about getting started when I saw yours :) funny how that happens.

I was so thrilled with my compost I had for this year that I drug my husband out to see how yummy it was,,,he kept saying how strange I am...

Then we were attacking our basically abandoned tiny side yard and it had like a foot of leaves that had blown in..as I was raking them up I found about 5 inches at the bottom that was so incredibly dark and rich and was ecstatic because I was short on compost to get my squash mound done,,so my enthusiasmt here just totally cracked up DH..

Originally posted by meg
I've been meaning to start a compost pile forever but have the same questions - do I leave it in a pile or use a container? My city doesn't provide containers for compost, should i buy one, or what could I use to make one? I might have some scrap lumber that I could hammer into a rough box, it would need a removable side, right? So I could get the compost from the bottom out. What about the smelliness factor - does compost smell bad?

I was just coming here to post a new thread asking these questions about getting started when I saw yours :) funny how that happens.

Meg,
Here's a link to a good compost discussion from awhile back. My long-winded reply is in there :)
http://www.amitymama.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=155897
-Heather