Thank you for a common sense compost tips, and will be my approach also. I fairly certain that mother nature didn't discriminate about what should be included that resulted in SOIL. And knowing that many utopian viewers will get aneurisms about your approach makes it all the more enjoyable.
"I made a conscious decision to be open to failure." Totally my type of gardener. 😊 Darn, I'd hoped there would be some helpful tips on turning. Grunt work, no getting around it.
I totally agree, because I share the same perspective towards both rules and failiures. As long as I learn something I don't really care if I fail or have succes.
Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly what I told my readers in my book Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting. You are my brother from a different mother. It all rots - throw it on the ground! I'm going to link this video on my site. Thank you.
Obviously, plastic doesn't rot. I was using hyperbole. Lead doesn't rot either. But organic material does and a lot of it is getting thrown away needlessly. Plastics are a big problem and you're right to point them out as an issue, but most of them can be picked out of the compost later if they inadvertently get into it.
You have been the best tutor on Organic Compost I have ever seen, because you do not waste time on all the technicality that other people do. Also, your method seem to be more in line with nature - when composting happens in nature, in the forest, etc, there is no selection of what can and what can not be composted, there everything goes: leaves, wood, dead animals, etc, etc. It also reduces the amount of effort one needs put into managing the system. Outstanding!! Thank you!!
Years ago, I lived in a townhouse but still wanted to have a compost pile to amend my flower gardens. I took the lazy gal's approach - I dumped kitchen and yard scraps behind my tool shed, added a bit of soil from what was nearby, and left it. That turned out to be a VERY nice little batch of soil - one that I used to plant container veggies. Thanks so much for sharing your own experiences with this.
I use my chickens as the front line on kitchen scraps.old plants and weeds I think I have broken every rule on feeding them.They eat what they want and discard the rest and they do a great job mixing it. Every 2 weeks I clean out the run and put the waste in the compost pile. The chickens are thriving and in eight years I have only lost one. our compost is good and plants are all happy. The only rule I follow is no plastic and take great care ensuring it does not get in the chook run. Our cats deal with rodents and sparrows. Good luck with your composting it looks like you've developed a good system for yourself and your neighbours..
Using chickens as the first stage of the composting process seems to be a good option - nice to hear about your experience. I can't do it with the community composting system, partially due to the increased risk of plastic and other stuff getting mixed in. But I am currently planning to incorporate chickens into my Black Plot project.
@Jen farmer I burn my dead chickens before adding them to the compost pile. It helps keep away the raccoons and skunks... and fox are starting to move in too. The bone is still very good for the pile and ash contains lots of carbon. I don't know if its a net benefit for the compost but it helps keep my chickens alive. lol
For the last 35 years I have always said if it lived you can compost it it dosn't matter if its cooked or not dairy produces also compost they use milk as fertilizer in many contrys I have never had problems so I would say you are on the right track
I like to add Yogurt into my compost from time to time. When I use it more frequently I have much better compost as a result, I just get lazy sometimes and do not do what I need to do. I can always tell when my garden does not do well that I need to add more yogurt to my compost. I use an old plastic cookie or pastry dome, I fill old unwashed yogurt cup with coffee grounds (Like a mushroom inoculation) and seal them up to for a few days in a shady place. once the mold starts growing its ready to add to the compost. No bad smells ever with this.
Just use the yogurt cup after eating the single size. The left over inside is plenty to start colonizing coffee grounds. Trees love it, dig a shallow hole (4"- 6" from trunk) and bury it and water.
Industrial concrete mixers are excellent for the initial stage of composting. I've converted two in the past, one removed from an old concrete truck that required a bit of fabricating to attach pulleys for turning. The other was a trailer unit that had the original generator still for turning. It helped a little with the rats, not so much keeping them out, but, trapping them in an avalanche of overturned compost from time to time. It was also a pleasant bonus that the ease of turning sped up the entire process remarkably.
I love that there are so many positive and well deserved comments about your video and that you respond to almost all of them. Really well done. Thanks
Ramziod I have been pleasantly surprised by the number and positive nature of comments that have been made on this channel. Everyone is so supportive and interested - including yourself - which is very cool! Thanks!
Great video. I've been "planning" to compost for about two months...watching videos and reading articles about best practices. I finally just decided to do it and piled up the scraps, cardboard, and old leaves I had saved up to see what happens. Your video makes me feel better about just giving it a shot.
I like your sieve! And your advice is always sound. I also really appreciate how you stick to the topic and don't repeat yourself. Excellent presentation.
Brown gold! You absolutely nailed it on the temperature of the pile, it must get above 60 Celsius or you will end up propagating weeds along with your desired flora. Perfect video for those who have their doubts about what you can and can't do. But I do prefer to quickly sift out ANYTHING that looks like plastic or such if I can. I think we are already ingesting enough of that without even knowing it.
Algorithms also is how I ended up here, at first I thought it was just a guy rambling on... after watching 4 videos I am beginning to see that he has got a lot of interesting thoughts and answers some of questions regarding composting that can never be found on the net. I appreciate you going thru your thought processes and then solving current problems. Keep up the good work!
As I watch this video, I am noticing that all the rules you say you don't follow are actually being followed, only with more work involved. i have a small compost so I will still follow the rules but I do think your idea of community compost is great and the 'no rules' approach definitely helps to keep others involved.
Hmm... I guess the main part of the name was to avoid the strict rules of what can be put in the compost, rather than how to manage it. All of my neighbours still call it the No-Rules compost and treat it as such.
Worked for a Japanese tea farmer in Hawaii and he had very specific methods to create compost and paid meticulous attention to temperature and moisture content of his piles. He also brewed various mixtures of effective microorganisms in order to inoculate it and speed up decomposition. It was as if they were his prized possessions. I admired his dedication to his piles and think maybe because his volcanic soil lacked a more complete profile of nutrients and that his tea was his livelihood I guess he felt he needed to do this. I did like that he collected materials from around the area to mulch or create compost.
Finally someone who realizes that a forest has everything your _not supposed to compost_ and yet seems to grow out of control if left to it's own devices. The way you put it is excellent. Will use it as a tool to show those around me who say otherwise.
It is strange that so many people have this understanding that cooked food and meat 'doesn't decompose' or does it in a way that is harmful to the soil.
You are one of the most level-headed, logical presenters on UA-cam, without the bells and whistles. Not often you find those willing to teach others, actually admit that they themselves are still learning and seeking better ways. Very refreshing indeed. Thanks for sharing...
