Vermicomposting: How To Make Worm Castings
The first thing to know point out is that the worms about which we are talking are not your everyday backyard worms. Those little guys would die in a minute in a compost pile. The worms needed for vermicomposting are called Red Wrigglers. These Red Wrigglers love to spend their time in piles of manure and love eating organic waste, which is why they are so perfect for the job of vermicomposting. The worms that you find in your backyard garden are usually regular field worms which would not be able to survive in a pile of kitchen waste.
When considering what size bin you want to use, the container should be on the shallow side rather than really deep. It should also be wider than it is tall. The surface of the container should be about one square foot for every pound of waste you wish to place in it each week. There should be about 500 red wrigglers equaling about a half-pound for every cubic foot of the container. The container should have plenty of air holes, since air is necessary not only for the composting process, but for the worms' survival as well. There should also be holes on the bottom of the container to allow drainage. There should be a screen covering each air hole and drainage hole to guarantee that the holes do not become worm holes or compost holes as well as air holes and/or drainage holes. If you produce too much organic waste for one normal sized container, it is much easier to maintain several small worm containers than one really big one.
To keep your worms happy, it is important to make sure that they are in an environment with the proper temperature, ventilation, and moisture. The air holes should be able to provide the necessary ventilation. There should be enough moisture to give the compost pile the feel of a wrung out sponge - not too wet, but not too dry. The temperature should be room temperature. Although worms can survive in a wide range of temperatures, anywhere from forty to ninety degrees Fahrenheit, they will be the happiest and therefore do their best work if they are at a comfortable room temperature.
There should be bedding on the surface of the container. This bedding should consist of shredded paper if the container will remain indoors. If the container will be kept outdoors, the bedding can consist of shredded paper or organic yard waste, such as dried grass clippings, sawdust, mulched dried leaves, etc. Yard waste should NOT be placed in an indoor container, because they can cause the compost pile to heat-up significantly which may kill your worms.
You can feed your worms a large variety of foods. Red Wrigglers will eat just about any organic kitchen waste you may produce, including carrots lettuce, cabbage, celery, banana peels, and tea bags. Tomatoes, coffee grounds, and citrus peels can be added into the container but only in moderation, since the acid could kill the worms. They also like to eat small amounts of bread, pancakes, grains, and noodles. Chopping up the food before you put it in the container will help it decompose.
You should harvest the vermicompost every two months or so. You will know that it is ready to be harvested when you can no longer make out the waste or the bedding, since they will have already decomposed. A good way to harvest the vermicompost without taking out the worms is to shine a light over the pile. This will chase the worms deeper into the pile in about ten minutes. You can then scrape up the top layer of vermicompost. Keep the light on to chase the worms even deeper into the pile, and then take out the next layer of vermicompost, and so on. It is very important to not take out any worm eggs that may be in the pile. They will hatch and turn into more worms which could make your vermicompost pile better, or enable you to use them to start another vermicompost container.
Once you have the vermicompost out of the container, you can use it to help just about anything grow. You can add some into your houseplants; you can sprinkle it on your flowerbeds; you can add it into the soil in which you want to plant seeds; and you can even sprinkle it around your lawn to help your lawn grow.
Article Source: http://www.bigfreearticles.com
We have all heard of composting. Composting is simply the decomposition of organic waste like yard waste and kitchen waste into a very rich and nutritional dirt-like substance. Vermicomposting is very similar to composting, but vermicomposting ...
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Worm Farm Composting-going Green In A Worm Way
Throughout history back to the time of ancient Egypt, savy farmers realized and used these little helpers to enrich soils and get better harvests. Flowers have been known to actually bloom before their regular seasons when worm compost has been mixed with the soil.Vegitable and fruit harvests are known to yield up to a twenty percent increase, with better flavor and crispness. And the soil benefits as well with plants having a higher resistance to diseases and pests, reducing the need for herbicides and pesticides.
Entrepreneurs caught on to this as well over the the years. Worm farming has long been known as a successful "niche business" in several ways. Many garden supply shops carry bags or boxes ofworm farm compost or castings as fertilizers. And, with the increase in home gardening due to our current tough economic times, the demand should go up. And while the "night-crawler" reigns as king for fishing bait, what school-boy fisherman hasn't dug a can of worms from out back and taken his bike fishing. Sporting goods stores do quite a seasonal business of the little wigglers. In recent years, a thriving online industry has developed as well for both the castings and the worms and accessories as well.
One of the biggest benefits of worm farm composting to consider is the portability and adaptability of the process. A home scale worm farm can be crafted with a container as small as several inches deep and wide by say 18 inches to a couple feet long. Worms are sensitive to light, heat, and vibration, so take these factors into account. Yourworm farm can be started on a back porch or patio, or in the back yard or garden, so it's adaptable to urban settings as well. Just side towards cool, quiet, and shaded, and you should see success. Add some moist paper, leaves, or cardboard and some soil, then add worms. Feeding your worms is easy. Toss, stir, or mix in your food scraps, yard clippings, or plant waste, and let them go to work for you. They consume up to their own weight per day. There are some things you wan to avoid like meats, salts, andacidy items like onions and citrus, but this information can be found on the web and in a variety of books on the topic.
These simple steps scaled to your needs or goals, will get you started on the path of organic gardening in a very simple but effective way. As noted earlier, we are seeing and should continue to see a rise in interest of home gardening as an offshoot of the economy. Our grandparents and generations before learned to work with Nature to survive, and as a society we face a return to some of this nearly lost knowledge. So just "being Green" could be the fashionable term today, but from a practical point of view, there's plenty of benefits to having your ownorganic garden today, and some simple worm farm composting can be a big help in many ways.
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Odour Free Composting In 3 Steps
One of the biggest complaints people have about composting is that it smells. And in some cases, this is true. When organic materials are heaped up in a pile and left to sit, they essentially rot, and we all know that rotting food and plants are going to smell. But did you know that composting doesn't have to stink? It's true! In this article we'll explain the 3 simple steps that anyone can follow to go from smelly to odor free composting.
