Thanks for all the tips on composting. I've had a compost pile out back for the last year, but have never really been able to use it because we keep adding wastes on top so it's never really "done". I've read about using a 2 chamber type of approach but I'm not totally sure how this works. Can you advise? Also, it is usually suggested that you add dirt or "brown" wastes to help it break down more quickly. This may sound silly, but where do you get the dirt without buying it or digging a hole. Thirdly, how do you keep the weeds or waste products from growing in your compost pile? We actually harvested some of the produce from it; so I wasn't really able to turn it last year. Your thoughts? moderator's note: split this post into it's own topic
Sranna, here's what I do. two bin method Fill as I have it (or can steal it from neighbors on trash day) all the yard waste I can get. Add kitchen scraps as slops can fills. Into first bin. Over time the bin fills up. Once the first bin is filled I start on the second. I let the first bin loaf at least over the winter. It will slump and become partly empty. I take a fork to the first bin and pull out partly finished compost. I shake out the brushy bits and throw them into the new working bin. Your first year not every bit of old leaves will be completely broken down. They can finish breaking down in your garden. The brushy bits get another year to break down in bin #2. Or. If I am doing this in the fall, sometimes brushy bits will go into the bottom of beds as I double dig them. Sometimes I find the top foot or so of the old bin is so full of brushy-stemy sticky-stuff it gets shoveled over whole sale into the working bin. Some people will set up a hardware cloth screen in a shallow box that fits over a wheelbarrow. This is a lot more work. to sift out finished (and pretty) compost, I only do this for things in pots that need this for good esthetic. I have piled bags of leaves on top of the loafing bin, to give me a supply of them in the winter when everything is snow covered.