Thank you for subverting expectation, usually a UA-camr BS's us on their full proof "composting" method, only to be let down after 10 minutes. This was amazingly informing
Thanks for sharing your successes and struggles. Its always refreshing to see others' adventures in composting. Just to share what has worked best for me..... First I bokashi all scraps in a industrial trash bag (they are tough and reusable) for 2 weeks (which goes into a sealable 35 gallon barrel) then dump the treated scraps on my cinder block worm bin (that is submerged 2 blocks in the ground for easy winterization). The lid is just plywood weighed down with stones. It's been the least labor intensive combination I have experienced so far, while still producing high quality red wiggler castings and using all potential compostable scraps. In winter, I just add more food to generate some compost heat, as well as line the bin with straw bales for insulation. Only have to check on the worms every 2-3 weeks, instead of every week. When I have had a surplus of scraps, I recently built a similar sized bin to yours, and added a solar panel-powered fan that blows into a manifold underneath the bin. This forced aeration method that we used at a previous farm reduces turning to 1-2 times in 2 months (just to bring outer materials inward). I made a bike-based business of this compost pickup and processing, and so was forced to think in terms of reducing labor and being more effective and efficient. Still looking for better ways to tweak it, but after trying lots of methods over my 10 years of farming, this is my favorite. Peace.
I'm a compost engineer. I've worked e.g. with the industrial compost installation of the Brussels Capital Region. And where I live I take care our local compost corner with 2 lines of 3 bins x 1m3. That's big enough to deal with everything for the 30 families or so that use the compost corne and not to care too much what we throw in. We get a lot of wood chips from the people that work the communal park. We throw that on top so there's not a cloud of little flies when you open the compost lid. It's only in 1 bin composter that you have to take more care about not creating 1 layer that's completely sealing off between 2 other layers. Cheers :)
I think the algorithm is slowly trying to prepare me for the end of the world. I've been recommended videos on everything from water purification to making my own clothes.
i do the same composting. 3 years already, works just perfect. never thought about any rules or details, simple intuition. thank you for sharing this online, keep up simple and organic lifestyle!
Not to be condescending, nor infer I'm special; This guy is very very smart, practical and educated. On a composting binge-watch I have found this video the most useful. Thank you for your work and your sharing.
it is so very nice to hear some one who speaks well on the intellectual level.. i like how you got a set up that is many stages. my wife grows the best compost around. i admire the labor you give to growing yr own compost. it is the connection and love of the earth that truly makes it magic im subscribing . hope for more information. that ground will talk to you if you have the ear to listen, lol
I also break the rules and add 'everything'. For some years I was ignoring the "brown/green ratio"... when I *did* add volumes of layered green and brown I experienced HOT compost for the first time. Also the manual labour of physically turning helps stimulate the process ; more work, but better results.
I have found that by keeping an eye on the general proportions of green vs brown that goes in, the compost heats up eventually, given the volume. 'More work, but better results' seems to be the way to go for my context.
Really great video, came here to learn about composting in order to start my own own. Learned a lot more than I thought I would in little more than 8 minutes. Thank you for sharing your experiment and doing humanity a favor, taking us one step closer to a healthier planet!
wow what an amazing video you just got a sub. wish I had found your channel earlier. your style is perfect. all relevant information, concise and to the point. and delivered logically and understandable . if your not a teacher you should be.
My dad use to drive me nuts with his compost bin and all the rules he set for what could go in and what couldnt. Glad to see someone else that broke the rules with great results ;)
I'll begin with thanks for what you do; the world needs more of folk like you. I've been composting my whole adult life, but always at the household level. During my early years I spent a lot of time and energy mixing, turning and rebuilding piles -as if I was in a rush to get a finished product. With experienced I began to focus more on the fundamental purpose of a garden -and integrated compost- which is to produce food energy. It became evident to me that reducing energy input was important and that includes muscle energy. Now i build small piles, one at the time with a mix of what is available. And i leave it alone until it's ready to use. In Canada that's over a year. All that mixing was really not needed so long as the piles are small.
This was wonderfully informative! I hope to mimic the success here and grow food not only for my own use but also for donation purposes. Thank for posting this. It motivates me to try harder to succeed at farming.
Hi Bruce! I just discovered your channel and absolutely love it! I've composted just about everything over the years as well, including weeds, diseased plants, small dead animals, spent brewery grains, and fish waste from a sushi restaurant. I'm looking forward to more videos!
I also have been composting everything and anything for years. I love it, I love composting and I love the fact that we are trying to do something good for the environment while turning trash into treasure...My preferred method is the "3 bay system"..it works very well for me....
It's amazing how much philosophy goes into gardening. How many perspectives there are.. your's was interesting. I'm a big advocate of simplification, when it comes to garden methodology.
I agree with you, there is so much philosophy and possibilities of different perspectives in gardening. It is a fascinating world to explore and think about.
well, the body will decompose, but I might need to inform the authorities, who probably will dig it out and make a mess of my compost, so perhaps not ;-)
Only speaking from a theoretical perspective but suggest burning any animal based flesh before migrating into a compost heap. A good compost has worms not flies. The alkalinity of the ashes of a deceased corps will help accelerate the composte process. I suggest mixing in the ashes with fall leaves, grass clippings and lots of plant waste.
Turning the piles. Are the key. I compost thousands of cubic feet of woodchips and turn the piles once a week, and after every rain, keeping the piles evenly moist and well oxygenated. What woukd normally take years to break down in a forest setting is done in a few months producing rich balanced ph soil. I normally add some high nitrogen fertilizer to start the pile cooking then turn in new stuff to old and separate out the stuff that is well broken down into a finished pile which I draw from to add into or extend my gardens. My piles are large enough where a bucket loader is needed to turn them and are currently at about 30,000 cubic feet +or -. They do not smell and heat up to the point that if you plunge your hand into it you will get burned. I used to sift it but now I'm just adding it from the finish pile directly into the garden and letting it separate naturally leaving a coarse sticks and chip top layer that acts as a weed block while the under layer is finer soil that can be planted in. So far, so good.
@@Tom-qx5nl Do you have to protect the compost from the rain ? Is it a problem if compost is exposed to heavy raining ? I'm leaving in a tropic country and the rain can be very heavy !
