How to make a compost heap?

Question

I want to start recycling, and make a compost heap, can anyone help me. I dont have much money so the cheapest way possible would be great.
Also if anyone else has any tips to make me and my house as ecological as possible

I know that you put in kitchen waste, but I want to know how to actually make the compost heap it self.

Answer 1

I have been composting for years and have several different versions and renditions of compost piles. The one I have now I like best because it is easy to use and is the most effective.

I build a box once out of treated 1" x 6" lumber with 4" x4" legs. left a space between the sidewall slates, , Now I just pile the material in a spot close to my garden area. No sides or top. I did throw down an old pallet for a bottom for aiding in air flow, but I have my doubts as to it's effectiveness given I quickly overran the anticipated square footage footprint that I started with. It is easy to access from three sides for turning and adding material. I acutally turn my current pile a couple of times a year with a skid loader. I back up my lawn rake to the pile to dump grass clippings into it, and then drive away.

I attached some links found by doing an internet search with the keyword 'composting'. Several sites came up. Another good resource would be your local State University extenison service office. If your state does not have one, go the web and search in any states university that has an agricultural services department.

I would not spend a dime on the pile. You do not need to. Forget the 'stuff' you gotta have. Learn what it takes to have a healthy pile. Start piling and turn often.

Good luck.

Answer 2

As a boy growing up I was responsible for the compost. Mom took all her coffee grinds and fruits peels etc... and put them in a big, old coffee can. (Today, she uses plastic grocery bags and a small pail). I would take it down to the back of the yard where the yard turns into woods. There I would use a shovel to dig a small hole, throw the compost in, and cover it back up. I would work an area about six feet in diameter for a few months or a year. Then, I would leave that area alone and start a new area right beside it. A year or two later, I would dig up the dirt from the first area and take it to the garden. There were always great big worms in the compost pile; it was great dirt. The process/cycle repeated itself every year using two or maybe three areas max. I was down at the compost pile at least three times a week, every week. It's the work involved - not how much money. It's free. For the leaves, Dad might fence off three sides of a small 6'x6' area so he could pile the leaves high. I think he put lime??? on the leaves every few inches to speed decomposition. The leaves took a little longer to decompost than the fruit peels put into the earth. The grass though was always getting wet and was sticky and smelly for five years before it could be thrown into the garden so we didn't do much with that. The grass was an afterthought.

Answer 3

Recently started composting- it's so great to be able to put all my vegie waste etc to good use rather than throwing it away. The website link below gives an excellent guide- it highlights the need to use a mix of "green" and "brown waste". The green waste is all your fruit and veg peelings, shredded leaves, grass etc, but brown waste is essential to create air pockets in the mix and to break the material down at a steady rate. Brown waste includes newspaper, eggshells, dust from vacuum cleaner, hair from hairbrushes, envelopes (take the plastic panels out first of course!)
They even say the little bugs and beasties like to feast on the gum on the envelopes!

You can buy a commercial preparation of compost accelerator, which helps to break down the mix a little faster.

If the heap starts to smell unpleasant, it needs a good forking over to get air in and mix up the contents. Happy composting!

One final tip- it might be a good idea to get a sealed container in yr kitchen or utility area so you can add items to compost so you can just go to the bin once a day or something rather than trooping out every five minutes!

Answer 4

Find a dedicated spot in your yard and go for it. You don't need all those
expensive fancy bins. You may need an inexpensive pitch fork to turn it
over but you can use anything with tines. Keep the meats and plastic outs.
There's a lot of websites which give more details but basically, you don't
have to spend a lot of money to have a good compost pile!

Answer 5

There is a firm in a small town in PA .... Lititz, PA . The Wilbur Choc factory is there. Anyway, they have a thing that looks like a barrel on a stand. It's not that expensive & it works faster than a compost heap, because you rotate it to get air in it . It prosesses the waste faster.

Answer 6

all i did to start mine was pick a corner of my yard and started putting in my veggie scraps after a few weeks i built a box to go aroung the heap

Answer 7

Start with lawn debris, such as grass clippings, dead leaves, etc. then add food scraps.

Answer 8

You need to add the right kind of worms.

Answer 9

put all your potato peeling etc on it along with other old veg and fruit.

Answer 10

go to www.gardenguides.com its all to do with what you need. keep up the good work.