organic

That sounds like a pretty good plan, but I would make it bigger if you have more bales to work with. If you double-stacked them you'll be much closer to the recommended 3' square, plus that way you will ensure enough for your next crop.

The other important thing you need is a way to introduce air into the pile. The easiest way to do this for your proposed system is a length of HDPE or flexible PVC perforated drainage pipe that goes through the pile and sticks out on either end. This will draw air into the pile.

The black plastic over the top is also important as it will keep moisture level correct and temperature up, especially in the winter.


More to come tomorrow, sorry about today's being so rambling. :S

Lizzie Borden

That's cool, straw is cheap. So I'll make a double-stacked rectangle out of 12 bales.

I'll look for some perforated PVC. When you say sticks out either end, should the ends come out the bottom, like between two bales of straw, or both out the top, or one of each?

lilmama

at this rate, I'll have a small continous grow for a whole year! And to think I just started this for ****z & giggles. Now I can't seem to get enough of it (the learning part).

Thank you Organic... lil

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Lizzie Borden

Also, what diameter of perforated PVC pipe should I get?

Slim

Should I get a soil test kit? Any idea on $?

Can I use a holy trashcan for composting?

Is there a happy medium of grass that provides the right C:N ratio, IOW, letting it dry out a little to get more C and less N?

Is there anything in particular one can do to encourage microorganisms, or will the composting take care of that well enough on its own?

Do you reccomend the lasagna method, or mixing it well?

Slim

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ButterflyDreams

Like Brindie I have access to Horse manure. The manure just makes it easier though. I have composted on the balcony of a 13th floor apartment. ( and yes, I chose it because the building actually had a 13th floor)

I would use the 10' section of 4" drain pipe called "crush". It's really thin, usually much less $$, and comes per or non-perf. YOu can find it at most hardware stores.

Brindie, I'd put it in the middle betwee the end bales. This will let you get the most air within the pile without turning.
(see attatched image)

Slim,
I'm not sure what you mean by a test kit. I have never found one to be necessary, though it might be interesting to use the NPK+pH test before the final product is used just to check.

With a trash can I'd put a 2" or 3" pipe (perf) in through the lid. And drainage through the bottom. There are many commercial "home" composter's that can easily be mimic'd.

I'll let Organic handle the C:N ratio.

I like to start the base of the pile with coffee grounds. This attracts earth worms, deters ants, and will often provide a good starter environment for the bacteria. THey will form and prolifetate naturally. If you know someone with a compost pile active, a pound of theirs can give yours a boost too. Some old timer recommend urinating on the pile to get it started, and there are also commercial starters available.

I'm not sure about the "lasagna" method (did you come up with that? I would think it would be more for the layering, but)

I usually turn my pile once a week, if I remember, and once a month if I don't. Turning allows more air, and gets those parts closer to the surface deeper to react better.

Hope that heped.

Smiles,
BD

Attached Thumbnails

 

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organic

To answer a few questions...

Thanks BD for the backup. The drawing and description are perfect.

OK, on to Slim's Q's:

- Is there a happy medium of grass that provides the right C:N ratio, IOW, letting it dry out a little to get more C and less N?

Not really. Unless you count drying out some grass, and using that mixed with some fresh grass. There might be, but it would be difficult to gauge.

- Is there anything in particular one can do to encourage microorganisms, or will the composting take care of that well enough on its own?

BD pretty well covered that one, but as an addendum, you can just throw a shovelful of dirt in with the mix. Everything you need is already in the soil. If any of you brew your own beer, the soil (or finished compost like BD suggest) is just like a package of yeast that you pitch into the wort.
BTW never spend money on "compost activators", they're as good as worthless.

- Do you reccomend the lasagna method, or mixing it well?

The lasagna method is OK, especially for putting the pile together at first, but I would mix it as well. Reason being, especially if you're using grass, is that layers of it tend to compact down and act as a barrier.
Also it's a lot harder to get the moisture content right when layering.


Another note for those of you who use horse manure, is that when I say horse manure, I mean straight horse manure - no bedding. The bedding is high C and if you are using it in your pile as well, you'll have to add more N and more moisture.

This can come in handy if you have a lot of things to compost. For instance, on my farm where I make garage-sized compost piles, a typical pile will be built of horse manure and bedding (pine shavings, in this case), chicken manure (very high N), and a lot of spoiled hay (some N, some C). I may even have to add more C to this depending on how much chicken manure is in there; it's pretty hot stuff, so I'm glad to have the shavings.