I've been composting for a year now. i just put in what i got at the time (dry leaves from around my house and at the park, grass clipping from my weekly mowing, kitchen scrap that my wife ask me to throw in the compost bin which includes fish bones, used tea begs, goat manure when i visit my parents once in a while since they have goats). i dont use the 3:1 rule of brown to green or whatever it is and i also dont care about whether my bin becomes aerobic or anaerobic. i water the compost bin when i feel like doing and i also dont turn it. in the end.....it still becomes compost. i have a lot of other things to think about so i dont have time making compost as if it was rocket science.
I really enjoyed your video. You seem genuine and are also efficient and straightforward in the way you speak. In the Netherlands, every food item and yard waste item goes into the compost bin. The city collects it every week. They only collect the trash bin once a month.
Thanks for the comment and useful feedback! Ireland still has a long way to go with the collection of organic wastes, but it seems we are getting there ...
I appreciate this! I have long been an advocate of the "no rules" method. Twenty five years ago I adopted E.f. Shumacher's compost axiom: "If it has lived and died, it can go in the compost" and I send everything there. Some things take awhile (cotton or wool clothes need to go through twice) and I also have never had a problem with weed seeds. I don't know where the purist "no meat, no milk, no bread" thing came from because rodents will eat pretty well anything and leaving those things in the regular garbage makes it stink. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to make videos, I like your style.
I had a compost heap purposely to attract rats so my cat had something to hunt and leave the birds alone...happy cats bring home the rats...i would pile them on the front lawn
Your composting methods are exactly the same as mine. I've got down to a three year cycle and I turn every month. I now have worms throughout the cycle and they do a lot of the work.
Yes. I use poisons as soon as I am aware of rats. Traps are ok but you can only catch one at a time. You really need to purge rats. Put as much poison down as you can and replace daily until they stop taking it. This builds up the poison levels in the rats before they get wise to it (they are very smart) and they will also poison any young they are suckling. Those idiot pest control people who put a few bait stations down and check them after a week are wasting your money. You need to be ruthless and cruel and get the rats to consume as much poison as they will eat in as short a time as possible. Once they have stopped taking the bait, get a different type of bait and put that down to catch the wise rats and the young who, now orphaned, will come out to find food. I usually have to do this once or twice a year at a cost of around £30 a purge.
I have shied away from poison, so far, more to avoid potential damage the other wildlife (raptors, foxes, hedgehogs, etc.). But I do recognise its usefulness - and have been tempted at times. But this means that i have to take matters more directly into my own hands - I dig out the nests and kill them, either with the help of a dog or by myself.
I really enjoyed your detailed, scientific approach and explanation of the process! It has given me a few ideas on how I want to build my system up. Thanks!
Mine has attracted several goblins since I started the compost heap last summer. I've found that a protective border of barbed wire helps to deter the occasional curious goblin, but I've caught a small group of 3 that were smart enough to climb over with a pelt to protect themselves from the barbs. In this case lobbing stones at them and yelling profanities from my porch has scared them off and I haven't seen them back as of yet. Best of luck starting your own, hope this helps
This was a very informative video. Looks fairly labor intensive with all the turning. Do any of your neighbors who contribute to the pile help with the turning and moving of the compost??
Been watching your videos for past couple years I definitely enjoy them. Good content and done well! Im just now taking starting to compost at a bigger scale totally helpful video! Cheers from Southern California
Very interesting and well delivered video. I have been composting for 20+ yrs and have recently given up some of the rules as well. The big one was bones this year. I started adding chicken bones to my composting process, and for the first time in all theses years, I have found Cockroaches in my compost. NO BUENO. So I will stop doing that. Chicken manure, cooked food, small amount of oil have not been a problem for me. Weeds have never been a problem and I don't have particularly hot compost. I compost in large hard plastic bins (the initial stage of composting) that are essentially rat proof and I have never had a rat problem using them. I do bury all juicy kitchen scraps in carbon (tree trimmings, shredded paper, etc.). My main compost piles are on the side of my house, next to my chicken coop, so rats are NO BUENO either. You don't discuss particle size in your video which also affects the composting process tremendously. I mix my piles with a metal fence post every week or so. The side of the bin makes a nice leverage point to help me. I turn my compost every 4 months. I have a two pile system. My larger 90 gallon bin collects new material, after 4 months it is dumped into a smaller plastic container (about 64 gallons), after 4 months, that is pretty much done and distributed to the garden. I have a total of 3, 2 bin systems in my yard. One of my 2 bin systems is used to compost dog waste. That compost will only go on ornamentals. I locate my bin systems close to where they will collect most of the material going in it. I pick up bags of leaves being left for garbage pick up in the neighborhood to get extra carbon. Shredding leaves is a hassle but leaving them whole takes too long to break down IMO. Any way, there are many ways to compost, but one must keep in mind that bad things can and do happen. Bad compost can kill people, especially children. I read one of the worst e-coli outbreaks in Europe was traced back to an organic farm in Germany. I'll bet it had to do with improper composting of manure.
Thanks for sharing the details of your system. Having the compost piles so close to your house definitely adds a concern about rats. My main compost pile is about 100m (100 yards) away form the nearest house, so allows for more tolerance to rats. I didn't discuss ands don't worry about particle size, mainly as about 15-20 houses add to the compost. When I am adding material from the gardens, I do chop up any longer/tougher stalks etc,. but that is only to make it easier to turn.
I have a suggestion - make bone broth out of your bones first, then they will crumble up like moist soil and can be composted or fed to animals like dogs and cats or pigs :). I crumple them by hand roughly, and blend them with my kitchen scraps for the worm bin. No smell, no bugs, and the minerals get back into the soil. Also, you get to eat a superfood for free.
Bones don't really decompose in compost. This is why we find skeletons that are hundreds of years old. You need to burn them, powder them or boil them in water.
Absolutely. They do the composting. They eat anything and turn it into eggs or shit. I keep a dozen hens in a 12 x 20 coop. Every year they turn 5 cubic yards of wood chips, 25 bags of layer pellets and all the kitchen scraps from three households into 3,000 eggs and about five yards of fine compost.
The black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) do break stuff down and create food for chickens, but they also reduce the mass of what they compost by maybe 90% or 95%. If creating compost is your main goal, BSFL is not the way to go. On the other hand, if your main goal is raising chickens, BSFL are awesome.