The first step in odorless composting is to understand the two basic methods of composting: aerobic and anaerobic. As the name would suggest, aerobic composting requires air, specifically oxygen, to be successful. Anaerobic composting, on the other hand, is what occurs when the compost isn't exposed to the air.
The primary differences between aerobic and anaerobic composting are speed of decomposition and odor created. Aerobic bacteria work very quickly and efficiently. Compost that's properly aerated can decompose to a finished product within a month or two, under the right conditions. Anaerobic bacteria, on the other hand are very inefficient, sometimes taking as long as a couple years to produce finished compost. Anaerobic bacteria also product methane and sulfate gasses as a byproduct of the composting process. These gasses are bad for the environment; they are greenhouse gasses that deplete our ozone. Furthermore, these are the gasses that smell offensive to humans. When we think of a smelly compost heap, what we're really thinking of is anaerobic composting. Aerobic bacteria, on the other hand, do not produce these gasses, thus the reason that aerobic composting results in little to no odor.
One of the best ways to ensure that your compost is aerobic is to use a compost tumbler. These drum-shaped devices are usually mounted on an axel so they can spin or rotate freely. The action of the compost turning and tumbling inside the bin aerates the material, providing the necessary oxygen for the aerobic bacteria to do their job.
If you don't have a compost tumbler, or simply don't want to invest in one, you can encourage the growth of aerobic bacteria in a regular compost heap by simply turning the material on a regular basis. You may want to invest in a long handled tool such as a large shovel or pitchfork to make the turning process easier. Regardless of whether you have a compost tumbler or a basic compost heap, you should aim for turning the material every 2 to 3 days for best results.
The second step in odorless composting is to maintain the appropriate ratio of browns and greens in the bin. Examples of browns, or carbon rich materials, include dried leaves, shredded paper, sawdust, and dryer lint. Examples of greens, or nitrogen rich materials, include green grass clippings, vegetable or fruit peelings, cooked rice and pasta, and seaweed or other aquarium plants. If you get compost bin with too many greens, the material will begin to smell. This is easy to adjust by simply adding more browns. In addition to the items listed above, other browns might include peat moss, pencil shavings, shredded paper napkins, coffee grounds, chopped hay or straw, potting soil, nut shells, and tea bags. Finished compost will also act as a brown material.
The third and last step in avoiding a smelly compost bin is to keep out all meats, eggs, and dairy products. When the proteins in these items break down, they create an unpleasant odor. Also to be avoided are any fatty wastes including butter, shortening, cooking oils, lard, and other animal fats.
And that's all there is to it! With 3 simple steps, you can change your smelly and slow compost heap into a lean, mean, and odorless composting system that will turn out finished compost in a matter of weeks. So what are you waiting for? Begin your odorless composting system today!
About the author:
Ellen Bell works for Home Products 'n' More, a retail website offering composting tumblers and other compost bins, all with free shipping and handling! For more great gardening products, visit us at http://www.homeproductsnmore.com/Garden_Edging_s/144.htm
Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com
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Odour Free Composting In 3 Steps
One of the biggest complaints people have about composting is that it smells. And in some cases, this is true. When organic materials are heaped up in a pile and left to sit, they essentially rot, and we all know that rotting food and plants are going to smell. But did you know that composting doesn't have to stink? It's true! In this article we'll explain the 3 simple steps that anyone can follow to go from smelly to odor free composting.
The first step in odorless composting is to understand the two basic methods of composting: aerobic and anaerobic. As the name would suggest, aerobic composting requires air, specifically oxygen, to be successful. Anaerobic composting, on the other hand, is what occurs when the compost isn't exposed to the air.
The primary differences between aerobic and anaerobic composting are speed of decomposition and odor created. Aerobic bacteria work very quickly and efficiently. Compost that's properly aerated can decompose to a finished product within a month or two, under the right conditions. Anaerobic bacteria, on the other hand are very inefficient, sometimes taking as long as a couple years to produce finished compost. Anaerobic bacteria also product methane and sulfate gasses as a byproduct of the composting process. These gasses are bad for the environment; they are greenhouse gasses that deplete our ozone. Furthermore, these are the gasses that smell offensive to humans. When we think of a smelly compost heap, what we're really thinking of is anaerobic composting. Aerobic bacteria, on the other hand, do not produce these gasses, thus the reason that aerobic composting results in little to no odor.
One of the best ways to ensure that your compost is aerobic is to use a compost tumbler. These drum-shaped devices are usually mounted on an axel so they can spin or rotate freely. The action of the compost turning and tumbling inside the bin aerates the material, providing the necessary oxygen for the aerobic bacteria to do their job.
If you don't have a compost tumbler, or simply don't want to invest in one, you can encourage the growth of aerobic bacteria in a regular compost heap by simply turning the material on a regular basis. You may want to invest in a long handled tool such as a large shovel or pitchfork to make the turning process easier. Regardless of whether you have a compost tumbler or a basic compost heap, you should aim for turning the material every 2 to 3 days for best results.
The second step in odorless composting is to maintain the appropriate ratio of browns and greens in the bin. Examples of browns, or carbon rich materials, include dried leaves, shredded paper, sawdust, and dryer lint. Examples of greens, or nitrogen rich materials, include green grass clippings, vegetable or fruit peelings, cooked rice and pasta, and seaweed or other aquarium plants. If you get compost bin with too many greens, the material will begin to smell. This is easy to adjust by simply adding more browns. In addition to the items listed above, other browns might include peat moss, pencil shavings, shredded paper napkins, coffee grounds, chopped hay or straw, potting soil, nut shells, and tea bags. Finished compost will also act as a brown material.
The third and last step in avoiding a smelly compost bin is to keep out all meats, eggs, and dairy products. When the proteins in these items break down, they create an unpleasant odor. Also to be avoided are any fatty wastes including butter, shortening, cooking oils, lard, and other animal fats.