Well, the questions are covering many of the topics, but I'll still try to get more reference material in here...

Farmer

Lizzie Borden

It seems like my compost heap is getting bigger and bigger. I was going to use 12 bales, but that diagram has 16? I don't have a problem doing it that way, but I am starting to wonder if this is going to produce way more compost than I need. I don't have any gardens or houseplants, just the grow room. Organic said he went a month without watering plants in a 30% compost mix. I want to keep my soil light and airy, as recommended for marijuana plants. So I'm thinking I will only want to use like 10% compost? 15%? If I make a compost heap from 16 bales of straw, will I be able to use it all? Will I also be making worm castings there? Or do I need another area to make worm castings?

organic

Whoa! Whoa!

Don't take the comment about not watering for a month so seriously, folks!
I was just trying to illustrate some of the properties of compost.

My situation happened when I had small plants in 4-gal. buckets and overwatered them...it did take almost a month for the soil to dry out, but from that point forward, once the root system had developed and the plants were bigger, I watered on a regular schedule of every 3-4 days just like with regular soil.

A basic guideline would be 20-30% compost in your mix.

Brindie, 12 bales would be enough - the size isn't as important as the diagram showing the placement of the air intake.

To gauge the amount of finished product, figure on your compost reducing in bulk by 1/2.

You might think about trying your hand at starting a small vegetable garden as well, especially if you have extra compost. Hey, if you're growing things, might as well get some food out of it, right?

And as far as worms go, once your pile isn't too hot for worms, they will migrate right in there from underneath the pile and go to town. You don't have to worry about building a separate worm enclosure, unless you want to.

organic

This has been rambling all over the place so I'll try to tie things together somewhat. I've been throwing terms at you like C:N ratio and moisture content, so now it's time to explain them further.

The C:N ratio is the most important factor in getting your compost pile active, IOW, heating up and breaking down quickly. If there is too much carbon in the mix, it won't ever heat up. If there is too much nitrogen, you'll end up with a stinky, slimy mess. The latter of the two is perhaps the most common mistake for beginning composters.

Now, there are charts that list the C:N ratio of commonly composted materials, and I'll provide some of them later. You can use these scientifically to figure out how to balance things, but you'll have to use some math and have a reasonable estimate of the amount of each ingredient you're adding. Generally however, I might just use these as general background knowledge - for instance, it's good to know that sawdust is very high C, so you wouldn't have to use as much of it as you would, say, straw.

In practice, most composters just do it by feel. What I do is get my ingredients together and make a rough estimate of what I think the C:N ratio is. You just have to figure on having quite a bit of straw, or sawdust, or dry leaves, and not so much vegetable scraps or manure. Then mix it together and get the moisture content right.

This brings us to the next important aspect of compost making, moisture content. If your compost mixture is too dry (commonly it is unless you are working with rain-soaked materials), water needs to be added. How do you tell the correct moisture level? Through the high-tech method known as the "squeeze test".

Take a handful of your compost (I recommend wearing gloves!) and give it a squeeze. If the moisture content is right, just a tiny bit of water will come out - a couple of drops. The preferred description is "damp like a wrung-out sponge". If it's too wet you'll probably want to add more dry material to get it in line, and turn it more frequently during the first couple of weeks until it dries out more. If it's too dry, water it with the hose, stir it about, and test it. Continue doing this until you have the right moisture content.

Another aspect that should not be slighted is mixing. For compost to work most efficiently, it must be thoroughly mixed together, particularly when you are first building the pile. This means: get out the pitchfork and start working. The most effective way to turn the pile is to take forkfuls of the compost out of your pile and start building a new pile with what you take out. This is why people build 2-stall composting bins; you move the compost from one bin to the next to turn it.

If you are using an aerated static pile however (like the one Brindie is going to use) that has air intake built into the bottom of the pile, turning is not necessary, but the process will take longer. Mixing the ingredients together thoroughly when you are beginning the pile is necessary though, even more so than it is with a turned pile. (If you're using straight horse manure it's not necessary to mix as you are using only one ingredient.)

OK, now that you have a compost pile put together, how do you proceed with its maintenance and feeding? (It's kinda like a pet, only stinkier ) Stay tuned...