I also like chickens because they'll eat anything. I don't mean just food, I mean little flecks of plastic, glass, etc. I've seen photos of a guy that cuts open the crops of all his chickens after he culls them. He's found small-caliber bullets, quartz, staples, little chunks of plastic, just all manner of junk. All those little flecks of crap that pollute the top-soil but are too tedious to efficiently gather, or otherwise have to be sifted out mechanically by intensive means. That may sound like an 'inhumane bonus' to some, but, consider the amount of trash that chickens are capable of picking up, and will pick up whether you'd like them to or not, that if properly isolated and disposed of afterward, they're leaving a cleaner, healthier environment for everything that comes later. Think of it as a small sacrifice they make during their short lives, if you must.
Awesome video thanks. We have tried composting all kinds of things over the years and pretty much thrown out the rule book too. I find that keeping the compost at a certain moisture level is easier to monitor. If for instance there has been a lot of rain, more leaves and grass goes in to dry it out. If too dry, at more scraps etc.
I agree with you completely. You also learn a lot when you ignore the rules and see what happens. Half the time you get an expected result, but you quickly realize that the suggestions people make are incredibly context specific and people don't realize it.
What do you think about the possible contamination of organic soil from heavy metals, glue, and other random chemicals used in newspapers and cardboard?
Plant Sugar Good question. The research that I have done indicates that the vast majority of packaging is fine - here in the EU at least. Though, glossy magazines and metallic inks are apparently still a potential problem. Generally, I am not concerned. There is such a huge volume of other 'clean' material going into the compost that any problematic material would be very small proportion. In addition, the compost at the end is spread over such a huge area that any contamination wouldn't really get to a level of concentration to be worried about.
Great answer thanks. I also found some resources. I will post them here for later reference: attra.ncat.org/calendar/question.php/can-i-use-cardboard-and-newspaper-as-mulch-on-my-organic-farm www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/5%20Mulches%20incl%20biodegradable%20FINAL%20RGK%20V2.pdf
I expected to watch a typical video about composting with all the playful intros and music and stuff. Instead I was introduced to "If Julian Assange had a long lost twin brother who has the Dalai Lama on Speed Dial, and loves to garden." ... *Subscribes*
Shout out to the youtube algorithm for dragging me into a video about composting.
i might just try it out. Thanks, UA-cam!
That algorithm does the strangest things!
Jacob Hood I was brought here by recommended as well and the only gardening video I’ve watch was how to grow an avocado
Thank you for a common sense compost tips, and will be my approach also. I fairly certain that mother nature didn't discriminate about what should be included that resulted in SOIL. And knowing that many utopian viewers will get aneurisms about your approach makes it all the more enjoyable.
the video about *communist* composting
"I made a conscious decision to be open to the possibility of failure" nailed!
I have tried to do that so many times and failed to fail properly anyway XD
His explanation for why he doesn't like rules makes so much sense not just in composting but in other areas of life. Good video
Simple, clean, no filler, straight to the point. You’ve earned my subscription and like
:)
This video is absolutely incredible the language and explanation you give is exceptional. Your method is nothing short of outstanding.
Wow, thank you!
Telling it like it is. World needs more videos like this in every field.
i just enjoyed that he is well spoken and did not say um once. this guy knows his stuff
um ... thanks ;-)
8:39
Ammar Napata lmaooo
6:39 but I get your point :)
Loki Westlind As others have noted, you’re wrong. 3:02
"I made a conscious decision to be open to failure." Totally my type of gardener. 😊
Darn, I'd hoped there would be some helpful tips on turning. Grunt work, no getting around it.
try looking up the videos on passive aeration using pvc pipes with holes drilled along their length
Rule #1: Be comfortable with the risk of failure. Well, said my friend.
I came for a video about composting, and 30 seconds in, I am feeling like this guy needs to give a TED talk. I like the perspective he has on rules
I absolutely agree
TED talks aren't what they used to be. Lots of woke, left-wing narratives now. Not as much technology, education, and design.
I totally agree, because I share the same perspective towards both rules and failiures. As long as I learn something I don't really care if I fail or have succes.
Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly what I told my readers in my book Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting. You are my brother from a different mother. It all rots - throw it on the ground! I'm going to link this video on my site. Thank you.
Ah, excellent! Extreme Composting - I like it!
Obviously, plastic doesn't rot. I was using hyperbole. Lead doesn't rot either. But organic material does and a lot of it is getting thrown away needlessly. Plastics are a big problem and you're right to point them out as an issue, but most of them can be picked out of the compost later if they inadvertently get into it.
I collect plastic to turn into diesel fuel. It is like a commodity to me.
cleatrampler, How do you store the plastic? And how would you turn it into diesel fuel at home?
David The Good
*Clicks a video about compost*
Gets philosophical ponderings of life 👍🏻
:)
You have been the best tutor on Organic Compost I have ever seen, because you do not waste time on all the technicality that other people do. Also, your method seem to be more in line with nature - when composting happens in nature, in the forest, etc, there is no selection of what can and what can not be composted, there everything goes: leaves, wood, dead animals, etc, etc. It also reduces the amount of effort one needs put into managing the system. Outstanding!! Thank you!!
Ah, thanks so much for the lovely feedback. Makes it all worth while!
Years ago, I lived in a townhouse but still wanted to have a compost pile to amend my flower gardens. I took the lazy gal's approach - I dumped kitchen and yard scraps behind my tool shed, added a bit of soil from what was nearby, and left it. That turned out to be a VERY nice little batch of soil - one that I used to plant container veggies. Thanks so much for sharing your own experiences with this.
Sometimes a simple method, and a bit of time can produce great results.
The way he communicates makes me ponder the questions of life.
I use my chickens as the front line on kitchen scraps.old plants and weeds I think I have broken every rule on feeding them.They eat what they want and discard the rest and they do a great job mixing it. Every 2 weeks I clean out the run and put the waste in the compost pile.
The chickens are thriving and in eight years I have only lost one. our compost is good and plants are all happy.
The only rule I follow is no plastic and take great care ensuring it does not get in the chook run.
Our cats deal with rodents and sparrows.
Good luck with your composting it looks like you've developed a good system for yourself and your neighbours..
Using chickens as the first stage of the composting process seems to be a good option - nice to hear about your experience. I can't do it with the community composting system, partially due to the increased risk of plastic and other stuff getting mixed in. But I am currently planning to incorporate chickens into my Black Plot project.
@Jen farmer I burn my dead chickens before adding them to the compost pile. It helps keep away the raccoons and skunks... and fox are starting to move in too. The bone is still very good for the pile and ash contains lots of carbon. I don't know if its a net benefit for the compost but it helps keep my chickens alive. lol
For the last 35 years I have always said if it lived you can compost it it dosn't matter if its cooked or not dairy produces also compost they use milk as fertilizer in many contrys I have never had problems
so I would say you are on the right track
Thanks Richard. I am intrigued about the possibility of using sour milk or whey as a fertility source on soil. I have heard good things.
