Compost help

[nadine_mn]

I am interested in composting - mainly to reduce the amount of waste we have. I do not garden, I just hate having food waste in a landfill.

I live in MN where its freezing most of the year (sigh) so can you still have a compost pile outside? There is just 2 of us, so not a lot of food waste. What do I do with my compost?

Any suggestions - I think I have heard of some small kitchen compost kit, but can't find it on the internet. Any sites or help would be appreciated.

By the way - whenever I have posted asking for help - you all are so damn helpful I could just hug you - so thanks in advance

[Gold Metal Flake]

1. Make a box and stuff it with a mix of green and brown vegetation and moisten it.

Put a lid on it. You should see steam in a couple of days. Some fresh veg kitchen waste in the middle will help kick it off, so will manure. My first composter was made from old pallets. Then I got one of these from the county:



Cost about 50 bux. They cost a lot more retail. But lets say you have some wood and some plywood. There ya go! No need to be real fancy. Once the microbes get busy they will heat the insides of the pile up quickly. Can get over 120 degrees. The pile will start to settle, so take a pitchfork and turn it over some after a couple of week, water and throw on more stuff.

No kitchen waste with oil or animal fat! No protein-rich animal poo. Cow and horse poo is fine but nothing from the circus, LOL!

In spring the earthworms will come up into it, which just makes it better.

Edit: search Google for "compost bin" and then click images. Look for small ones, click the pix and then go to the webpage. I know there are kitchen ones, just not familiar with them. But we did use a plastic container with a tight fitting lid about the size of a shoebox to save kitchen scraps. When the container was full, we took it to the composter, lifted up a layer of material and dumped the kitchen waste into the pile and covered it. It starts to compost right away and there are fewer flies. Not composting this year because we have not used what we have.

[GoCubsGo]

2. Do you have a basement or other sheltered place?

Here's a site that has instructions for a worm composter: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/easywormbin.htm

I used to have one of these, but my garage got too hot one summer, and I lost the worms. I should have put it outside for the summer. They did fine in my garage over the winter, but it doesn't get nearly as cold down here. Worm composters are great, because you can compost year-round, even in cold climates. You can pick up red worms from your local fish bait shop.

[Gold Metal Flake]

3. Good one, Cubs!

We also have a worm composter. It's great when you don't have a lot of veggie waste, and worms are cute!

[geardaddy]

4. We've just got a tupperware bin in one of our rooms with red wigglers.

We throw almost all of our kitchen scraps in there.

[trof]

9. Tell me MORE! Please.

That sounds like an excellent way to dispose of vegetable scraps.
Odorless?

[geardaddy]

13. Odorless if you keep it well maintained.

Here's a good website.

http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/

[GoCubsGo]

11. My unit is actually a miniature version of the one in the link

It's only about 15" X 12" X 9", roughly 2 or 3 gallons. It could probably fit under a kitchen sink. I would like to start mine back up again, but I will almost certainly be selling my house soon.

[geardaddy]

5. We live a condo in Minneapolis

and we compost indoors with worms (red wigglers) and compost outside in the back yard. So, like Gold Metal Flake, just make a box and add your stuff to it.

It's good to put some "brown" in (dead leaves, dead grass, etc.) to keep the mix as balanced as possible.

[nadine_mn]

7. Wait - worms are involved?

Oh dear lord - environmentally friendly is getting gross!

Do you think it would keep in our garage? It's not heated, not very well insulated - would the crawly things freeze?

Otherwise we have a barely there basement... my main concern is keeping the dogs out.

Really - worms??... sigh

[geardaddy]

14. I wouldn't compost with worms outside in MN

too cold for them, but you can do regular composting outside. Even in -0 temperatures if you have a big enough compost pile the stuff will decompose. Besides, freezing the stuff helps break down the cell walls anyway.

[handmade34]

6. WORMS!! for sure

http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com/

easy, practically odorless, fun, satisfying, entertaining, fun to talk about, environmentally friendly, good lesson for the kids, etc... can't lose

[Gormy Cuss]

8. Vermicomposting is easier indoors in a cold climate.

Yeah, that's another vote for worms.

You could have a compost pile outside even in MN. Cold weather just slows down the process. However, if you don't have a use for that compost it's probably more work than it's worth. With worm compost you can bag up the castings and give them to friends or family who garden.

eta: I know several apartment dwellers with worm bins in the corner of the kitchen. It's an enclosed system so not enticing to dogs or cats and it's low to no odor if you maintain it properly (and that's not hard.)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. I have a compost pile in Minneapolis and it works fine.

Actually it's in a compost bin in my back yard. Ideally you should mix "brown" materials (like dried leaves) 2:1 with "green" materials (dead but green plants and kitchen waste, but no meat/dairy stuff) along with a shovelful of soil, and you have to keep it a bit moist. Over the winter it just sits there, but you can keep adding to it anyhow. Once it warms up in the spring the decomposition process starts up again. This year I got a nice amount of good compost that I added to my vegetable garden along with some fresh mulch. If you don't garden you could give your compost to a neighbor who does, or you could mix it with some vermiculite and a bit of sand and make your own potting soil for indoor plants.

BTW, you don't need worms to do it this way - if worms creep you out.

[Sabriel]

12. Now's a good time to start one

We're in your zone (northern WI), and we have two bins going all the time outside.

Try looking on Craigslist. I found both of mine there for under S20, total.

Rake your leaves, mulch them by running the mower over the pile, then make alternating layers of leaves, kitchen waste, dirt/manure, and paper. It's like a compost layer cake. Moisten well and sit back for compost.

Even if you don't have a garden, it's great for the lawn and plantings.

Edited to add: get the book Let It Rot from your local library. That's where I got my start.