And that's all there is to it! With 3 simple steps, you can change your smelly and slow compost heap into a lean, mean, and odorless composting system that will turn out finished compost in a matter of weeks. So what are you waiting for? Begin your odorless composting system today!
About the author:
Ellen Bell works for Home Products 'n' More, a retail website offering composting tumblers and other compost bins, all with free shipping and handling! For more great gardening products, visit us at http://www.homeproductsnmore.com/Garden_Edging_s/144.htm
Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com
Home Composting - Getting the Mix Right
Composting is a great way to add nutrients to your garden or potting soil. Not only is it good for your garden and plants, it also is a good way for you to help reduce your overall garbage going to the dump There are no hard and fast rules in what you should do your composting in. In fact you could do it in a pile in the yard, although it will probably not be well accepted by the rest of your family. While you can go out and buy a commercially sold unit that will do well for all your composting needs, I prefer to save a few bucks and build one myself.
The real hero's in the world of composting are the fungi, bacteria, worms and other insects that will take your yard and kitchen waste and turn it into the black gold you want for your pots and garden. Now it is in your best interest to keep these guys in good conditions so they can digest the food you give them. Their basic requirements are just like you and I, they are food, water, and air. If you want to help these insects and microbes along, keep your compost in a nice cool corner of your yard.
To better understand these basic needs for your compost let's start with the food. Essentially there are two types of food. There are the brown foods that include straw, autumn leaves, wood chips/sawdust, and dead plant material. These materials mainly consist of long chains of sugar molecules that the microbes digest and use as a source of energy. There are also the greens such as green grass and weeds, kitchen fruit and vegetables, coffee grounds, and tea bags. These materials have a lot more nitrogen in them than the browns. This nitrogen in your compost pile acts as a source of protein to all those microbes for them to feed off of as well.
The next part is the air. It is very important to get good airflow into your pile. The microbes you want to decompose your pile cannot do this without air. If there is no air supply then other microbes will move in. They will also do the job but they work a lot slower and tend to make the compost smell like rotten garbage. So unless you want your backyard to smell like the city dump you will have it "fluff" your pile. "Fluffing" your pile is easily done with a spade or a garden fork. You will have to completely break it apart and then pile it back together leaving it in a "Fluffy" condition.
Some "food" like grass clippings or wet leaves will sit heavy on the pile and not allow good air flow through that portion of the pile. You should mix this sort of ingredient into the pile to avoid a spot that won't decompose very easily. Straw is a great ingredient to add to your compost because unlike grass they will not mat down into slimy layers and add to the airflow.
Water is the last important ingredient in your compost. This is where it gets a little tricky. You need to get the water just right to aid and not hinder the work of the microbes. Too wet and the pile gets too heavy and the airflow gets cut off to the middle of the pile. Too dry and the microbes will not be able to break down the waste as easily. Ideally you want to get every particle wet but not saturated. In wet climates you may need a lid or a tarp to avoid saturation.
Having a good mix of the greens and browns is a good thing for a few reasons. Not only does it supply all your little microbes with a good diet, but it also helps in airflow since the browns are dry and "light" and the greens are wet and "heavy".
Author:
Hi my name is Doug and I live in the Okanagan Valley in British Colombia BC. I have spent most of my life working my way through various different career paths that has helped me develop a diverse knowledge base to which I write on. For more on gardening and more for your home and health needs go to Home and Health MishMash
Tips On How To Manage Your Compost Heap
There are a number of different types of compost bins on the market that you can use to help manage and contain your compost. But, a special bin is not a requirement that is needed to accomplish successful composting, but more of a convenience. It is easy enough to build your own bin for your pile and simply cover it over with a sheet of polythene or chunk of cardboard.
Some people, however, prefer to have their compost heap more contained and neat in appearance and to have it easier to manage as well. If that is the case, then compost bins can be a good solution.
These special bins are easy enough to find online or at local stores that sell organic gardening tools and supplies. Some local municipalities also have compost bins available at a reduced cost to encourage people to recycle their organic waste.
Making a compost is as simple as adding your organic items that are compostable on a regular basis. Any waste product that was at one time a living thing will compost, or decompose, but some items are not recommended to be thrown into your pile. Meats, dairy foods and cooked foods will end up attracting pests and vermin so these should not be used in your home composting efforts.
Dead and decaying leaves, lawn clippings, manure, and kitchen waste such as rinds, peelings, coffee grounds and even eggshells can be added to it. Older, thicker and tougher plant materials are slower to decompose but they benefit the compost by providing more substance, or body, to the finished product. These heavier materials usually comprise most of a compost pile.
Wood items take a long time to decompose. Whenever possible it is best to shred, chip or chop wood materials to help accelerate the rotting process. However, as long as they are mixed in with other materials that decompose faster they will still provide some benefit to the process overall.
In general it is best to have fairly equal amounts of what is called brown material and green material in it. Brown materials are the manures, dead leaves, small twigs and cardboard and newspapers. Green materials include hedge and grass clippings, coffee grounds, fruit rinds and uncooked vegetables.
You only need to have about one foot of organic material to get your compost heap started. In most instances, just mowing the yard and weeding your flowerbeds and vegetable garden will give you enough to begin. If needed, then you can also add organic kitchen waste and newspaper, and even a little straw if you are coming up short of the one foot level.
Once things get piled up, nature will take over and the decomposition process will start. It is good to turn the heap about every two weeks and within four to six months you will have a nice compost of waste materials that will give a boost to your soil.
About the Author
A free audio gift awaits you at our portal site, where you can enrich your knowldege further about the compost heap. Your comment is much appreciated at our recycling blog.
Compost Pit Replaced by Compost Bin
The end product coming out of the bin is an excellent plant food. Compost Bin manufactures the compost which is another form of organic fertilizer which is useful for the soil and plants. The products of the soil are the plants which come in different sizes and peculiar shapes according to their species. Our dietary needs are primary supplied by the food that we eat everyday which is produced by products of the soil.