I like to add Yogurt into my compost from time to time. When I use it more frequently I have much better compost as a result, I just get lazy sometimes and do not do what I need to do. I can always tell when my garden does not do well that I need to add more yogurt to my compost. I use an old plastic cookie or pastry dome, I fill old unwashed yogurt cup with coffee grounds (Like a mushroom inoculation) and seal them up to for a few days in a shady place. once the mold starts growing its ready to add to the compost. No bad smells ever with this.
Yogurt, that is interesting!
Just use the yogurt cup after eating the single size. The left over inside is plenty to start colonizing coffee grounds. Trees love it, dig a shallow hole (4"- 6" from trunk) and bury it and water.
This is the website I got the idea from: www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/FoodSci_p072.shtml#summary
Industrial concrete mixers are excellent for the initial stage of composting. I've converted two in the past, one removed from an old concrete truck that required a bit of fabricating to attach pulleys for turning. The other was a trailer unit that had the original generator still for turning. It helped a little with the rats, not so much keeping them out, but, trapping them in an avalanche of overturned compost from time to time. It was also a pleasant bonus that the ease of turning sped up the entire process remarkably.
F
Yeah, I can see how that kind of equipment would work.
The idea of rats being atracted into it then drowning and becoming part of the compost is so funny to me xD
Rats just add to the compost
My dad drove concrete trucks when I was a lad, and there was quite a boneyard of old mixers. That’s a great idea.
Anything that was recently ALIIIVE...
Oh, the possibilities..
Yep!
zach trensey r/cursedcomments
@@vlc-cosplayer So it's not really urgent, it's just kind of an inconvenience?
An M.I.L will definitely decompose.😉
@@dlighted8861 a Mother In-law?
Never expected something so philosophical in the beginning of a gardening video
Glad you liked my intro! Hope the rest of the video was as interest gin for you.
I love that there are so many positive and well deserved comments about your video and that you respond to almost all of them. Really well done. Thanks
Ramziod I have been pleasantly surprised by the number and positive nature of comments that have been made on this channel. Everyone is so supportive and interested - including yourself - which is very cool! Thanks!
Great video. I've been "planning" to compost for about two months...watching videos and reading articles about best practices. I finally just decided to do it and piled up the scraps, cardboard, and old leaves I had saved up to see what happens. Your video makes me feel better about just giving it a shot.
I like your sieve! And your advice is always sound. I also really appreciate how you stick to the topic and don't repeat yourself. Excellent presentation.
After watching just one, I realized I should go through everything he has uploaded. Excellent research and presentation.
Brown gold! You absolutely nailed it on the temperature of the pile, it must get above 60 Celsius or you will end up propagating weeds along with your desired flora. Perfect video for those who have their doubts about what you can and can't do. But I do prefer to quickly sift out ANYTHING that looks like plastic or such if I can. I think we are already ingesting enough of that without even knowing it.
This is gold. So many people have made something as simple as compost so complicated by applying their self made rules.
Thanks
Algorithms also is how I ended up here, at first I thought it was just a guy rambling on... after watching 4 videos I am beginning to see that he has got a lot of interesting thoughts and answers some of questions regarding composting that can never be found on the net. I appreciate you going thru your thought processes and then solving current problems. Keep up the good work!
As I watch this video, I am noticing that all the rules you say you don't follow are actually being followed, only with more work involved. i have a small compost so I will still follow the rules but I do think your idea of community compost is great and the 'no rules' approach definitely helps to keep others involved.
Hmm... I guess the main part of the name was to avoid the strict rules of what can be put in the compost, rather than how to manage it. All of my neighbours still call it the No-Rules compost and treat it as such.
When your local software engineer suddenly decides to get into farming ;)
Lol
Pretty much me at the present moment lol
When you get so burnt out from the screens you go and crave sunlight and plants
So I am not the only one :'D
Front-end here, its a nice break from programming & it stress
Worked for a Japanese tea farmer in Hawaii and he had very specific methods to create compost and paid meticulous attention to temperature and moisture content of his piles. He also brewed various mixtures of effective microorganisms in order to inoculate it and speed up decomposition. It was as if they were his prized possessions. I admired his dedication to his piles and think maybe because his volcanic soil lacked a more complete profile of nutrients and that his tea was his livelihood I guess he felt he needed to do this. I did like that he collected materials from around the area to mulch or create compost.
That sounds really interesting. I would love to explore the possibilities of compost in this way a lot more.
Thank you for working hard to benefit yourself and your neighbors. I hope they appreciate you.
:)
your compost looks super nice!
cool ...
Finally someone who realizes that a forest has everything your _not supposed to compost_ and yet seems to grow out of control if left to it's own devices. The way you put it is excellent. Will use it as a tool to show those around me who say otherwise.
It is strange that so many people have this understanding that cooked food and meat 'doesn't decompose' or does it in a way that is harmful to the soil.
You are one of the most level-headed, logical presenters on UA-cam, without the bells and whistles. Not often you find those willing to teach others, actually admit that they themselves are still learning and seeking better ways. Very refreshing indeed. Thanks for sharing...
Thank you for subverting expectation, usually a UA-camr BS's us on their full proof "composting" method, only to be let down after 10 minutes. This was amazingly informing
Excellent! Glad you appreciate the way I approach these things.
Extremely well articulated and explained. Thank you for sharing. Keep it up!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your successes and struggles. Its always refreshing to see others' adventures in composting.
Just to share what has worked best for me..... First I bokashi all scraps in a industrial trash bag (they are tough and reusable) for 2 weeks (which goes into a sealable 35 gallon barrel) then dump the treated scraps on my cinder block worm bin (that is submerged 2 blocks in the ground for easy winterization). The lid is just plywood weighed down with stones. It's been the least labor intensive combination I have experienced so far, while still producing high quality red wiggler castings and using all potential compostable scraps. In winter, I just add more food to generate some compost heat, as well as line the bin with straw bales for insulation. Only have to check on the worms every 2-3 weeks, instead of every week.
When I have had a surplus of scraps, I recently built a similar sized bin to yours, and added a solar panel-powered fan that blows into a manifold underneath the bin. This forced aeration method that we used at a previous farm reduces turning to 1-2 times in 2 months (just to bring outer materials inward). I made a bike-based business of this compost pickup and processing, and so was forced to think in terms of reducing labor and being more effective and efficient. Still looking for better ways to tweak it, but after trying lots of methods over my 10 years of farming, this is my favorite.
