What are some materials that are GOOD and BAD to put in a compost bin?

Question

I'm thinking of starting a small vegetable garden sometime next year, but I would like to use organic materials as fertilizer.

Answer 1

Good: Manure from vegetarian animals, cow horse, chicken, rabbit, goat.
Bad: Feces from carniverous animals, dogs, cats.
Good: Kitchen scraps that are vegetable in nature, peelings of fruits and vegies, cores, coffe grounds.
Bad: Kitchen scraps of a meat or greasy sort.
Good: Leafy type yard scraps, grass clippings, weeds, raked up leaves, straw.
Bad: Large woody limbs, vines.
Good: Ground or pelleted limestone, pot ash, fish emullsion, seaweed.
Bad: Strong fertilizers of artificial origen

Just some guide lines, it should be moist, it should be turned regularly, it's good to start with layers alternating between fresh materials and dry ones. Good luck, this is the best stuff for gardens ever.

Answer 2

When I was growing up, I would dig a small hole and dump the kitchen waste/ compost into the hole. I'd cover it. A few days later, I would dig another small hole right beside it and toss in the kitchen scraps. After about a year, the holes covered about a 6 foot square area so I would start digging more holes adjacent to the first area. I'd leave the first area alone for one or two years, then it would be good for use in the garden. I'd dig up the dirt from the entire area and put it in the garden. My family put the leaves in another area. We stretched some fence around 3-4 trees on the edge of the woods and piled the leaves in there. It took several years for the bottom to become compost. We added lime or something in layers to the leaves to speed decomposition.

Answer 3

Animal fats are bad, they'll make the pile stink. Any foodstuffs can potentially attract animals you might rather not have, depending upon where you live.

Leaves, grass clippings, old plants from your garden (as long as they don't show any signs of disease), those dead potted house plants along with their soil, all are good.

Also, toss some high nitrogen fertilizer on the pile from time to time to hasten the composting, along with water and some plain garden soil (it contains the mircrobes that actually break down the stuff).

Nothing but nothing will give you more success in your gardening like compost!

Answer 4

Lets start with the bad because the list is smaller, any meat, grease, oil, cat or dog waste, human waste, bones.

Anything else dry or wet, alternated in layers in your pile will work great. Kitchen waste i.e: Peels, egg shells, rotten veggies/fruit. Sawdust, charcoal (doesn't really do anything but act as a filler), leaves dry/wet, grass dry/wet, soil of course, twigs, pine needles in small amounts, yard and garden waste except for weeds, tomatoes, potatoes, and any member of the squash family.
Then you have all the poultry manures, livestock manure tends to have a million weeds in it, and would need to be raised to a high temp to kill the weeds. If it stinks turn it because the pile needs air. It can be a lot of work but well worth it in the end.

Answer 5

i don't believe in containers ,i just pile it up out back .if you have a bank out back ,why not dig in a few feet ,wall it off on 3 sides and dump your compost there.easy to turn ,easy to fill ,and it has the capacity for some yard waste and leaves ,always a good addition to compost.

Answer 6

good things for the compost are news papers, leaves,grass clippings,vegetable scraps, Left over food, Lime and ammonia nitrate and you need to turn the compost over about every two weeks also put some water on it if it gets dry

Answer 7

Only vegetarian animal waste should be used and be careful if the animal(s) had medication. Good: coffee grounds, egg shells, shellfish shells, vegetable peelings, wood ashes, fruit peel, leaves, weed leaves, grass clippings. Bad: Non-vegetarian animal waste, weeds with seeds, meat or fish.

Answer 8

Because i have such easy access to cow manure and gin trash, that is what i use......it takes the gin trash about 2 to 3 years to decompose and it is fabulous....

Answer 9

Animal waste, leaves, good.


Food scraps bad, UNLESS you have a natural means of keeping the pests such as ants out of it.