This is kind of an experiment in collaborating but I would also genuinely like to see the perfect composting operation perfected and at the same time see this as an exercise in implementing some rules of engagement while collaborating. I have been working on a novel/screenplay relating to social media collaborating so I have some hopes in the direction this will take. Feel free to discuss both development of the system as well as theory and philosophy on collaborating.
As for the system. I am not an expert on composting, I just enjoy the hobby. Composting uses bacteria, fungus's and small insects to break down organic material. We usually concern ourselves with a ratio of carbon and nitrogen which is usually thought of as green material and brown dry material. providing a healthy environment for microbes is our primary concern. So we are dealing with , confinement, temperature, moisture content, and an agitation system that will keep the compost aerated and mixed. lastly we will deal with harvesting the compost.
I prefer a system that is self contained and does not require electricity. I am not worried about anyone stealing the ideas here as I have no interest in marketing this.
As far as cost goes I am thinking something that might range from $300.00 to about $3,000 depending on how involved someone might want to get.
If you yourself have an interest in composting please say what you would like to see.
The confinement unit and agitation method seems to be the area that would demand the most attention. Anyone interested.
I tried a very rudimentary compost pile after we first moved to AZ. Alas…all I was doing was providing a bed and breakfast for the local mouse population. See various other threads here on MP!IMS.
In my literary travels (Mother Earth News, Backwoods Home Magazine), I’ve seen a DANDY composting unit! It’s a barrel, mounted horizontally. You load it up, per directions, and give it a crank daily or so. In a certain amount of time, compost!
Along with your all-important carbon/nitrogen ratio, composting needs aeration. For the typical home operation, that means someone with a shovel and or spading fork, stirring things up.
You can compost by just letting everything sit, but it takes longer. That’s why the barrel gizmo looks good to me.
~VOW
But it’s not mounted horizontally, if I understand what you mean by that. Turning a barrel mounted horizontally wouldn’t necessarily stir the contents very much. I mounted mine vertically which does a better job of stirring, although it’s more work to turn. It also lets you use the opening at the top of the barrel rather than having to cut an opening in the side.
Also, to my (limited) understanding, a small compost bin like this needs worms. It’s not big enough to get hot enough for bacteria to do the job.
Years ago I had a big compost pile that was about 20’X6’X3’ high. I also had some of the small barrels set up with cranks on them for making my little special mixes. It was a pain to turn so didn’t get turned very often. My little barrels could finish compost in two weeks while my bigger pile took several months.
A 55 gallon drum composter can get pretty hot right after each agitation until the nutrients for the bacteria levels drop down low. I bet vertical would work well with a screw that sent the bottom material upward.
We purchased one set and were given another. We compost everything! We garden a lot and all garden and yard waste goes in (along with obvious kitchen waste). When we first started, I would just pack in stuff and hope it composted. However, it took too long. Now I mulch everything using the lawn mower and the composting process goes very fast during warm months. Everything slows in the winter. I have all four bins full from clearing out the gardens in the fall but they will be ready by the time it starts warming up around April.
And as others have said, when you load one up with fresh material, it can get amazingly hot. I turn them once to twice a day when they are really active and then drop to once per day once we stop feeding them and they have settled down.
One problem we have is we have too much green/nitrogen. We now even mulch paper products to add as the brown.
We also collect as many leaves as we can (our neighbors love us in the fall) and we put them in piles contained by fencing. Within a year they are in pretty good condition for using. We started a second pile this fall since we think leaving them two years will be even better. This fall we used the previous years batch to cover our garlic (we plant a LOT of garlic) rather than the normal straw. The composted leaf mulch seems to be much better. One big benefit is it doesn’t blow all over like the straw (we have had a very windy winter without a lot of snow or rain).