Peace.
Cool, thanks for sharing. Sounds like you have developed some really good composting systems.
I'm a compost engineer. I've worked e.g. with the industrial compost installation of the Brussels Capital Region. And where I live I take care our local compost corner with 2 lines of 3 bins x 1m3. That's big enough to deal with everything for the 30 families or so that use the compost corne and not to care too much what we throw in. We get a lot of wood chips from the people that work the communal park. We throw that on top so there's not a cloud of little flies when you open the compost lid.
It's only in 1 bin composter that you have to take more care about not creating 1 layer that's completely sealing off between 2 other layers.
Cheers :)
This is genius philosophy, not just a gardening video.
Wow, thanks!
I think the algorithm is slowly trying to prepare me for the end of the world. I've been recommended videos on everything from water purification to making my own clothes.
Better hurry and take notes and practice before the Internet goes down
Thanks Minecraft, that im interested in composting now :D
Lol
OMG SAME
I live in a city so I can't even do this if I wanted to, but I watched the whole thing, something about your voice was so calming
Always interesting that people watch my videos who don't garden!
i do the same composting. 3 years already, works just perfect. never thought about any rules or details, simple intuition. thank you for sharing this online, keep up simple and organic lifestyle!
Glad to hear others are finding easier ways to do it all.
Not to be condescending, nor infer I'm special; This guy is very very smart, practical and educated. On a composting binge-watch I have found this video the most useful. Thank you for your work and your sharing.
Thanks for that comment, and confirmation that I might be on the right track with a few things!
In my not-so-humble opinion I think you are. Continued postings please. Thank you sir.
Thanks!
Would LOVE another video on composting. Great stuff RED
If everyone was as good a person as you our planet would be even more beautiful!
😂 Anthropology of “rules” plus composting! Wonderful. Hilarious. Intelligent. Practical. I’m IN!!! 👍🏼 ***SUBSCRIBED***
I could never imagine to find the best video about composting. Your experiment is a true masterpiece!!
Thanks!
it is so very nice to hear some one who speaks well on the intellectual level.. i like how you got a set up that is many stages. my wife grows the best compost around. i admire the labor you give to growing yr own compost. it is the connection and love of the earth that truly makes it magic im subscribing . hope for more information. that ground will talk to you if you have the ear to listen, lol
I also break the rules and add 'everything'. For some years I was ignoring the "brown/green ratio"... when I *did* add volumes of layered green and brown I experienced HOT compost for the first time. Also the manual labour of physically turning helps stimulate the process ; more work, but better results.
I have found that by keeping an eye on the general proportions of green vs brown that goes in, the compost heats up eventually, given the volume. 'More work, but better results' seems to be the way to go for my context.
I have some easy rules.
Put in various stuff
Add some soil
Make sure moisture is good
Turn it as often as possible
This almost feels like reading through a thesis
What a lot of work. Thank you for the presentation. You give the vibe of a Canadian.
Really great video, came here to learn about composting in order to start my own own. Learned a lot more than I thought I would in little more than 8 minutes. Thank you for sharing your experiment and doing humanity a favor, taking us one step closer to a healthier planet!
Thanks! Glad you got a lot out of my video.
wow what an amazing video you just got a sub. wish I had found your channel earlier. your style is perfect.
all relevant information, concise and to the point. and delivered logically and understandable .
if your not a teacher you should be.
Woah, such a great comment to wake up to! Thanks. Made my day!
This video deserves more views, likes and to be shared a WHOLE lot more!
Glad you think so! I agree! Thanks ...
UA-cam algorithm: you haven't seen a single composting video, but here you go.
Lol
You didn’t have to click... what does UA-cam learn from this? If advertised to you’ll click on it...
Same here, but my weed plants are going to love the compost from the pile I started today!
My dad use to drive me nuts with his compost bin and all the rules he set for what could go in and what couldnt. Glad to see someone else that broke the rules with great results ;)
Some people are like that, chichis one of the reasons I wanted to make the video, to show that other approaches can work.
I'll begin with thanks for what you do; the world needs more of folk like you. I've been composting my whole adult life, but always at the household level. During my early years I spent a lot of time and energy mixing, turning and rebuilding piles -as if I was in a rush to get a finished product. With experienced I began to focus more on the fundamental purpose of a garden -and integrated compost- which is to produce food energy. It became evident to me that reducing energy input was important and that includes muscle energy. Now i build small piles, one at the time with a mix of what is available. And i leave it alone until it's ready to use. In Canada that's over a year. All that mixing was really not needed so long as the piles are small.
Thanks UA-cam, I thoroughly enjoyed this video
This was wonderfully informative! I hope to mimic the success here and grow food not only for my own use but also for donation purposes. Thank for posting this. It motivates me to try harder to succeed at farming.
Glad I could help motivate you to grow food!
Hi Bruce! I just discovered your channel and absolutely love it! I've composted just about everything over the years as well, including weeds, diseased plants, small dead animals, spent brewery grains, and fish waste from a sushi restaurant. I'm looking forward to more videos!
Apologies for the delay in getting back to you, but glad to hear you have had success with the 'everything in' approach. Thanks for your comments!
I also have been composting everything and anything for years. I love it, I love composting and I love the fact that we are trying to do something good for the environment while turning trash into treasure...My preferred method is the "3 bay system"..it works very well for me....
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening how do you compost weeds?
Same here I put everything in my bin .. I don't have problem composting
It's amazing how much philosophy goes into gardening. How many perspectives there are.. your's was interesting. I'm a big advocate of simplification, when it comes to garden methodology.
I agree with you, there is so much philosophy and possibilities of different perspectives in gardening. It is a fascinating world to explore and think about.
Im so glad i searched for this video. Your intro is well spoken and *so applicable to much more than gardening*
hey man, i got a body in my trunk, can i put it on the compost ?
he was recently alive, so no problem eh ?
well, the body will decompose, but I might need to inform the authorities, who probably will dig it out and make a mess of my compost, so perhaps not ;-)
perfectly fine
@Appalachian Fire WITCH God, you guys.
no rules
Only speaking from a theoretical perspective but suggest burning any animal based flesh before migrating into a compost heap. A good compost has worms not flies. The alkalinity of the ashes of a deceased corps will help accelerate the composte process. I suggest mixing in the ashes with fall leaves, grass clippings and lots of plant waste.