The fruits or crops that the plants yield may grow underneath the soil like the root crops, or grown above the ground with edible leaves and flowers. All these edible living things are products dependent on the soil where they are rooted. Please take note that plants can grow and can either bear fruits or cannot but still offer edible produce.
The minerals and nutrients of the soil are also absorbed by these plants. They are also eating, thus making the soil unhealthy in the process. It is therefore important to add fertilizers to supplement and aid the soil for the sake of the growing elements on it to sustain and survive. Compost Bin can provide the soil with the desired substances and other elements needed by plants to survive.
Compost Bin produces the organic plant food that is very vital to soil and plants alike. It must be noted that the toxic substances absorbed by the plants that we eat are harmful to human and other animals. In other words, we are also eating the toxic elements that are derived from the plants being transmitted to them from the soil. The compost is very healthy plant food for they do not contain any toxin that the soil and plants can absorb. This is the process of symbiotic relationship.
About the Author
Picture your garden benefiting from these organic fertilizers called Compost Bin. These help nurture your plants by keeping the soil healthy. Proper nutrients enter the plants and in this way, you see a beautiful flora growing in your surrounding area. To know more about this fertilizer, simply visit this site at http://www.ourcrazydeals.com.
The Neat and Clean Way to Make Compost
The most basic form of a compost pile is exactly that, a pile of vegetation, garbage and scrap items such as leaves and grass, which then may be surrounded by a fence or a cage. This system works very well, but requires a fairly long period of time and a certain amount of maintenance to ensure a good final product.
Finished compost should appear like fine loam with a sweet earthy aroma and should not be a wet glob of muck. An in order to achieve this quality. the pile needs to be turned over quite often in order to mix and aerate it and let oxygen enter in to create aerobes, which are the microbes which hasten the breaking down of your pile into good compost.
The disadvantages of a pile are obvious. They are rather unsightly, they will attract vermin and small animals such as raccoons, dogs and rats, they may have an unpleasant odor, and they will also probably irritate your neighbors if you live in a fairly well populated area. As a matter of interest, many towns and cities now ban open compost piles because of the above reasons. One great advantage of a pile is that it is fairly easy to turn with a pitchfork it in order aerate the raw compost, plus larger amounts of compost can be processed at any one particular time.
Compost bins are much more suitable to the home gardener. They should be vermin and child proof, be odor free (that is if you provide the correct proportions of carbon and nitrogen in loading the bin) and visually more pleasing. A bin can be problematic when you aerate the compost because it is usually difficult to turn the compost over efficiently without special tools. Another drawback is the emptying of the bin if it does not have an access door at the bottom. Consider if the bin is designed as a ball which has to be rolled in order along to mix the contents,and it sits directly on rough, sloped or uneven ground,that system mixing operation could be extremely difficult. Aerating need to be done regularly, so the easier, the better.
A compost tumbler is probably the best system. Tumbling the contents provides aeration without the use of tools and also speed up the decomposition time. Do not believe the claims of "compost in just a couple of weeks'. This sounds good but Mother Nature works at her own pace and we can speed her up just so much. The great advantage of a tumbler is the ease of turning and aerating the compost, which should provide a finished product in about 10 weeks.
Features to look for:
Sturdy dark colored containers which will not reflect the suns heat, especially important in cooler climes.
Solidly built stands or legs, a full composter can weigh over 150 pounds or more.
Can you easily relocate the unit if necessary, in order to be closer to the garden area worked currently being worked on.
There should be a method of collecting the compost tea which collects at the bottom and if utilized, is a fantastic product to pour on your planting beds or directly on the plants as a fertilizer
Other items to consider:
If you need a large amount of compost, will one composter be enough? New material can always be added to your composter, but the process is quicker if one load is processed at a time.
Stash a kitchen composter pail in a handy location to toss your daily scraps into.
About the Author
Dick Murray is a retired urbanite who has kept his love ofgardening alive with the creation of informational web sites such as backyard compost tumbler More and more households are beginning to grow their own fruits and vegetables due to their increased concern regarding the quality, price and safety of our food supplies.
Worm Compost - Why Worm Composting Works
| Perhaps you have heard the age old adage that you can't get anything for free. This is true for most things in life with the exception of Irma composting or what many call worm composting. Basically, worms will take your organic garbage and transform it almost magically into a type of compost that is rich and ready to be planted with your garden plants to enhance their growth and make your food that much more rich. There are a few things you should know about worm compost that will show you clearly why it works so well. Regardless of the affordability factor, worm compost is one of the richest forms of fertilizer that you can use in your garden today. Though this is a very simplified idea, it simply has to do with you taking a handful of worms, dumping them in a pile of dirt with some newspaper, a little water, and your every day organic trash such as leftover vegetables and in a few weeks you will have your worms producing the richest fertilizer that you may every news for your indoor or outdoor garden. The reason why this is possible is that worms are ultimately natures greatest recyclers because they can take your organic garbage and turn it into expensive gardening real estate. Red worms are typically used in any worm composting bin which can be as small as a Tupperware container with holes or as large as a rain barrel depending upon how much compost you actually want to produce. Be careful how much food that you give the worms because over time they will begin to overcrowd themselves and you may need to expand your operation which can only be good for you especially if your garden is in need of extra compost from time to time. Some people will actually use buckets and harvest the compost in as short as two to three weeks. Often times 50 to 60 days is necessary in order to keep a proper balance of happiness with your worms as well as moisture content and cocoon productivity. Probably the most expensive thing that you will have to invest in is in the worms themselves which run about $25 to $35 a pound, which is about a thousand worms. Also remember that the container that you keep them in should be relatively warm as red worms do not produce well or create compost well in colder climates. As far as a worm bin goes for your worm compost, you can usually pick one up for $20-$30 for a medium-sized one or if you are interested in a barrel, it would be a good idea to get a plastic one. Typically water barrels are made from Oak because Oakwood is used in wine barrels that are commonly seen in many landscaping schemes. Oak wood has an acid which is detrimental to your worm population so you would be better served to spend her money on a sturdy plastic container. The average worm compost harvesting will net you a round 50 to 55 gallons a year. Make sure that the bottom of the barrel or the container that you are using has drainage holes for the excess water and if you have a lid on top it needs to be aerated with holes on the sides as well as on top of the container itself. Worms can be very finicky and you will have to get to know how the dirt fields with your hands in order to make sure that it is moist enough for the worms to continue breeding and creating compost area Once you have your worms supply, and you have your bedding and dirt ready in your worm container, simply put the worms on the top about six to 8 inches beneath the soil and add the food scraps on a regular basis on the top making sure to close the lid because worms despite the fact they do not have eyes are photophobic and will not come to the food if there is too much light. That is it! You are now on your way to creating worm compost for your garden. By following the simple steps provided, you should have enough compost to add to your small garden and create and enough food for your family on a regular basis all year long. |
| Author Resource:- Chris Dailey is the owner of Super Organic Gardening Secrets, a free online service that provides valuable information on organic gardening and worm compost. To download his free organic gardening reports, go to http://www.superorganicgardeningsecrets.com |
| Article From New Ezine Articles |
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How to Build Your Very Own Compost Bin
They come in various designs and can be commercially bought or assembled at home. Usually Compost Bins are made of plastic, metal, wood and wire.
