Urban in my Herbin Garden - The Something Awful Forums

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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons With Chickencheese > Urban in my Herbin Garden

Cpt.Wacky: Apr 17, 2005

Faerunner posted:

Yeah, my pile as-is isn't stinky so much as it's just a terribly slow and somewhat dry pile, but I've tossed things in it before that take a looooong time to break down and I've gotten some nasty whiffs when turning it (I bury those again with non-smelly material). It's also not a hot compost, which means I am afraid to toss in a lot of weeds (they'll just take root and grow and I'll be spreading their seeds all over my garden again). I'm hoping that an enclosure helps to keep the pile compact, makes it look nicer and encourages a faster breakdown. I like the pallet idea and know where to get some but to fit in the space I have I'd need to downsize the frame. That's why I was considering a trash can. I could slice the bottom off one easily enough. I haven't seen anything good on the local freecycle lately (but you never know!).

Cpt. Wacky, the community farm is in Pittsburgh - it's called Ballfield Farm. It's just a group of enthusiastic people who, with guidance from a local nonprofit, are reclaiming an abandoned baseball field. The lot is still technically city-owned but we have permission to do a lot of stuff including planting trees and shrubs, building small structures and harvesting the food for local restaurants or food banks (or ourselves). I'm totally enamored of it as a place to experiment with things like weird squash varieties and pawpaw trees and pallet compost bins, which we had tons of last year before we bulldozed it all into a massive pile.

Daily turning is the best thing you can do to speed up your pile. Most people can't be bothered, but the drum systems make it much easier to do.

Very cool about the farm. I'm involved with a group building community gardens on city properties here. Our next one is going to be half of an underused park that used to be a tee-ball field.

# ? May 22, 2013 04:55

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# ? May 23, 2013 10:52

luloo123: Aug 24, 2008

Faerunner posted:

Yeah, my pile as-is isn't stinky so much as it's just a terribly slow and somewhat dry pile, but I've tossed things in it before that take a looooong time to break down and I've gotten some nasty whiffs when turning it (I bury those again with non-smelly material). It's also not a hot compost, which means I am afraid to toss in a lot of weeds (they'll just take root and grow and I'll be spreading their seeds all over my garden again). I'm hoping that an enclosure helps to keep the pile compact, makes it look nicer and encourages a faster breakdown. I like the pallet idea and know where to get some but to fit in the space I have I'd need to downsize the frame. That's why I was considering a trash can. I could slice the bottom off one easily enough. I haven't seen anything good on the local freecycle lately (but you never know!).

Cpt. Wacky, the community farm is in Pittsburgh - it's called Ballfield Farm. It's just a group of enthusiastic people who, with guidance from a local nonprofit, are reclaiming an abandoned baseball field. The lot is still technically city-owned but we have permission to do a lot of stuff including planting trees and shrubs, building small structures and harvesting the food for local restaurants or food banks (or ourselves). I'm totally enamored of it as a place to experiment with things like weird squash varieties and pawpaw trees and pallet compost bins, which we had tons of last year before we bulldozed it all into a massive pile.

If you have some around, toss in a couple handfuls of coffee grounds. The nitrogen will help to heat it up. Do you have any brown leaves in your mix?

Here's a great resource about compost. http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=785

Also, say hi to the 'burgh for me. I miss it terribly.

# ? May 22, 2013 10:33

Faerunner: Dec 31, 2007

I've been lazy about the coffee grounds; my fiance usually is the one making the coffee so he dumps the old ones in the trash but he read your post and now he's dumping them in the compost, yay! I have loads of leaves; they aren't shredded though (we have a dead lawn mower and no way to shred/mulch leaves and sticks) so they tend to mat together in the pile. Last year I just gave up and left the leaves on our hillside under the trees because if you can't shred them they're just not that useful in the compost. I try to layer brown/green stuff, keep the pile moist, etc - everything I thought I was supposed to do except turn it regularly. I guess turning it is more important than I thought! I've also heard that adding some cheap dog food mixed with water will kick-start a pile and heat it up. Is that true?

The 'burgh is a pretty cool city. I'm not a native but I like it here.

Wacky you'll have to show us pictures of the work as you go! I love seeing underused urban lots transformed into something beautiful and useful

Faerunner fucked around with this message at May 23, 2013 around 02:28

# ? May 23, 2013 02:21

Cpt.Wacky: Apr 17, 2005

Faerunner posted:

I guess turning it is more important than I thought! I've also heard that adding some cheap dog food mixed with water will kick-start a pile and heat it up. Is that true?

Regular turning is one of the best ways to speed it up because it provides lots of oxygen for aerobic bacteria. I've never heard of adding dog food. It's probably just the extra nitrogen that kick starts things. It's pretty common to recommend adding a nitrogen fertilizer like blood meal to a new compost pile along with a scoop of finished compost or garden soil to inoculate the pile with the right bugs.

I wouldn't worry too much about the leaves if you can't find a way to shred them. Leaf piles that are left to sit for about 2 years will turn it leaf mould, one of the best forms of compost that is incredibly dark, rich and finely textured.

# ? May 23, 2013 02:44

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