I agree. Frequent turning is key:)
So that is the key? Whatever you compost if you're turning it once a week, for instance, it'll be Ok? Even for cat shit or So on?
Sounds like a rule
Turning the piles. Are the key. I compost thousands of cubic feet of woodchips and turn the piles once a week, and after every rain, keeping the piles evenly moist and well oxygenated. What woukd normally take years to break down in a forest setting is done in a few months producing rich balanced ph soil. I normally add some high nitrogen fertilizer to start the pile cooking then turn in new stuff to old and separate out the stuff that is well broken down into a finished pile which I draw from to add into or extend my gardens. My piles are large enough where a bucket loader is needed to turn them and are currently at about 30,000 cubic feet +or -. They do not smell and heat up to the point that if you plunge your hand into it you will get burned. I used to sift it but now I'm just adding it from the finish pile directly into the garden and letting it separate naturally leaving a coarse sticks and chip top layer that acts as a weed block while the under layer is finer soil that can be planted in. So far, so good.
@@Tom-qx5nl Do you have to protect the compost from the rain ? Is it a problem if compost is exposed to heavy raining ? I'm leaving in a tropic country and the rain can be very heavy !
Awesome, Awesome video,Thank you for sharing your experience. Good stufff
Scientific Method at its finest. Learn practically. Love it man.
Thanks. Glad you appreciate my approach!
Best compost system video on UA-cam right now 🤟🏼👍
:)
sir i would just like to say that was a vary informational vidio and i appretiate all u had to say
I have already compost my mother in law.
I've been composting for a year now. i just put in what i got at the time (dry leaves from around my house and at the park, grass clipping from my weekly mowing, kitchen scrap that my wife ask me to throw in the compost bin which includes fish bones, used tea begs, goat manure when i visit my parents once in a while since they have goats). i dont use the 3:1 rule of brown to green or whatever it is and i also dont care about whether my bin becomes aerobic or anaerobic. i water the compost bin when i feel like doing and i also dont turn it. in the end.....it still becomes compost. i have a lot of other things to think about so i dont have time making compost as if it was rocket science.
Does your bin attract a lot of flies?
Am I the only one that noticed the flash picture of dead rats at 5:06?
Not many people seem to have noticed that.
And mice, dead rats and mice, they both deserve death equally, but I do suppose they make for exquisite play toys for my cats and dogs
good catch considering its in the video for only 2 frames
I noticed the weird frame, so slowed playback, you are right. Didn’t notice that it was rats at first tho
Good eyes.
I saw the flash not the rats.
I am sure he only tossed them in the compost.😉
I really enjoyed your video. You seem genuine and are also efficient and straightforward in the way you speak. In the Netherlands, every food item and yard waste item goes into the compost bin. The city collects it every week. They only collect the trash bin once a month.
Thanks for the comment and useful feedback!
Ireland still has a long way to go with the collection of organic wastes, but it seems we are getting there ...
I forgot to mention, we can also add kitty litter, if it is the wood shaving kind.
I appreciate this! I have long been an advocate of the "no rules" method. Twenty five years ago I adopted E.f. Shumacher's compost axiom: "If it has lived and died, it can go in the compost" and I send everything there. Some things take awhile (cotton or wool clothes need to go through twice) and I also have never had a problem with weed seeds. I don't know where the purist "no meat, no milk, no bread" thing came from because rodents will eat pretty well anything and leaving those things in the regular garbage makes it stink. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to make videos, I like your style.
Thanks. I like that axiom!
Yep. That looks about right I'd think
that man is very smart i can tell.
Interested to see future rat culling video.
Hope to do that video in a few months.
very much looking forward to the discussion on rats
Do they go in the compost pile too? :)
Yes ... satisfies the 'recently alive' criteria.
the suspense....
this is waaayyy more interesting than i expected
I didnt care about garden things, but thanks to you and youtube I now am interested
Cool, welcome to the club!
I had a compost heap purposely to attract rats so my cat had something to hunt and leave the birds alone...happy cats bring home the rats...i would pile them on the front lawn
That is a really good idea!
@@REDGardens ha, would dead rats be good to add to a compost bin?
@@gemstonegynoid7475 Yep.
@@gemstonegynoid7475 surprisingly, a dead rat was one of the all-time-most-favourite-thing for my red wiggler composting worms!
Your composting methods are exactly the same as mine. I've got down to a three year cycle and I turn every month. I now have worms throughout the cycle and they do a lot of the work.
Very interesting tho hear that others have developed similar methods. Do you have an issue with rats in your area?
Yes. I use poisons as soon as I am aware of rats. Traps are ok but you can only catch one at a time. You really need to purge rats. Put as much poison down as you can and replace daily until they stop taking it. This builds up the poison levels in the rats before they get wise to it (they are very smart) and they will also poison any young they are suckling. Those idiot pest control people who put a few bait stations down and check them after a week are wasting your money. You need to be ruthless and cruel and get the rats to consume as much poison as they will eat in as short a time as possible. Once they have stopped taking the bait, get a different type of bait and put that down to catch the wise rats and the young who, now orphaned, will come out to find food.
I usually have to do this once or twice a year at a cost of around £30 a purge.
I have shied away from poison, so far, more to avoid potential damage the other wildlife (raptors, foxes, hedgehogs, etc.). But I do recognise its usefulness - and have been tempted at times. But this means that i have to take matters more directly into my own hands - I dig out the nests and kill them, either with the help of a dog or by myself.
Whichever method works best but rats will always come back, no matter what you do.
Yes, it is a continual task.
this is great. i have revolving composter, i already put fruit peel in. I will start adding some bones too
Good to see this video hit over a million views. I hope it bring lots of new people to follow the channel
have posted this on several garden forums and such, great video, excellent experiment and my thanks for you doing it.
Who's looking this up during or after the coronavirus.
when you said you had a system to deal with rats that was effective but brutal, I immediately thought of cats
Cats would be good - they are effective and brutal. But as I don't have cats around, I have to do the job.
Love this!
I was not expecting such a pleasant orator. Oh and I am glad to finally have these questions answered.
Glad you like my videos!
I really enjoyed your detailed, scientific approach and explanation of the process! It has given me a few ideas on how I want to build my system up. Thanks!
Glad you found it helpful. Good luck with your own explorations.
would the heap attract goblins?
May see gnomes in the distance peering from behind trees
Souka
Maybe Wombles.
Mine has attracted several goblins since I started the compost heap last summer.
