For those of you new to composting this is one of the best videos I've seen that does not waste a lot of your time watching it. He covers the important things like C and N ratios and pile size, moistening the pile but not drenching it. Blending up vegatable/fruit waste is a great way to make it much more consumable by the worms but not required. He doesn't mention worms but the worms will come up into that pile in the middle of January because it is warm and they will help break it down and put worm castings throughout the pile. It really is black gold. Great Video sir and you did it in 6 minutes.
@@chiefearthhealer8099 I've watched a bunch of videos on composting lately and they all said not to do it because it may attract pests and also smell badly. I've seen people bury meat products in the yard, but they said you have to bury it deep so as not be found by animals. I wouldn't put meat in the compost pile, to keep it tidy :)
Bianca you can compost meat. I’ve been watching others do it. You need to order black soldier fly larvae and they’ll eat whatever including meat and leave a grass. Then you can feed a fat larvae to your chickens. I think it’d be worthwhile ordering some in April say and raise them and let them turn into wasp like bugs to then lay eggs so you’ll have tons of frass and broken down material the rest of the year.
make some happy little dirt right there. lol. love that BOB ROSS .. good quick video for composting - just what I needed today.. its not so complicated to do. thank you.
Nice work. For egg shells, collect them in a small pail in the kitchen. When the pail is full, place the egg shells on a cookie sheet in the oven and dry them at medium temperature for a few hours or whatever is needed. Then use a grinder, such as a Magic Bullet to pulverize the shells into a powder. 👍
Compost Bin = 8 straw bails, stacked two high square, 30 minutes, $24 ....perfect decomposing compost bin. Insulation on sides,aerating in the corners,easy to move 👍
Thank You For This Video of Knowledge of letting us know what u do.. I live Up In New England States (Maine) so this is my 1st winter with my 3 Bay Compost System.. u gave me positive energy to know it can be done and what to expect, THANKS!! -Josh A. Cyr (From Maine)
I collect my kitchen scraps throughout the week in a gallon size ziploc bag in the freezer (chopping things up as I put them in) then blend everything up and add to the compost on the weekend, or if I don't get to it right away, it's not stinking up my kitchen for another week. I have noticed frozen kitchen scraps blend up a lot easier than fresh ones!
I made one using 11 plastic pallets I got from my local hardware store. They are full sized, but the "light weight" one's that are not returnable. That gave me 5 bins to move the compost from one to the next. I also had some 3x4 foot expands metal frames I found to put on the front to keep all the compost in and to let air in. Been working great, and they will never rot out. I also put a piece of tarp over the top to let me set the moisture content in them.
This is literally what we have in my backyard. I just used it to top off a 16'x4', 4" deep, raised Hugelkultur bed. Amazing. I only had to use 2-3" of organic raised bed soil as a topper for direct sow seeds. Cheapest garden I've ever made. We just kept a repurposed ice cream bucket next to where I prepare food, and all the scraps, leaves and anything that used to be alive, i.e. dryer lint, etc. and the kids take it out every morning and cover the scraps with leaves. Once a week we spray it with water if it;s not the rainy season and then pitchfork it after a while before turning it into the 2nd stage bin. I wish I had more grass around me(Florida) I would get it from the neighbors if I could.
Thank you for sharing the process, I was specifically looking for an update of how it changes visually. This will really help me figure out when my pile is close to being complete.
Thanks for the information. Good compost must have four things. 1) carbon C - brown leaves 2) Nitrogen N- green leaves 3) Oxygen O - constant turning every 2 or 3 days 4). Water H2O , water is very essential for good composing.
One my challenges is keeping it properly moist. I am lazy... totally lazy. Got lots of other things going on... we are at a 70% unemployment here and I opened a food pantry in my business. Moist like a sponge, keep the tree roots out, when it cools down add grass clippings to fire it up again.
Bocachi is faster: translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fbocashi.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F05%2Fcinco-formas-de-preparar-abonos-organicos-fermentados-bocashi-jairo-restrepo%2F&sandbox=1 translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fmorralcampesino.wordpress.com%2F2013%2F10%2F27%2Fpanes-de-piedra%2F
Another great way to break down your kitchen waste is to freeze them. Either in a Heavy Duty Freezer Zip Lock OR I use Snap Lid Food Storage Containers. Freezing Explodes all the Water Bearing Food and it then breaks down Super Fast. In my Verma-composting Beds I feed this to my Red Wiggler Composting Worms in the Spring, Summer and Fall. Super Easy to keep your veggies scraps and paper towels layered in. (No fats or grease) Anyway, Happy Composting and don’t forget your shredded paper too. DannyB from The Urban Worm
I was looking for a few videos to refresh my memory on compost making and found yours. A pretty solid guide in a little more than 5 minute that cover everything. Nice!
very nice system, mine is similar and very effective. I add old straw and a dose or 2 of wood ash and some shredded paper and cardboard. I also add fresh dug earthworms
I have finished compost in 2 wks but you have to turn it every 3rd day adding a mist of water as needed. Like he said get all of the materials at one time . Do not add anything else later just turn it in 2 wks you will have finished compost. I have six bins. Turn the 1st bin into 2 nd then into 3rd and so on when you get to last bin it will be finished. After I turn the 1st bin into the 2nd I will start new compost in the 1st. It will take several tries to fill the last bin. I try to have compost going all the time as I use a lot. I also like to add worms in the last bin.
Sounds like you have a great system! There is hope for the lazy though as slow-compost can create higher levels of nutritional density. Happy composting!
Would love to do this in the community garden but it’s hard to do it as a group 😂 we had our first attempt and no one was bothering to chop up their stuff before throwing it in. Now it’s a big mountain of plants fully intact that are dry 👎 but I’m here learning to make a smaller one in my plot ❤️
If you could pull it out and have someone just run a bush hog blade over it, that would chop it down. Shouldn’t be a loss just a few more steps. Good luck.
