Repurposing and Composting

Quite some time ago, I blogged about composting using two black plastic trash barrels with holes drilled in the sides. That worked okay but not great. I also decided that I wanted to compost on a larger scale to benefit our vegetable garden as much as possible. My sweet husband built a compost bin by repurposing some old wood pallets that were gathering dust in the barn. These pallets came with some loads of sacked cattle feed that we had purchased. We had all intentions of just throwing them away.....glad we didn't!
We used three pallets and a piece of plywood, along with some wood screws..

I wanted two separate sections so that, eventually, one side will hold the completed compost that's ready to be used on the vegetable garden and the other side will hold the compost that you're adding to and turning and letting it "cook".

Composting consists of adding carbon-based materials that are referred to as BROWN items and nitrogen-based materials that are referred to as GREEN items. The trick is getting the ratio correct, turning your compost pile, and keeping it at the right moisture level. 

I gathered the following items to get my compost started-

BROWN items: pine needles, grass clippings, shredded bark, and a combination of shredded paper and straw.

GREEN items: a combination of kitchen items such as egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, vegetable peels along with manure from our barn animals. 

The correct ratio for adding items to your compost pile is one part GREEN with four to five parts BROWN. 

Some examples of BROWN materials are: shredded dried leaves, straw, shrub prunings, pine needles, wood ash, newspaper, shredded paper, cardboard, and dryer lint

Some examples of GREEN materials are: vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, coffee grounds (with filter is fine), cow, horse, chicken, and rabbit manure, teabags, and eggshells

This is just the beginning. There are a lot of different items that are great for compost. Google searches will give exhaustive lists. 

Ideally, you will turn or stir your compost pile daily. If that's not possible, it should be turned at least two to three times a week. Moisture is also important. You don't want your compost pile to dry out but you also don't want it to be soggy. It should be placed in full sun to help it "cook".

Don't worry too much if your ratios of BROWN and GREEN materials aren't perfect. It will all work out and is easily corrected. This may sound like a lot of trouble. But think about all the BROWN and GREEN items you may have around your farm and think of all the kitchen scraps you may be throwing away (not all of our scraps make it to the compost bucket....some get fed to the chickens and the pot bellied pig). Then, if you are serious about vegetable gardening, think about how much you spend on chemical fertilizers and soil amendments. With your very own compost, you'll waste a lot less and save a lot more!

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