Types:
There is a plethora of designs available. There are as many designs as your imagination allows. However, four main types of Bins are outlined below.
1. Worm Composting Bin: This bin relies on vermiculture to produce compost. This Wood Worm Composting Bin can be used year round to recycle kitchen wastes. It has the added advantage of working indoors.
2. Wires mesh Composting Bin: These are the least expensive to construct. Simply bend wire in a circle or square and dump yard waste in it. Turning waste is easy, and finished compost may be obtained within 6 months.
3. Portable Wood and Wire Composting Bin: This portable bin, where wire is tacked to a wooden frame is ideal for moderate volumes of compost. Turning waste is easy. Finished compost is available within 6 months to 2 years.
4. Wood and Wire Stationary 3 Bin System: This bin processes large amounts of waste in the shortest time period. It also doubles as a storage unit. But constructing this bin requires extensive carpentry skills
Obviously then there are many Compost Bin designs from the elementary one bin system to multi-compartment bins. The latter allow large amounts of material to be processed in batches. A multi-compartment bin holds piles in various stages of breakdown while permitting turning of the pile as it is transferred from one bin to another.
What Compost Bin design you prefer depends on your garden size, your waste output and your budget. The simple Wire Mesh Composting Bin is highly affordable and requires no skill sets to construct; therefore it is easily replicated in an average garden. Complex bins require more input in terms of labor and material. What you ultimately choose depends on your personal preferences.
Building a Compost Bin - A Simple Guide
A compost heap should be a mandatory feature in every garden. What the compost heap does is turn everyday household and garden waste into organic fertilizer. This is achieved through the action of bacteria and fungi which decompose waste. Commercial Compost Bins can be purchased at any Garden store and they are usually made of stout gauge wire or have a wooden framework.
Most commercial Compost Bins have a removable side or hinges so that the heap can be filled or removed easily. If you don't want to spend money simply opt for a compost heap or build a Compost Bin from inexpensive household products.
How to Make a Compost Bin:
Ideally a compost heap should be unobtrusively located. It should not be more than 3 ft. high and 3 ft. wide. It is also necessary that it be placed where it is not damp or shaded so that the organic material rots into a dark friable mass. If you want to make your own price-conscious Compost Bin, you can use old sheets of corrugated iron or timber.
Use 4 corner posts, 4 ft long to be inserted in the ground. The sides are made of 3 ft lengths of timber, 3 inches wide and at least 1 inch thick. Six will be required for each side making a total of 24 pieces. They are spaced approximately 4 inches apart and screwed into the corner posts.
To provide for removable side, one set of side pieces 3 cm less in length than the others are screwed to two separate corner rails 2-5 inches wide and 1 inch thick. The complete unit slides into two of the fixed corner posts in a groove or channel made from two 3 ft pieces of timber spaced from the two fixed corner posts by two thin strips of wood 1one and quarter inch thick and 1 inch wide. All timber must be treated against rot.
To reiterate, it is easier to make a compost heap. Even though it may look ugly or untidy, a compost heap is the least expensive and the least labor-intensive option.