Mahalo... tried to make it simple so that people can understand the forces at play. Many people have had a compost pile but never produced usable product.
Am I the only one who think he sounds like a calmer version of Dwight Schrute?! My husband and I were looking up how to start our compost pile and both agreed. 😂 A good beet farm could benefit from some great compost.
Thanks for the video. I'm curious about people's opinions on sifting or not sifting the compost. I was taught to always sift, but obviously the material will continue to break down anyway. And I'll normally mix the compost with dirt to make the soil as well, so it's not like there will be a lack of finer particles. What do you folks think about it?
Thank god I was hoping id find a video showing me how to make a hot compost in this little of time I cant wait 3 ta 4 months like with other active composts it wouldn't be ready in time for me to use for this years garden
i just rake in my scraps into the pile. i am not a gardener yet but i have compost at the ready. lol I also do it so the birds have insects to eat and they stick around. Just had ducks today also.
Thank you for an inspirational video! Just want to comment that there are less work consuming ways to make compost. I am particulary skeptical to the mixing of kitchen waste. I throw kitchen waste in a compost bin, dig small ditches in the soil and put semi-broken down compost in them early spring or late fall, cover it and let the worms do the job. I do not mean to be a besserwisser, just want to add. Your compost look just great!
Regardless of the materials being added you want to grind them down and mix the entire pile up at one time. If you keep adding stuff you are starting over every time and it will never finish. Grind it up, make a 3' x 3' pile and keep it moist like a sponge. Turn it weekly and it should finish in 45-60 days! This is with temps of 70°+.
Thanks for sharing! I built some last weekend and have temps of 130 going after a few days of layering dry leaves, chicken coop rankings, and chopped greens that were bolting in the garden!
That depends on your local conditions. You want to keep the pile moist like a sponge. Sometimes I put an old piece of rug or cardboard on it to help hold in the moisture and keep the chickens out.
As you probably know the pallets are color coded so you don't use the chemical treated ones in your garden. The important thing is reaching critical mass - 3 foot by 3 foot is when the magic really starts to happen. Add some dirt from under trees and bushes to introduce beneficial microbes into the compost heap. In your climate it maybe better to make a bin out of Aircrete... this is foamed concrete... search UA-cam for aircrete.
I like to make things that last. My three bay compost bin is made from 5/4"x6" pressure treated deck boards. It has been 15 years and it's still in good condition. Let it air dry for a few weeks before filling so it won't poison your compost.
Very informative. Simpler and more workable than most videos I've seen on composting. Relaxed voice and background music made hearing easier and almost direcr to the point guide. One question tbough. I livebi a very humid and wet area due to heavy rain. Do I need to cover (shade) my compost pile to prevent from over wet?
If you cover it then you can have more control over the moisture levels. Just keep in mind that if you cover it you will need to water it. Keep it moist like a sponge.
Had a pile of leaves, vegetable scraps going for about a week now, gave it a turn after a good rain. I have heat and steam at the core. Dug in to give it some air, kind of a minty warm toothpaste smell to it. Am I doing ok?
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener I understand different smells mean something like ammonia you have too much green not enough brown. Never smelled sweet mint before though.
That is so quick! I quite like using compost at the previous stage as a mulch. I'm building a pallet compost bin is week as I find the one I'm using ( black dalek shaped one with a lid) is quite difficult to use as it's hard to reach in and mix, so I'm looking forward to having a bin like yours that I can hopefully have as much success with. Thanks for the video :)
Very nice process for making Compost. It's an unique method Thanks for sharing such a nice video. I liked your video and SUBSCRIBED to follow your all future videos
You can also use some Diatomaceous earth. Sprinkle on every other layer. This keeps bad bugs out of stock and smells are zero. Great for the garden use also! Chock full of minerals.
I have a lot of materials so I can't use bins. My heaps are usually between four to seven tonnes. I use a slightly coarser material due to the larger heaps. I do not shred leaves, but I do use a wood chipper for palm fronds, tree fern fronds, bark, branches and vines. I also bring in trailer loads of sawdust which is absolutely wonderful for dry toilets and for dealing with smelly stuff. My heaps are turned once or twice as I build them, just to get things moving, and after reaching their final size, they are turned two more times. I usually let the heaps mature for several weeks after the last turn, and the entire process takes at least nine months, but the result is usually about two thirds worm castings. When my heaps are curing, I cover them with shadecloth to keep away the endless stream of marauders, and to protect the heaps from the weather. I usually mulch the heap after its final turn with straw or hay to protect it from evaporation, then I cover it with shadecloth. I work very diligently to keep my heaps as vertical as possible, so the sides are only about 15 degrees out of vertical. This exerts pressure downwards and thus prevents outward drift of the pile. Drift can cause much loss. Thanks for sharing your method, compost is black gold.
Ok but better design is keep the bins separate. Use 4 pallets tied together at the joints with ropes. When it’s time to turn the compost, take away all 4 pallets and now you have a free standing pile with 360 degree access with your hand tool. Rebuild the setup near the pile using only 3 sides while you shovel into the new bin. Once the pile begins to spill out, add the fourth pallets and stack the compost high. I’ve been using that method for a year with great results and really appreciate the 360 degree access.
I once had a large raccoon fall into one of my rain barrels and drown. I tossed the carcass in the compost pile ---and never saw the carcass or even any bones again. All gone.
What would happen if for some reason I Cant get my compost to fully break down and im left with huge clumps. Bot the fine fluffy stuff like yours. Would it be harmful if I throw the clumps in my garden?
E Cox I already have a 18L tote inside my apartment I’m composting in, your compost shouldn’t smell at all mine is nice and earthy but I’d like worms to make it faster.
