Homesteading Forum banner

Nubie looking to start composting

4K views 72 replies 11 participants last post by  7UP guy 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello newbie Peter T here from beautiful downtown Burbank. I live in the city and am working on learning how to grow my own. I've been going through different categories here for a couple of weeks and am planning to start with simple small growing beds and before that composting. What I don't understand is the "ratio", nitrogen to carbon. Different web sites have different #'s. ie 10:1...? does that mean (in lbs) 10 lbs browns to 1 lb green? and how does one figure out whats the right ratio for fruits n vegies? 🤠
 
#9 ·
I composted tree leaves (mostly oak leaves) that I bagged with my riding mower in the fall for several years. I built 3 large bins, stirred the contents every few months, and moved the contents from one to the next after a several months.

The end result was great compost which I used in my raised bed garden.

But after a few years my vegetables started looking bad. I checked the soil in my beds and the nitrogen content was 0.

I think composting only dead tree leaves depletes the nitrogen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alice In TX/MO
#10 · (Edited)
I bagged leaves after I had run over them several times with a mulching blade but I bagged my grass clippings with a snapper high vac and added them to the garden as they were cut and added a fair amount to the compost pile.

I didn't have a problem with nitrogen. My soil test suggested I add gypsum only.
 
#13 ·
I put a thin layer of green grass clippings in the walking path between the rows and they are walked into the ground and some are pushed up to the plants when they are dry. I have a large worm army.
 
#17 ·
My wife used to watch this channel. I believe the woman lives in California (LA?) and gardens from her condo patio? She has a disability and has new episodes infrequently but we found her interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAbledGardener/featured
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
#21 ·
You can get the cheap testers at any garden store. There are 2 kinds, the kind that has a meter on a metal rod that you stick into the soil and the test that has the little tubes with a color chart. I can't verify the accuracy of either but those don't cost much and you get instant results. Then there is the option of sending a soil sample to a lab to get a complex soil diagnosis including several elements and minerals and a chart of how much and what to add to make your soil more productive. Those are expensive and some places are rip-offs. You find soil diagnostic test services through your county extension agent or a google search.

About the rip-off services, my mom used a testing service that she found through the extension agent. The service charged her a couple hundred dollars and her results said she didn't have enough sodium chloride in her soil. I read it and saw they suggested she apply SALT to her soil! There were several other values that they gave that didn't match what she was seeing regarding plant growth issues.
 
#25 ·
@Peter T, do you mean flies in the compost? You won't have the big bottle flies (shiny blue or green, sometimes red) flies if you don't put meat or animal carcasses in your compost. You will have little fruit flies if you leave vegetable or fruit waste uncovered. If you cover your produce waste with soil or paper or leaf material you won't see very many fruit flies either.
 
#27 ·
Re; Vermicomposting, does the bin need to be completely enclosed? I was considering building 1 with wood slats on the sides with slotted openings and having the open ground being the bottom. The top completely open as we don't much rain (and no snow) in CA.
 
#36 ·
I no longer compost oak leaves. They do better as leaf mold.

As @Alice In TX/MO said, get those leaves chopped up. You can do that through a shredder, or just put the bagger on your lawn mower and suck them up.

We also use the leaves as mulch. They work incredibly well, and make weeding much easier.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7UP guy
#38 ·
Sycamore leaves don't compost well either. They are large enough to smother Canada thistle patches and take years to break down, even after being shredded. I have found a solution to that issue but it takes quite a bit of work. As the leaves fall I gather them and shred them using the bagger on the mower. The leaves and grass get dumped in a wire collection bin and left for a year. Through the spring and summer some pulled weeds and dirt get added to the bin. I was going to plant melons in the bin this year but didn't get around to it. You have to make pockets in the leaf pile to hold potting soil so the melons can get a good start before sending their roots into the leaf pile. If you plant a crop in the pile you need to add a balanced fertilizer or the plants suffer from nutritional deficiencies. After the crop dies back from frost you pull the plants, move the old leaves into the garden and fill the wire bin with new leaves.

Even though I didn't plant melons or pumpkins in my leaf pile this year, it will still be moved to the main garden in a few weeks.

My bin is made from some heavy duty wire fencing with, I think, 1 inch square spacing. This stuff is very sturdy, almost like cage wire. I'm not sure what it really is, it was given to me. It's about 4 feet tall and the piece makes about a 3 foot diameter circle. I'll have to check the dimensions tomorrow.
 
#39 ·
Plant Waste containment Helmet Gas Grass


Ok, so here it is. My free composting bin from the City of Burbank Ca. It took a couple of wks to get to it and I got it....don't laugh just because I don't need an excavator to fill it. I will get there 1 day as I'm "working on a better way of living". In a few months it should be ready to extract some good stuff. Can hardly wait.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top