Heating up (a good one to 140F) should kill weed seeds and most of diseases. I was always wondering how true it is. Because even if you get 140F in the middle of the pile, sides are always cooler, and I never saw turned up pile to heat up to 140F again. But it does compost faster when it heats up, that I know from experience.
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Same here. I use to put more effort into it but realized just putting it in 3 by 3 bins and waiting works fine. I use to use 3 bins and cycle the compost from bin to bin but now I just use two bins and wait. I also use a wood chipper for small branches and a mulching lawn mower for leaves. That gets spread around on the ground and eventually rots. Thereās a wait the first year while the initial pile slowly rots but after that there a steady supply of compost with nature doing most of the work as long as there is moisture and we have enough rain for that.
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No grass clippings in my area. This is the burbs, so no manure. So itās wood chips and commercial urea fertilizer for me. A manās gotta do what a manās gotta do.
Never understood the impulse to set a land speed record for compost. If you need it that fast, buy it.
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Wood chips do become fine compost without urea, but itās a slow process, especially with hardwood. Eventually bacteria will do the job by pulling N from the atmosphere. Very large piles of wood chips do heat up even with their low N to carb ratio.
For most soils, compost is not needed for fruit trees as an amendment. I find a layer of compost topped by woodchips to work exceedingly well for establishing fruit trees after transplant. This creates a soil profile similar to what trees create for themselves in a forest, and they make themselves right at home in it. The bearing age fruit trees I transplant need all the help they can get but this also helps juvenile trees.
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Yeah, but people Back East live in a forest. I live in whatās called a Pinion Savannah. Not much water to facilitate decomposition. Not much litter to provide a natural source of plant nutrients.
It would take me years to get anything out of a mummified pile of dry wood chips.
I see what you mean.
im in the same boat! canāt buy decent compost here in the sticks. Iāve even caught junk fish from the local lakes and layered it in sawdust. works good but still takes forever in our cool summers.
For me blending left over fruits, veggies, greens has been a lot easier than composting, especially since my orchard is small. I also feel good that I used up all kitchen waste and nothing went to the landfill. No stressing over a compost pile that I always seem to mess upā¦ although I have to say, you guys make it look so easy!
Surprised no one else has tried this!
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its definitely a lot easier and quicker than pile composting or feeding it to the worms. although the hardest thing with the worms is sorting them out and adding them to new fresh bedding but castings are so mild they wonāt burn roots even if you put it directly on them and you can store the extra for later use. there are benefits to both ways. a lot of my bushes have shallow roots so i have to be careful what i fertilize with. Iāve actually burned some of them using just 10-10-10 fertilizer. castings wonāt do that. blender compost may not burn but will take time to break down before its of benefit to the plants. Iāve buried fish under the mulch of my plants in the past but it takes about 3 months before the plants can use it. castings are slow realease but starts to feed right away. try growing some comfrey. another great organic fertilizer. chop and drop under your trees with your blender compost. the high N in the leaves will process it more quickly. and they look nice too. bees are all over the flowers.
I often just throw vegetable scraps at the base of plants when it can be done aesthetically. Easier than hauling them to my compost area which is unsightly and hidden at the edge of my property.
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i do the same sometimes. depends where Iām at in the yard. i pull weeds and layer them on the mulch till they die , then rake them into the mulch.
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Yeah, but I wouldnāt bother running things through the blender- those things are a pain to clean.
i agree. i usually just cut the scraps up some w/ shears if it a bigger piece. i scape back the mulch, place the scraps and bury with mulch.
I can understand that. I remember being in New Mexico and Utah looking at logs that turned to stone instead of compost.
lack of moisture so it canāt start to rot. could try composting in a barrel like alan suggested. just make some very small holes in it so moisture doesnāt escape much and water frequently.