The problem with a 2/3 to 1/3 ratio is that my leaves fall in December but I mow my lawn starting in May. I've never had any particular ratio and I've NEVER put kitchen scraps in the blender for composting use. Too many rules. Just throw your materials in and let nature do her thing.
Of course, compost happens! This video is to show the basics and a few of the "advanced" techniques. Kitchen scraps and such will create more nutritional density though if you are looking to use it for container gardening.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener I use kitchen scraps, I just don't put them in the blender. My goal is to reduce my carbon footprint, not to use electricity to power a blender to do what microbes will do.
@@alfonsomunoz4424carbon schmarbon. Everything organic is composed of carbon atoms. Let's walk through the woods and have you i.d. things besides rocks/silica and certain fungi that bear no carbon load. Don't be a sheep. Where does one get one of those carbon measuring devices...they don't exist. Scams do. Look up climate predictions for the last 100 yrs...Zero came to fruition. Fact. Greenhouses truck in CO2 to enhance plant growth. Breweries produce buttloads of CO2 via fermentation. Oh, fancy, schmantsy beers are exempt. We are too insignificant to overwhelm the sun, solar winds, cosmic activity, the oceans, clouds, et al. Relax. Who/what caused changes in the climate eons ago? Ancient automakers named Oog? You be indoctrinated.
just built 2 for horse manure and another for grass and dead weeds and grass.. debatable if i nee to put a roof on? maybe ill do a mix of horse and everything else so nice big pile and leave it and then have another that slowly build up.. ?
Very good video, indeed. I have a few questions: 1. for fast (aerobic/hot) composting there is no need to place greens and browns as layers, just mix it all up and maybe place a pallet or branches in the botton to provide oxygen and air from the bottom, right? 2. Because it is recommended to make a compost pile at once, where do you hold (stockpile) all your greens and browns before you have enough to fill a one square meter bin? Thanks a lot :)
Correct. Better to mix it all up then layer it. Put everything through a grinder or a lawn mower or something so that it's all chopped up fine. You just have to do what you can to find a bunch of greens to go with your brown's. Maybe mow your neighbors lawn or something?
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener , thanks! Does it makes sense to layer after all browns and greens are mixed? I plan to mow my garden (about 1200 sq meters) every two weeks for greens + kitchen stuff. For browns I don't have many leaves but I will get the last year leaves from the forest. So, I should stockpile my grass clippings till I will have about 1/3 of cubic meter then mix with 2/3 cubic meter of leaves, mix it with a little bit of compost and soil. Then let it stay for few weeks and dig out and dig back the whole pile every week and add some grass clippings for additional N. Then the only worry is where to store my grass clippings, till I will have 1/3 cubic meter of them. Maybe in another bin? Or just store them nearby, same as leaves? Thanks :)
if you "store" your greens they will dry out and become browns. Think of the greens as "sugar for the yeast". You can store browns but you will need fresh greens to get the quick compost method going. On the other hand you can make a "cold compost" where it is mostly browns and takes months to break down but the fungal dominated compost can be better. Compost happens!
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardenerawesome...it's what I'm using! Some branches and small limbs throughout for aeration. Does the addition of mycorhizza help? I kinda think it seems to... Thank you, sir.
We have one garden no dig and the other is tiled. The No dig is superior! We throw banana peels and coffee grounds out the window into the garden. The bin method is used by a friend of mine. He enjoys great success with this method.
I have a bunch of old large rotten logs that were originally intended to be used as firewood that I never got to and was ready to haul out to dump. I will not do that now as I am just getting into vegetable gardening again. Thank's.
Great video. Good tip about blending food scraps together before adding to the pile. What is the purpose of having 3 bays in the pallet composting area?
wooly beast with three bins you can let your first pile process without interrupting it, and then start on the next one as you gather materials from the yard.
great video. Thumbs up and I subscribe! Can I add my pulled dandelions (they have some soil on their roots) as greens into my compost pile? I have to get this going in about 1 month as instructed.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener Thanks for the quick reply. Ive picked up some browns yesterday from the curb. Looks like leaves from last fall season that our city never yet picked up so some are still wet it looks like they start to break down. I think its perfect for my compost plan. Ive got grass cuttings already since last week and they now start to smell. Im going to make my compost tomorrow, cant wait.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener Yes sir. Thats exactly what im doing first, gathering all the parts as mentioned in your video. Im so motivated right now, i just wanted to pick up any brown bag (yard waste) I see on the streets. LOL. Thanks for your video. It gave me an inspiration to make my own compost and go big. Perhaps I should take a video to show my progress.
Can this method be used in areas with moderately high rainfall? in my country, it rains almost every day. will it affect composting? how to handle it? Thank you for you sharing
Fortunately the same factors apply no matter where you are. The goal is to make a 3' x 3' pile all at once and to keep the pile moist like a sponge. You may have to cover it in areas of high rain or water it frequently in drier areas.
How do you make it the recommended 3 feet tall if you don't have a large quantity of food scraps on hand? It seems like it would take a few weeks to reach that size...Thanks
The 3 foot pile is when it really gets hot and cooking. You can use grass clippings, leaves, pretty much any kind of yard waste. If you can run it through a mulching lawn mower first it will help it to break down. If you use the blender to blend up your kitchen scraps they will break down much quicker.
Add sea weed, washed, or lake weeds if you live near pond, river, take thw oldest stuff far from shore, as stuff om rocks still alive, lay weeds in yard, wash, then go over with a lawn mower
My compost piles get nice and hot and once it cools down the browns are still very visible. So I add more grass clippings. It heats up again and once cooled down the leaves and pine needles are still visible. I mainly use grass clippings and kitchen waste for greens, and my browns are mostly Eucaliptus leaves with some pine needles. Pine needles and Eucaliptus leaves are quite thick and I'd imagine are higher in carbon than most people's leaves from their area. I turn the pile every 3-4 days and water it. Is it safe to assume that if I keep adding greens every week the browns will eventually break down?