Article Source: http://www.articlenorth.com
For more information about compost bins and especially landscaping ideas please visit our website: www.trytheselandscapingideas.com
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Home Composting: 10 Ways to Make it Successful for You
| Gardening is a fun and invigorating activity. It keeps one busy and productive and brings the creativity and ingenuity in everyone. Gardening beautifies our homes but it also produces a good deal of yard waste. What better way to make this waste work out for you than to use it to enrich your garden through composting? You'd be making your soil more fertile for the health of your plants and at the same time, you'd be helping you community dispose of waste in the cleanest, cheapest and easiest manner. Here are some simple ways to make home composting successful for you: 1. Select the best compost material. Composting is simply simulating, if not imitatinag nature's natural process of breaking down dead matter and using it to replenish the soils nutrients. The best source would obviously be your own yard waste such as the dried leaves, straw and wood chips from your own vegetation. Experts recommend using browns and greens. Browns are rich in carbon while greens are rich in nitrogen. 2. Correct combination of compost materials. To make home composting successful, it is better to combine different compost materials that to use just one type. Combine some of the materials mentioned in the above tip and shred them into small pieces to make them easier to store in case you might want to pile them later. 3. Use of manure can also mean successful home composting. Manure is also a rich source of organic materials and may come from a variety of animals such as chicken, ducks, pigs, sheep, cow and goats. They are rich sources of nitrogen which plants need in building up their tissues. It is best to layer this manure with dried leaves and to not simply add it into the pile s that it is effectively decomposed and incorporated into the compost. 4. Cold composting. Cold composting is easy enough to do which involves piling all the materials you have chosen as compost materials. Put them up in a pile and give them time to decompose, after months or a year, you'd have a rich compost from the decomposition of these materials. 5. Hot composting is more systematic and laborious than cold composting but it works. The pile should be at least 3- feet deep and is made up of alternating materials. Water is sprinkled regularly on the pile keep it most for microbial growth and action. Once in a while, you may mix the pile to expose the lower layers to oxygen and promote further decomposition of organic matter. This should generate some heat in the compost as gases are produced with the breakdown of organic matter. 6. Stink management is also a key to successful home composting. If the pile is not aerated enough, it begins to give off a bad odor. To resolve this problem, turn and mix the pile once in a while. Do not allow your compost pile to simply stink up. 7. Keep moisture level up but not too much. Adding too much water will waterlog your microorganisms which will not be good for them too and will inhibit their decomposing activities. 8. If the pile is dry and is not heating up, one has to do the entire pile all over again and this time cut the materials into smaller pieces. Add enough water also to make the entire pile moist to stimulate microbial activity. 9. No matter how you are promoting the decomposition of organic waste, you compost should not be a breeding ground for flies and ants that can be sources of diseases and may hard your plants in the long run. Another key to successful home composting is management of these insects by covering the pile with dirt. It does not do if these insects would proliferate in your compost because they may do more harm than your compost may do you good. 10. For a successful home composting, keep your compost pile within your yard. It should be contained within a particular space so it does not look like a dumpsite of some sort. Building a simple fence may do the trick. Your enclosure should also allow some air to get in through the sides. |
| Author Resource:- Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.backyard-garden-and-patio.com where you can learn what you need to know about gardening and landscaping from growing beautiful flowers to patio decor. |
| Article From New Ezine Articles |
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Waste Management for a Modern World
Waste Management is required for three reasons. One, you can't be having waste lying around in any area as it will make the area look awful and the waste will raise a stink. Two, if waste is unattended to, it will attract pests and termites and the chances of a disease spreading will increase. Three, Man has realized that, if he allows waste to pile up or even burned, such an act would be disastrous for our environment. It is a mans duty to control waste and recycle it back into use by recovering resources from it.
History Of Waste Management
Once upon a time, when the density of population was low, the exploitation of the world's natural resources was minimal and manageable. Plus, there was not much of industrialization and the wastes generated by humans were mostly biodegradable and thus their impact on the environment, minimal. This coupled with the fact that not much waste was generated, man did not feel the necessity to manage it.
Time flew, population grew and before humans knew it, the industrial revolution set in (18th Century). People from rural areas migrated to cities and industrial towns en masse. Human consumption began to get concentrated and waste began multiplying. The proliferation of waste led to many diseases such as bubonic plague, cholera and typhoid, which led to suffering and death.
From this event on, the industrialized nations realized the importance of waste management.
Recovering Resources From Waste
As the world population increases and waste grows in volume, the world's scientists and planners have evolved technologies to recover resources from waste, which can be used again. For example, the developed nations have sophisticated facilities that convert the calorific content present in waste into electricity. In developing nations, manual laborers sift through the waste and extract recyclable material from it, thereby reducing the volume of waste that needs to be disposed.
Recycling Waste
The term recycling is universally associated with waste management. When we say recycle, we mean that our everyday waste will be collected, processed and then reused in another form. For example, products made out of paper, aluminum, plastic are collected and converted back into paper, aluminum and plastic respectively. Recycling of waste items made up of one material is an easy task.
Electronic waste is sent to developing nations where recycling plants extract gold and copper from the e-waste. Used automobiles are scrapped and their metal is sold to scrap lots, which then sell the metal back to factories for re-conversion. And so on.
Waste Management Techniques
Nations employ many techniques to deal with their waste. Here is a brief roundup of these techniques:
1. Landfill: This is the most traditional way of managing waste, by dumping it in a landfill. Countries such as Australia that have vast expanses of land, normally dispose their waste in abandoned quarries or mines. A landfill is an inexpensive way to get rid of waste. However, care should be taken to ensure that only waste that does not harm the environment is dumped in landfills. Populous countries or small countries, such as Japan, have to resort to other means to manage their waste.
2. Incineration: Incineration is the disposal of waste by burning it. However, incineration is not an effective tool for waste management as the burning of waste consumes resources and energy, destroys the recyclable material present in the waste and emits many harmful pollutants.
3. Composting: Composting is a technique in which organic waste materials (food, plants, paper) are decomposed and then recycled as compost for use in agriculture and landscaping applications.
4. Mechanical Biological treatment: In this technique, a variety of waste (plastic, paper, glass, etc.) are fed in bulk into the waste treatment plant. The MBT process extracts the recyclable content in the waste and converts it to calorific fuel that can be used by cement/power plants.
5. Pyrolysis and Gasification: These are thermal techniques, using these, waste is treated at high temperatures and at a very high pressure. In Pyrolysis, the waste material is converted to solid or liquid. The solid material can be further refined into a carbon form while the liquid extract can be used as energy-giving oil. In gasification, the waste material is converted into a synthetic gas, which can be burned to produce more energy.
In conclusion, waste management has become part of our survival strategy. If we have to live, we will produce waste. If we do not treat waste, it will choke us. Waste is a problem, waste Management is the solution.
Article Source: http://www.articlenorth.com
Visit www.mantank.co.uk/ for more information on Waste Management Services and tank cleaning services.
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Recycling Yard Waste Is A Great Composting Solution
This use of yard waste on a municipal level has helped to reduce the burden on the landfills, while making people more aware of the importance of organic waste recycling and of the benefits of composting. At the same time, the parks and recreational departments are able to cut their budgets for fertilizer and soil treatments by utilizing the compost to treat and improve the soil in the parks. Some cities also use the compost to support the community vegetable garden projects as well.