I've found that a protective border of barbed wire helps to deter the occasional curious goblin, but I've caught a small group of 3 that were smart enough to climb over with a pelt to protect themselves from the barbs. In this case lobbing stones at them and yelling profanities from my porch has scared them off and I haven't seen them back as of yet.
Best of luck starting your own, hope this helps
Absolutely. When they come 'round you can invite them inside for tea.
This was a very informative video. Looks fairly labor intensive with all the turning. Do any of your neighbors who contribute to the pile help with the turning and moving of the compost??
Love it
Glorious decay!!!!! Nurgle favours you!!!!!!
Been watching your videos for past couple years I definitely enjoy them. Good content and done well! Im just now taking starting to compost at a bigger scale totally helpful video! Cheers from Southern California
Very interesting and well delivered video. I have been composting for 20+ yrs and have recently given up some of the rules as well. The big one was bones this year. I started adding chicken bones to my composting process, and for the first time in all theses years, I have found Cockroaches in my compost. NO BUENO. So I will stop doing that. Chicken manure, cooked food, small amount of oil have not been a problem for me. Weeds have never been a problem and I don't have particularly hot compost. I compost in large hard plastic bins (the initial stage of composting) that are essentially rat proof and I have never had a rat problem using them. I do bury all juicy kitchen scraps in carbon (tree trimmings, shredded paper, etc.). My main compost piles are on the side of my house, next to my chicken coop, so rats are NO BUENO either. You don't discuss particle size in your video which also affects the composting process tremendously. I mix my piles with a metal fence post every week or so. The side of the bin makes a nice leverage point to help me. I turn my compost every 4 months. I have a two pile system. My larger 90 gallon bin collects new material, after 4 months it is dumped into a smaller plastic container (about 64 gallons), after 4 months, that is pretty much done and distributed to the garden. I have a total of 3, 2 bin systems in my yard. One of my 2 bin systems is used to compost dog waste. That compost will only go on ornamentals. I locate my bin systems close to where they will collect most of the material going in it. I pick up bags of leaves being left for garbage pick up in the neighborhood to get extra carbon. Shredding leaves is a hassle but leaving them whole takes too long to break down IMO. Any way, there are many ways to compost, but one must keep in mind that bad things can and do happen. Bad compost can kill people, especially children. I read one of the worst e-coli outbreaks in Europe was traced back to an organic farm in Germany. I'll bet it had to do with improper composting of manure.
Thanks for sharing the details of your system. Having the compost piles so close to your house definitely adds a concern about rats. My main compost pile is about 100m (100 yards) away form the nearest house, so allows for more tolerance to rats.
I didn't discuss ands don't worry about particle size, mainly as about 15-20 houses add to the compost. When I am adding material from the gardens, I do chop up any longer/tougher stalks etc,. but that is only to make it easier to turn.
bones are full of minerals and should be used
I have a suggestion - make bone broth out of your bones first, then they will crumble up like moist soil and can be composted or fed to animals like dogs and cats or pigs :). I crumple them by hand roughly, and blend them with my kitchen scraps for the worm bin. No smell, no bugs, and the minerals get back into the soil. Also, you get to eat a superfood for free.
Bones don't really decompose in compost. This is why we find skeletons that are hundreds of years old. You need to burn them, powder them or boil them in water.
what's wrong with cockroaches in the compost? Aren't they beneficial like worms? or are you worried about a plague getting back in your house?
Rats visiting my garden end up being a part of the compost...;-)
you need chickens. if you get a larger breed they can add to your turning.
Absolutely. They do the composting. They eat anything and turn it into eggs or shit. I keep a dozen hens in a 12 x 20 coop. Every year they turn 5 cubic yards of wood chips, 25 bags of layer pellets and all the kitchen scraps from three households into 3,000 eggs and about five yards of fine compost.
The black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) do break stuff down and create food for chickens, but they also reduce the mass of what they compost by maybe 90% or 95%. If creating compost is your main goal, BSFL is not the way to go.
On the other hand, if your main goal is raising chickens, BSFL are awesome.
I also like chickens because they'll eat anything. I don't mean just food, I mean little flecks of plastic, glass, etc. I've seen photos of a guy that cuts open the crops of all his chickens after he culls them. He's found small-caliber bullets, quartz, staples, little chunks of plastic, just all manner of junk. All those little flecks of crap that pollute the top-soil but are too tedious to efficiently gather, or otherwise have to be sifted out mechanically by intensive means.
That may sound like an 'inhumane bonus' to some, but, consider the amount of trash that chickens are capable of picking up, and will pick up whether you'd like them to or not, that if properly isolated and disposed of afterward, they're leaving a cleaner, healthier environment for everything that comes later. Think of it as a small sacrifice they make during their short lives, if you must.
Chickens also will eat most of what could be composted...
+Matt Hunter; and then poop it back out as hi-nitro guano or free eggs.
Awesome video thanks.
We have tried composting all kinds of things over the years and pretty much thrown out the rule book too. I find that keeping the compost at a certain moisture level is easier to monitor. If for instance there has been a lot of rain, more leaves and grass goes in to dry it out. If too dry, at more scraps etc.
I agree with you completely. You also learn a lot when you ignore the rules and see what happens. Half the time you get an expected result, but you quickly realize that the suggestions people make are incredibly context specific and people don't realize it.
Exactly! i am finding that so much of what I learn from others is incredibly context specific, and it is so important to figure that out.
What do you think about the possible contamination of organic soil from heavy metals, glue, and other random chemicals used in newspapers and cardboard?
Plant Sugar Good question. The research that I have done indicates that the vast majority of packaging is fine - here in the EU at least. Though, glossy magazines and metallic inks are apparently still a potential problem. Generally, I am not concerned. There is such a huge volume of other 'clean' material going into the compost that any problematic material would be very small proportion. In addition, the compost at the end is spread over such a huge area that any contamination wouldn't really get to a level of concentration to be worried about.
Great answer thanks. I also found some resources. I will post them here for later reference:
attra.ncat.org/calendar/question.php/can-i-use-cardboard-and-newspaper-as-mulch-on-my-organic-farm
www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/5%20Mulches%20incl%20biodegradable%20FINAL%20RGK%20V2.pdf
a good point I believe here
I expected to watch a typical video about composting with all the playful intros and music and stuff. Instead I was introduced to "If Julian Assange had a long lost twin brother who has the Dalai Lama on Speed Dial, and loves to garden."
...
*Subscribes*