Eucalyptus leaves are thick and tough it'll take longer to break down. If you can run them through a lawn mower to break them up first it will help a little bit.
Nice video! I just liked and subbed. I was interested as I just made my own little video making a worm compost farm out of old bins etc. I wanted to see how other people did it. Great job!
I think you ought to let it break down more. My cold compost method gets me black, soft, spongy fine material without need of sifting, also add things like egg shells charcoal and banana peels. If you have manure put it in as well. Good luck !
This is a very basic quick compost from grass and leaves done to demonstrate the techniques in a simple and clear manner. The cold compost method is preferred (along with nutrient rich kitchen scraps) for for creating nutrient density. It seems that preferred long term method for creating nutrient dense compost is the Back To Eden method using wood chips. Check out Paul Gautschi at: ua-cam.com/video/GaaMl0NyxhQ/v-deo.html
Totally... this video just shows the quick method. Slow compost will create much more nutritional density. Wood chips after 3 years seems to be the best. Check out Paul Gautschi with Back To Eden Gardening.
Will be living in Tennessee (zone 7B). Would you suggest putting your compost pile in direct sun or partial shade, given what you said about getting too hot @ 160F? Thanks!
Sun or shade - don't really matter. The heat is generated from within the pile but extreme high and low air temps can affect it. You also want to keep it moist like a sponge...
I get massive grass clippings in the spring and leaves in the fall and at a ratio of about 5to1. So what do you do wiht the excess grass clipping in the spring and excess lieaves in the fall?
It does not have to be exact. I like the lawn mower because it chops up everything nicely and collects it in the bag for you. Just give it a try and see what works for you.
For those of you new to composting this is one of the best videos I've seen that does not waste a lot of your time watching it. He covers the important things like C and N ratios and pile size, moistening the pile but not drenching it.
Blending up vegatable/fruit waste is a great way to make it much more consumable by the worms but not required. He doesn't mention worms but the worms will come up into that pile in the middle of January because it is warm and they will help break it down and put worm castings throughout the pile. It really is black gold. Great Video sir and you did it in 6 minutes.
KISS, keep it simple stupid... no ham handed cameo's... nerds to the rescue, lol... compost happens, no one way to do it...
@@chiefearthhealer8099 I've watched a bunch of videos on composting lately and they all said not to do it because it may attract pests and also smell badly. I've seen people bury meat products in the yard, but they said you have to bury it deep so as not be found by animals. I wouldn't put meat in the compost pile, to keep it tidy :)
Bianca you can compost meat. I’ve been watching others do it. You need to order black soldier fly larvae and they’ll eat whatever including meat and leave a grass. Then you can feed a fat larvae to your chickens. I think it’d be worthwhile ordering some in April say and raise them and let them turn into wasp like bugs to then lay eggs so you’ll have tons of frass and broken down material the rest of the year.
Add some Worms :) I raise millions of worms to create fertilizer for my Garden and to teach others how to care for them :)
❤❤❤
I've been searching high and low about how to compost and this is the best explanation there is. To the point, no fluff, and nice visuals. Great work!
Wow agreed. So much noise in other channels
Finally someone recommends blending the kitchen scraps plus water!
And run the big chunks of yard waste through the mower... break it down for faster processing!
This is awesome! Your system is probably one of the most valuable constructions in the neighborhood.
Whoa !
Wanted quick way to compost grass & leaves ; got just that with this brief & in-depth awesome video. GREATHANX!
I just made one pallet bay but after your video and instructions I am gonna get back out and build a few more.
Glad I found you.
Thanks
It really is black gold. Great Video
Amazing video, so concise and with 100% time spent on most important aspects of composting
This video is like listening to Bob Ross but for composting. Strangely calming 💙
Best reply EVER ~ !
True lol
make some happy little dirt right there. lol. love that BOB ROSS .. good quick video for composting - just what I needed today.. its not so complicated to do. thank you.
Nice work.
For egg shells, collect them in a small pail in the kitchen. When the pail is full, place the egg shells on a cookie sheet in the oven and dry them at medium temperature for a few hours or whatever is needed. Then use a grinder, such as a Magic Bullet to pulverize the shells into a powder. 👍
i add those to my garden beds.. love egg shell powder!
Won't it go foul?
Compost Bin = 8 straw bails, stacked two high square, 30 minutes, $24 ....perfect decomposing compost bin. Insulation on sides,aerating in the corners,easy to move 👍
Can you explain it plz?
Thank You For This Video of Knowledge of letting us know what u do..
I live Up In New England States (Maine) so this is my 1st winter with my 3 Bay Compost System.. u gave me positive energy to know it can be done and what to expect, THANKS!!
-Josh A. Cyr (From Maine)
This was so extremely helpful in only 6 minutes. Thanks!
I collect my kitchen scraps throughout the week in a gallon size ziploc bag in the freezer (chopping things up as I put them in) then blend everything up and add to the compost on the weekend, or if I don't get to it right away, it's not stinking up my kitchen for another week. I have noticed frozen kitchen scraps blend up a lot easier than fresh ones!
I think you are doing it right, excellent!
I made one using 11 plastic pallets I got from my local hardware store. They are full sized, but the "light weight" one's that are not returnable. That gave me 5 bins to move the compost from one to the next. I also had some 3x4 foot expands metal frames I found to put on the front to keep all the compost in and to let air in. Been working great, and they will never rot out. I also put a piece of tarp over the top to let me set the moisture content in them.