In most cases the largest portion of raw materials comes from the local yard waste which is a combination of leaves, lawn and grass clipping, shrub and hedge trimmings, and very small, pruned branches from trees. In addition, the larger branches and even small trees can be ground up and the mulch can go on the compost heap as well as the crop of Christmas trees that are shredded each year.
Of course, individual households can easily compost their yard debris as well, without needing to either wait for the pick-up schedule or for their municipality to institute such a program. Backyard composting is quite simple to start and there are compost bins available on the market for those with small or large backyards. Even those who live in apartments can enjoy the benefits of recycling their organic kitchen waste.
In fact, home composting can be a better solution. This is because most municipalities exclude certain organic waste products from the public composting piles that can readily be added to your composting project.
For instance, at home you can include newspaper, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, fruit rinds and vegetable peels. Most of the time you cannot include any of these items with your yard waste for curbside pickup.
With backyard composting, you can include all of these items right alongside of your yard waste and debris and throw it all right on your compost heap. However, you should never include animal meat, bones, pet feces, or any dairy products. These waste items will simply attract vermin and pests to your backyard and interfere with the decomposition process.
Some municipalities have enjoyed a 20% decrease in the volume of material going into their landfills by recycling yard waste. This small action is extending the capacity of the landfills and giving the decision makers a chance to come up with additional solutions to their landfill problems. Homeowners can do their part in helping by either separating their green waste for pickup or by starting their own compost heap.
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Composting Made Easy Means All Benefit And Minimum Work
| For avid gardeners, having an ample supply of rich compost is a dream. The use of compost will result in nicer plants, but producing the material can be time consuming and hard work. The more you can reduce that effort, investing the saved time in other gardening tasks, the better. One way to start the process is by building composting bins that at least semi-automate the productopn of compost. A bin should be five feet wide, five feet deep, and four feet high. Start by sinking 4 by 4 posts in the ground for the corners, and then nail 2 by 4s and 1 by 4s, alternating on the sides, leaving 2" gaps between the boards for air circulation. The 2 by 4s are rigid enough to keep the sides from bowing out, and in between each 2 by 4 you can use 1 by 4s to save a little money. The bins are three-sided, with the front open so they can be filled and emptied easily. Fill one of the bins with grass clippings, dried leaves, and shrub clippings, trying not to put more than 6" of each material on a layer and alternating layers of green and brown material. Keep a few bags of dry leaves around to help with the alternating. When you root cuttings use coarse sand in the flats and put the old sand on the compost pile. It's a good idea to take plants that do not survive and dump the entire container in the compost bin, which adds more brown material to the mix. After the bin is full, one option is to turn the material in the bin every few weeks. Another option, however, is to pack as much material in the bin as possible, then start filling the second bin, piling the material as high as possible, even to the point where it spills out in front of the bin and covering the fresh material with mulch or potting soil. Setting a small sprinkler on top of the pile and turning it on at a very low level will let a small spray of water run on the material. By keeping the material damp, the moisture will cause the pile to heat up, which is what makes the composting action take place. Once the first bin is full, the second bin is used. As the material in the first bin starts to break down, it settles, which means you can keep shoveling the material piled in front of the bin, up on top of the pile. Continue to do this until all the material is either in the bin or piled on top of the heap. Then leave it alone, except for the occasional watering, which speeds up the process. Not all of the material will rot completely, a result of not turning the pile. But the material in the center will break down more than the material on the edges, most of it breaking down quite well. Keeping a pile of potting soil on hand at all times or buying two or three yards of shredded mulch to get started, will mean always having a supply of good compost. Left in a pile, shredded bark will eventually break down and become great compost, and some potting soil is about 80% rotted bark. Some buy fine textured and dark hardwood bark mulch, and put it in a pile to rot, keeping the pile low and flat so it does not shed the rain water away. The idea is to keep the mulch to stay as wet as possible to allow the mulch to break down quickly. Keep a pile of rotted bark mulch near the compost bins and empty the bin containing the oldest material by piling it on top of the rotted bark mulch. The pile of rotted mulch should be wide and flat on top so the compost material is only 5 to 10 inches thick when it is spread. The mulch pile might be 12" wide, but only be 24 to 30 inches high. Once the compost is on top of the pile, go around the edge of the pile with a shovel, and take some of the material from the edges of the pile, tossing it up on top of the pile, covering the compost with at least 6" of rotted bark. In this way the compost material will fully decompose. Once the system is started, don't use all of the material in the pile. Keep at least 2 to 3 cubic yards on hand so there will be something to mix with the compost. If necessary, buy more material and add to e pile in the late summer or fall. Some supply companies sell a compost material that is already broken down, but try to keep at least 3 yards of old material on hand, adding another 3 yards of fresh material. In the spring you can empty one of the compost bins and add the compost to the top of the pile. The pile of usable compost will be layers of material, some of which can be chipped off and spread on the ground. You can then mix it together with a tiller and shovel it onto a potting bench. Having a pile of rotted compost near the compost bins will allow you to throw some rotted compost in the bin, maintaining the layered effect necessary for composting to work well. |
| Author Resource:- HydroWarehouse is a Discount Hydroponics Supply Store . We offer world class customer service with warehouse prices. Our Secure online catalog contains over 1000 hydroponics , hydroponics system , hydroponics equipment and gardening products. |
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Avoiding Composting Dangers
Read up
The best way to prepare for composting dangers is to read up. That's right. You need to read up on concepts and techniques and all the other factors pertaining to composting. Like in learning a new language, immersing yourself with available information on composting prior to the composting activity will ensure that you are to get the best deal of the composting activity. Also, it will show you how to do things the right way and keep you from doing things that can be detrimental to your safety.