@@bigwheelsturning great ideas
This is literally what we have in my backyard. I just used it to top off a 16'x4', 4" deep, raised Hugelkultur bed. Amazing. I only had to use 2-3" of organic raised bed soil as a topper for direct sow seeds. Cheapest garden I've ever made. We just kept a repurposed ice cream bucket next to where I prepare food, and all the scraps, leaves and anything that used to be alive, i.e. dryer lint, etc. and the kids take it out every morning and cover the scraps with leaves. Once a week we spray it with water if it;s not the rainy season and then pitchfork it after a while before turning it into the 2nd stage bin. I wish I had more grass around me(Florida) I would get it from the neighbors if I could.
I mow public spaces sometimes to get more greens...
Thank you for sharing the process, I was specifically looking for an update of how it changes visually. This will really help me figure out when my pile is close to being complete.
When I sift it I throw the chunky stuff back on the pile... no waste in nature!
Thanks for the information. Good compost must have four things.
1) carbon C - brown leaves
2) Nitrogen N- green leaves
3) Oxygen O - constant turning every 2 or 3 days
4). Water H2O , water is very essential for good composing.
One my challenges is keeping it properly moist. I am lazy... totally lazy. Got lots of other things going on... we are at a 70% unemployment here and I opened a food pantry in my business. Moist like a sponge, keep the tree roots out, when it cools down add grass clippings to fire it up again.
@Cristo Viene Pretty much any kind of greenery...
Bocachi is faster:
translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fbocashi.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F05%2Fcinco-formas-de-preparar-abonos-organicos-fermentados-bocashi-jairo-restrepo%2F&sandbox=1
translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fmorralcampesino.wordpress.com%2F2013%2F10%2F27%2Fpanes-de-piedra%2F
@Cristo Viene Greens includes manure. Anything with more nitrogen than carbon.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener ask a recipient to water.
I have a friend that bales silage for a living . He always has bales laying around that are already decomposing. I use that for my brown.
Another great way to break down your kitchen waste is to freeze them.
Either in a Heavy Duty Freezer Zip Lock
OR
I use Snap Lid Food Storage Containers.
Freezing Explodes all the Water Bearing Food and it then breaks down Super Fast.
In my Verma-composting Beds I feed this to my Red Wiggler Composting Worms in the Spring, Summer and Fall.
Super Easy to keep your veggies scraps and paper towels layered in. (No fats or grease)
Anyway, Happy Composting and don’t forget your shredded paper too.
DannyB from The Urban Worm
Great idea!
I was looking for a few videos to refresh my memory on compost making and found yours. A pretty solid guide in a little more than 5 minute that cover everything. Nice!
Wow this tutorial is gold
Your voice together with the calm music is so soothing. kinda like the Bob Ross of gardening
I have a 10'x6' bin ,and along with leaves and grass clippings & horse manure,i can usually get compost in 30-45 days
That sounds like a great system!
Great information and nice presentation, thank you for sharing.
Fine compost. Thank for your information my friend
very nice system, mine is similar and very effective. I add old straw and a dose or 2 of wood ash and some shredded paper and cardboard. I also add fresh dug earthworms
Very nice!
I have finished compost in 2 wks but you have to turn it every 3rd day adding a mist of water as needed. Like he said get all of the materials at one time . Do not add anything else later just turn it in 2 wks you will have finished compost. I have six bins. Turn the 1st bin into 2 nd then into 3rd and so on when you get to last bin it will be finished. After I turn the 1st bin into the 2nd I will start new compost in the 1st. It will take several tries to fill the last bin. I try to have compost going all the time as I use a lot. I also like to add worms in the last bin.
Sounds like you have a great system! There is hope for the lazy though as slow-compost can create higher levels of nutritional density. Happy composting!
I love your compost bays. Pallets can be found for free, chicken wire is inexpensive, and these bays are large and voluminous
I even mow (harvest) neighbors lawns to get grass clippings.
Would love to do this in the community garden but it’s hard to do it as a group 😂 we had our first attempt and no one was bothering to chop up their stuff before throwing it in. Now it’s a big mountain of plants fully intact that are dry 👎 but I’m here learning to make a smaller one in my plot ❤️
That is funny. Its called “Whole foods” not whole compost unless they want to harvest it in 2 years 😂.
If you could pull it out and have someone just run a bush hog blade over it, that would chop it down. Shouldn’t be a loss just a few more steps. Good luck.
Benefited from your video than all the others I've watched on the subject. Yours was simple; the others were not. Thanks. Subscribed.
Mahalo... tried to make it simple so that people can understand the forces at play. Many people have had a compost pile but never produced usable product.
Am I the only one who think he sounds like a calmer version of Dwight Schrute?! My husband and I were looking up how to start our compost pile and both agreed. 😂 A good beet farm could benefit from some great compost.
hahah i notice it now too
I’m glad I’m not the only one!
Thanks for the video. I'm curious about people's opinions on sifting or not sifting the compost. I was taught to always sift, but obviously the material will continue to break down anyway. And I'll normally mix the compost with dirt to make the soil as well, so it's not like there will be a lack of finer particles. What do you folks think about it?
It would depend on the state of the material and it's intended use. Composted mulch as a top dressing is ready to go at almost any stage.
Thank you for showing a start to end process.
Thank god I was hoping id find a video showing me how to make a hot compost in this little of time I cant wait 3 ta 4 months like with other active composts it wouldn't be ready in time for me to use for this years garden
Does everyone who makes compost feel the need to run it through their hands 100 times?
Yes
You know you want it.
Not quite mine is alot of manure lol
Absolutely! Satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself and didn’t have to buy it
Are you jealous you pile wont heat up?
i just rake in my scraps into the pile. i am not a gardener yet but i have compost at the ready. lol I also do it so the birds have insects to eat and they stick around. Just had ducks today also.
Compost happens and it sounds like you have a good system starting! Aloha!
Nice one,looks well done.
Thank you for an inspirational video! Just want to comment that there are less work consuming ways to make compost. I am particulary skeptical to the mixing of kitchen waste. I throw kitchen waste in a compost bin, dig small ditches in the soil and put semi-broken down compost in them early spring or late fall, cover it and let the worms do the job. I do not mean to be a besserwisser, just want to add. Your compost look just great!
Regardless of the materials being added you want to grind them down and mix the entire pile up at one time. If you keep adding stuff you are starting over every time and it will never finish. Grind it up, make a 3' x 3' pile and keep it moist like a sponge. Turn it weekly and it should finish in 45-60 days! This is with temps of 70°+.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener Bocachi is faster:
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My chickens turn over my compost pile and they love it.
They also poop in it adding ammonia and other micronutrients as well.
Slaughter the chickens, their feathers are good compost material
It's a rainy winter here in the pnw. Can I use shredded paper and paper grocery bags for my dry material
Yes! And put a tarp on the pile so it does not get too wet... should be moist like a sponge.
great video thank you for being clear and strait to the point
Thanks for sharing! I built some last weekend and have temps of 130 going after a few days of layering dry leaves, chicken coop rankings, and chopped greens that were bolting in the garden!
Great information on temps etc,really need to get one started this year,thank you for sharing
Tks for the video! Does the bays need to be covered?
That depends on your local conditions. You want to keep the pile moist like a sponge. Sometimes I put an old piece of rug or cardboard on it to help hold in the moisture and keep the chickens out.
Very cool. I’ll definitely use this info. Thanks a lot. God Bless
In my area the pallets would last 1-2 seasons before joining the compost.
warm, humid area?
and pallets are easy to get
That's not a bad problem to have lol. Way too many pallets are one use items. Let's recycle them into food for our soil!
As you probably know the pallets are color coded so you don't use the chemical treated ones in your garden. The important thing is reaching critical mass - 3 foot by 3 foot is when the magic really starts to happen. Add some dirt from under trees and bushes to introduce beneficial microbes into the compost heap. In your climate it maybe better to make a bin out of Aircrete... this is foamed concrete... search UA-cam for aircrete.
I like to make things that last. My three bay compost bin is made from 5/4"x6" pressure treated deck boards. It has been 15 years and it's still in good condition. Let it air dry for a few weeks before filling so it won't poison your compost.
Very informative. Simpler and more workable than most videos I've seen on composting. Relaxed voice and background music made hearing easier and almost direcr to the point guide.
One question tbough. I livebi a very humid and wet area due to heavy rain. Do I need to cover (shade) my compost pile to prevent from over wet?
If you cover it then you can have more control over the moisture levels. Just keep in mind that if you cover it you will need to water it. Keep it moist like a sponge.
Had a pile of leaves, vegetable scraps going for about a week now, gave it a turn after a good rain. I have heat and steam at the core. Dug in to give it some air, kind of a minty warm toothpaste smell to it. Am I doing ok?
It sounds like compost is happening!
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener I understand different smells mean something like ammonia you have too much green not enough brown. Never smelled sweet mint before though.
@@thes.a.s.s.1361 some kind of different microbes... you are smelling their excrement usually.
blend your kitchen scraps, keep it simple
That is so quick! I quite like using compost at the previous stage as a mulch. I'm building a pallet compost bin is week as I find the one I'm using ( black dalek shaped one with a lid) is quite difficult to use as it's hard to reach in and mix, so I'm looking forward to having a bin like yours that I can hopefully have as much success with. Thanks for the video :)
Aloha!
How has the pallet bin worked out for you? Pros/cons? I'm getting one started and would like to hear your opinion.
Very nice process for making Compost. It's an unique method
Thanks for sharing such a nice video. I liked your video and SUBSCRIBED to follow your all future videos
You can also use some Diatomaceous earth.
Sprinkle on every other layer. This keeps bad bugs out of stock and smells are zero. Great for the garden use also! Chock full of minerals.
That shit is really bad for your lungs
that will kill any worms, which are hugely beneficial
Does it matter how much sun the pile gets? I live in the woods, so I want to know where I should place it
Does not matter. The microbes that do the work just want it to be warm and moist with plenty to eat!
Have you thought about adding a few pipes with air holes in them to aerate pile more?
Love the idea... could even introduce water when needed... too lazy, hahaha!
I have a lot of materials so I can't use bins. My heaps are usually between four to seven tonnes. I use a slightly coarser material due to the larger heaps. I do not shred leaves, but I do use a wood chipper for palm fronds, tree fern fronds, bark, branches and vines. I also bring in trailer loads of sawdust which is absolutely wonderful for dry toilets and for dealing with smelly stuff. My heaps are turned once or twice as I build them, just to get things moving, and after reaching their final size, they are turned two more times.
I usually let the heaps mature for several weeks after the last turn, and the entire process takes at least nine months, but the result is usually about two thirds worm castings. When my heaps are curing, I cover them with shadecloth to keep away the endless stream of marauders, and to protect the heaps from the weather. I usually mulch the heap after its final turn with straw or hay to protect it from evaporation, then I cover it with shadecloth. I work very diligently to keep my heaps as vertical as possible, so the sides are only about 15 degrees out of vertical. This exerts pressure downwards and thus prevents outward drift of the pile. Drift can cause much loss.
Thanks for sharing your method, compost is black gold.
Sounds like you have a fantastic system!
Ok but better design is keep the bins separate. Use 4 pallets tied together at the joints with ropes. When it’s time to turn the compost, take away all 4 pallets and now you have a free standing pile with 360 degree access with your hand tool. Rebuild the setup near the pile using only 3 sides while you shovel into the new bin. Once the pile begins to spill out, add the fourth pallets and stack the compost high. I’ve been using that method for a year with great results and really appreciate the 360 degree access.