Wash your hands frequently
After composting, you need to wash your hands. This may seem like a no-brainer, but mos enthusiasts who get too absorbed with their activities forget the dangers of poisoning. This may not concern you directly, but children and siblings who are not oriented to the dangers of composting chemicals may not really be privy to washing their hands after contact. This is also a good motivation for you to secure a close lid for your composting heap.
Inspect your active compost frequently
Frequent inspection will ensure that there are no weeds or unwelcome creatures inhabiting in your compost pile. Make sure that your compost pile remains a compost pile and not a breeding ground for harmful animals that can endanger you in your backyard. The active compost is quite dynamic in nature, so you can be ensured that you will not be bored to death or forced to watch a dull pile of manure.
Orient your friends and family about your composting activities.
Getting your family and friends involved or at least amply oriented will help you be able to relay your activities to them effectively. It will also help them become aware of certain things or objects you are using in the backyard (in cases where you do your compost heaps in the backyard), and will not be inclined to hit themselves with it while taking a leisure stroll.
Keep the compost aerated
The danger to compost is when it loses air and becomes more poisonous to the soil than helpful. Make sure that even when your compost heap is in a closed bin, there is still more than enough air for it to continue circulating. The aeration process helps enhance the composting process, and then it also prevents the organic materials from turning into an amorphous poisonous blob that you would not want to get your hands at.
Familiarize yourself with the machinery (for industrial scale compost heaps)
If you are dealing with composting on a larger scale and it may require some machineries, you must really exercise caution in using the machinery. Also, make sure that you are familiar with all commands, well-versed with worst-case scenarios and troubleshooting techniques for the equipment you are using.
This is more dangerous, since you are talking of a composting heap on a larger scale. So make sure that you are familiarized, as well as the people around you who will be assigned to work with you on the industrial composting process.
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Compost Smells: This and Other Composting Myths
Myth: Composting requires a lot of work
Truth: Composting is a natural process which involves basically the elements of nature doing the job for you. All you need is to gather all the materials, lay it on, and let nature do her job. Composting is a low maintenance activity as well. You only need to turn the compost file every once in a while to keep the air flowing to quicken the decomposition process and that’s it. You practically sit and wait for the the compost to finish.
Myth: Composting is limited to farms and wide open spaces
Truth: On the contrary, people living in urban areas who have no luxury for space can create their own composting bin from a trash can. How much space would that take up? Also, there is another technique which you can use, the so-called vermicomposting which involves the use of red worms in a contained bin where you feed them table scraps.
Myth: Composting needs precise measurements
Truth: Even though composting ideally would be best achieved with the right combination of greens and browns elements, having the exact measurements is not that necessary. Estimates work just fine. And those neatly piled up layers of composting piles you see in commercials, books, pamphlets and brochures of composting products, those are all for show. You don’t need to copy those, composting works the same way as you pile them up haphazardly.
Myth: You need specially formulated chemicals as starters or activators
Truth: Well, despite the claims of commercially available products that applying them to the compost pile will speed up the process of decomposition, buying them is not really necessary. It is often the practice to just throw in some finished compost into the newly formed compost pile and that itself will serve as the activator to get things started. There’s no need to buy those expensive stuff.
Myth: Adding yeast will boost the compost’s performance
Truth: This is not true at all. What you’re doing is just wasting your money by adding yeast to the compost pile. Yeast does not do anything to the compost pile and neither does it affect the performance quality of the compost.
Myth: Animals are attracted to composting piles
Truth: Yes, this to some degree is true. Composting piles do attract the occasional cat, dog or raccoon. Small critters will likely go for open compost piles and for piles that have kitchen scraps like meat, fat, dairy products, bones and pet manure to the pile.
Myth: Compost smells
Truth: Compost should not smell. If you find bad smelling compost, then the maker did a poor job picking the materials for the compost pile.
Other composting myths exist and it would be best to do your research first before accepting them as truth.
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Wriggly Friends Help Make Compost
Work composting or vermiculture is easy, affordable, and low-maintenance way of creating compost. It has a lot of advantages. Definitely it requires less work, just let the worms eat up all your scraps and in two months you’ll have rich compost at your disposal.
The worms used in composting are the brown-nose worms or redworms. They work best in containers and on moistened bedding. Those night crawlers or large, soil-burrowing worms are not good for composting purposes. Just stick with the redworms and things will work out well. All you need to do is add food waste to the container and soon enough the worms will eat them up and convert compost together with the bedding.
Before placing your redworms inside containers, place a nice layer of paper to serve as bedding for the worms. Any kind of paper will do, but it has been observed that the worms will consume newspapers, cardboards, paper towels and other coarse papers faster. The worms will eat this layer of bedding together with the scraps of food to convert them in compost. You can also add a bit soil on top of the paper and a few pieces of leaves. If your redworm container is located outside the house, try considering adding livestock manure on it. Redworms love them.
Fruits, grain, or vegetables are great for worm composting. The redworms can even eat egg shells, coffee grounds, and even tea bags. Avoid giving them meat, fish, oil, and other animal products. Like the traditional composting, these materials only attract pests to the composting bin and also produce bad smell.
The proportion of worms to food scraps will be based on how much scrap you like to be composted in a week. For example, if you want 1 pound of food scrap to be composted a week, all you need is also a pound of redworms. You don’t need to add redworms into the container unless you want to increase the amount of food scraps you intend to compost in a weekly basis.
For containers, keep it well ventilated to let the air in and let the excess moisture out. You can use plastic bins, and even wooden boxes for worm composting.
The time to harvest would be when the container is full. Scoop out the undigested food scraps as well as the works which are usually on the top few inches of the material. The remaining material inside the container is your compost. To remove the remaining worms from compost, you can spread the compost under the sunlight.
Leave a few small mounds of compost. As the heat dries the compost, the worms will gather in the mounds. Just be careful not to leave the compost under the sun that long or the worms will die.
Afterwards, you can place the worms in the container again and repeat the process all over. You see, this is how our wriggly friends help make compost and for those who don not mind the feeling of worms in their hands, this might be a good and easy way to make compost.
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