Good idea
Awesome! I will make pallet composters too now ;) Thanks for sharing :)
Do you think black polythene plastic wrap lined pallets would make the pile to hot? Just thinking vs chicken wire. Thanks
I don't think it would make much of a difference. The heat is really generated on the inside of the compost pile.
The Backyard Vertical Gardener ok thanks for your reply
How do some venders get their compost so black ?? Is topsoil added??
I once had a large raccoon fall into one of my rain barrels and drown. I tossed the carcass in the compost pile ---and never saw the carcass or even any bones again. All gone.
What would happen if for some reason I Cant get my compost to fully break down and im left with huge clumps. Bot the fine fluffy stuff like yours. Would it be harmful if I throw the clumps in my garden?
I would use it to fill a bed. Kind of like core gardening. It'll break down; it'll just take more time.
Black gold for the garden!
Is old hay with goat poo in it considered a brown?
They hay is a brown but the poo is essentially a green.
When you say "parts", do you mean volume or weight?
volume.. but to get it composting you don't have to be exacurate! Just give it a try with whatever you have.
Great video, I’m going to sift my compost it’s been a few months. Going to get worms to speed things up
E Cox I already have a 18L tote inside my apartment I’m composting in, your compost shouldn’t smell at all mine is nice and earthy but I’d like worms to make it faster.
Can you use molded fruit?
LIke paint, composting hides lots of "sin"... mix and water your pile once a week and keep it moist like a sponge.
The problem with a 2/3 to 1/3 ratio is that my leaves fall in December but I mow my lawn starting in May. I've never had any particular ratio and I've NEVER put kitchen scraps in the blender for composting use.
Too many rules. Just throw your materials in and let nature do her thing.
Of course, compost happens! This video is to show the basics and a few of the "advanced" techniques. Kitchen scraps and such will create more nutritional density though if you are looking to use it for container gardening.
Harry Half-Ass
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener I use kitchen scraps, I just don't put them in the blender. My goal is to reduce my carbon footprint, not to use electricity to power a blender to do what microbes will do.
@@alfonsomunoz4424 Right on!!!
@@alfonsomunoz4424carbon schmarbon. Everything organic is composed of carbon atoms. Let's walk through the woods and have you i.d. things besides rocks/silica and certain fungi that bear no carbon load.
Don't be a sheep.
Where does one get one of those carbon measuring devices...they don't exist. Scams do.
Look up climate predictions for the last 100 yrs...Zero came to fruition. Fact.
Greenhouses truck in CO2 to enhance plant growth. Breweries produce buttloads of CO2 via fermentation. Oh, fancy, schmantsy beers are exempt.
We are too insignificant to overwhelm the sun, solar winds, cosmic activity, the oceans, clouds, et al.
Relax.
Who/what caused changes in the climate eons ago? Ancient automakers named Oog?
You be indoctrinated.
Great idea on the slurry love it
So needless
Must be nice to have enough time to blend your table scraps lol ill stick to trench composting them though...hahah
Hahaha, for sure!
just built 2 for horse manure and another for grass and dead weeds and grass.. debatable if i nee to put a roof on? maybe ill do a mix of horse and everything else so nice big pile and leave it and then have another that slowly build up.. ?
Compost happens!
That's some beautiful looking compost 👍
Very good video, indeed. I have a few questions: 1. for fast (aerobic/hot) composting there is no need to place greens and browns as layers, just mix it all up and maybe place a pallet or branches in the botton to provide oxygen and air from the bottom, right? 2. Because it is recommended to make a compost pile at once, where do you hold (stockpile) all your greens and browns before you have enough to fill a one square meter bin? Thanks a lot :)
Correct. Better to mix it all up then layer it. Put everything through a grinder or a lawn mower or something so that it's all chopped up fine. You just have to do what you can to find a bunch of greens to go with your brown's. Maybe mow your neighbors lawn or something?
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener , thanks! Does it makes sense to layer after all browns and greens are mixed? I plan to mow my garden (about 1200 sq meters) every two weeks for greens + kitchen stuff. For browns I don't have many leaves but I will get the last year leaves from the forest. So, I should stockpile my grass clippings till I will have about 1/3 of cubic meter then mix with 2/3 cubic meter of leaves, mix it with a little bit of compost and soil. Then let it stay for few weeks and dig out and dig back the whole pile every week and add some grass clippings for additional N. Then the only worry is where to store my grass clippings, till I will have 1/3 cubic meter of them. Maybe in another bin? Or just store them nearby, same as leaves? Thanks :)
if you "store" your greens they will dry out and become browns. Think of the greens as "sugar for the yeast". You can store browns but you will need fresh greens to get the quick compost method going. On the other hand you can make a "cold compost" where it is mostly browns and takes months to break down but the fungal dominated compost can be better. Compost happens!
Excellent video!
❤️👉👌🌹✔️🤔 I love it.
Great video keep up the awesome work you do. May i use wood chips as well?
Aloha. You can use wood chips, the smaller the better, and you will need more nitrogen.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener thanks
What are the bottoms of the bins made of?!
Just the ground... could be better...
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardenerawesome...it's what I'm using! Some branches and small limbs throughout for aeration.
Does the addition of mycorhizza help? I kinda think it seems to...
Thank you, sir.
In southern Illinois, I have grass all summer, but no leaves. In the fall I have tons of leaves, but the grass is dormant. Can't win.
Shoots... we get it all, all of the time. I live under a banyan tree so get a surplus of leaves all year long... all. year. long.
We have one garden no dig and the other is tiled. The No dig is superior! We throw banana peels and coffee grounds out the window into the garden. The bin method is used by a friend of mine. He enjoys great success with this method.
I have a bunch of old large rotten logs that were originally intended to be used as firewood that I never got to and was ready to haul out to dump. I will not do that now as I am just getting into vegetable gardening again. Thank's.
Great video. Good tip about blending food scraps together before adding to the pile. What is the purpose of having 3 bays in the pallet composting area?
wooly beast with three bins you can let your first pile process without interrupting it, and then start on the next one as you gather materials from the yard.
@@yvonneiwasa6507 Great, thanks for the response!
Gives me more spaces for making compost!
great video. Thumbs up and I subscribe! Can I add my pulled dandelions (they have some soil on their roots) as greens into my compost pile? I have to get this going in about 1 month as instructed.
Pretty much any yard wast and kitchen scraps will do... compost happens!
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener Thanks for the quick reply. Ive picked up some browns yesterday from the curb. Looks like leaves from last fall season that our city never yet picked up so some are still wet it looks like they start to break down. I think its perfect for my compost plan. Ive got grass cuttings already since last week and they now start to smell. Im going to make my compost tomorrow, cant wait.
@@thecyclingcouple4438 The most important thing is to get that 3' high pile all at once to create the critical mass to really get it going.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener Yes sir. Thats exactly what im doing first, gathering all the parts as mentioned in your video. Im so motivated right now, i just wanted to pick up any brown bag (yard waste) I see on the streets. LOL. Thanks for your video. It gave me an inspiration to make my own compost and go big. Perhaps I should take a video to show my progress.
Genius work! Thanks for this information. It helps a lot. Really !
Can this method be used in areas with moderately high rainfall? in my country, it rains almost every day. will it affect composting? how to handle it? Thank you for you sharing
Fortunately the same factors apply no matter where you are. The goal is to make a 3' x 3' pile all at once and to keep the pile moist like a sponge. You may have to cover it in areas of high rain or water it frequently in drier areas.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener thank you
How do you make it the recommended 3 feet tall if you don't have a large quantity of food scraps on hand? It seems like it would take a few weeks to reach that size...Thanks
The 3 foot pile is when it really gets hot and cooking. You can use grass clippings, leaves, pretty much any kind of yard waste. If you can run it through a mulching lawn mower first it will help it to break down. If you use the blender to blend up your kitchen scraps they will break down much quicker.
Really enjoyed the video
Mahalo!
Will this also work with thick leaves like walnut?
Great idea, I love it
What do you do in summer when you have a ton of grass clippings but no dead leaves lying around?
I live under a banyan tree which provides plenty of browns year round... you can harvest some grass and brush and let it dry out... becomes a brown.
@@TheBackyardVerticalGardener Okay, thank you so much!
shred cardboard boxes
Shredded paper
Add sea weed, washed, or lake weeds if you live near pond, river, take thw oldest stuff far from shore, as stuff om rocks still alive, lay weeds in yard, wash, then go over with a lawn mower
My compost piles get nice and hot and once it cools down the browns are still very visible. So I add more grass clippings. It heats up again and once cooled down the leaves and pine needles are still visible. I mainly use grass clippings and kitchen waste for greens, and my browns are mostly Eucaliptus leaves with some pine needles. Pine needles and Eucaliptus leaves are quite thick and I'd imagine are higher in carbon than most people's leaves from their area. I turn the pile every 3-4 days and water it.
Is it safe to assume that if I keep adding greens every week the browns will eventually break down?
Eucalyptus leaves are thick and tough it'll take longer to break down. If you can run them through a lawn mower to break them up first it will help a little bit.
Eycalyptus leaves arent good for compost acccording to google search it up
We love Compost! Subscribed
Anyone know if the chemicals on the pallets would seep into the compost or cause any issues?
It's a good idea to get pallets that are not chemically treated. Out here the ones that are treated are dyed red or blue. So we get the non-dyed ones.
Nice video! I just liked and subbed. I was interested as I just made my own little video making a worm compost farm out of old bins etc. I wanted to see how other people did it. Great job!
Mahalo. I just sub'd!
Thanks! Good luck with your channel :)
I think you ought to let it break down more. My cold compost method gets me black, soft, spongy fine material without need of sifting, also add things like egg shells charcoal and banana peels. If you have manure put it in as well. Good luck !
This is a very basic quick compost from grass and leaves done to demonstrate the techniques in a simple and clear manner. The cold compost method is preferred (along with nutrient rich kitchen scraps) for for creating nutrient density. It seems that preferred long term method for creating nutrient dense compost is the Back To Eden method using wood chips. Check out Paul Gautschi at: ua-cam.com/video/GaaMl0NyxhQ/v-deo.html
I am with you on this, I would let the compost age for at least 3 months before I would consider putting it on my plants.
Totally... this video just shows the quick method. Slow compost will create much more nutritional density. Wood chips after 3 years seems to be the best. Check out Paul Gautschi with Back To Eden Gardening.
How do you add kitchen scraps without messing up the ratio?
Don't worry too much about the ratio, compost happens. Slow compost can be more nutrient dense.
Will be living in Tennessee (zone 7B). Would you suggest putting your compost pile in direct sun or partial shade, given what you said about getting too hot @ 160F? Thanks!
Sun or shade - don't really matter. The heat is generated from within the pile but extreme high and low air temps can affect it. You also want to keep it moist like a sponge...
I get massive grass clippings in the spring and leaves in the fall and at a ratio of about 5to1. So what do you do wiht the excess grass clipping in the spring and excess lieaves in the fall?
2 to 1 parts, by weight or volume? If by volume, it's very hard to judge as the smaller the material the less volume but more weight.
It does not have to be exact. I like the lawn mower because it chops up everything nicely and collects it in the bag for you. Just give it a try and see what works for you.
By weight
Thanks to u I have my pallets been s build up
Right on!