I’ve also had great success, but in the country, with just burying my compost (outhouse poo included!) in the 6-10 inches of topsoil, and the stuff just disappears. I’ve also never had any vermin issues except for a raccoon pilfering an apple core or two.

One interesting incident was when a friend of mine recently put a bunch of washed, crushed-up eggshells on her compost pile– a whole horde of little birdies came by and ate them all up!! Apparently they were craving calcium? :)

Something that people don’t know is that the topsoil, especially around here, is an amazing digester. I have seen entire HORSES and GOATS buried, only 10 inches down, and a year later…. they are GONE! No smell either. That is what topsoil is made to do.

It’s also why I’d be grooving on a green burial.

I gotta say it worked VERY well. With the aspen bedding from the g-pigs mixed in I got 50 gal of a really nice mulchy compost. I have never noticed any smell coming out of that thing. I was worried that maybe the clay soil here would cause problems, but it worked like a champ.

one thing. Wine corks do not seem to compost quickly. I picked those up and put ‘em back in to give ‘em another year.

I plan to plant my corn next weekend!

cheers

daniel wrote

lifeontwowheels wrote

jazzypants wrote

Mercurius wrote We used to do potlucks where everything was cooked in the compost pile. You can bake a potato in it easy.

1. Ewww! :?

2. DAMN :shock:

I’m sure tin foil is involved. It’s better than your gas bill going up…

see. . . this sounds kinda genius. are there products out there that utilize compost heat as a practical energy source? Stirling engines, passive hot water heaters and I’ve seen them used to heat buildings and greenhouses.

lifeontwowheels wrote

jazzypants wrote

Mercurius wrote We used to do potlucks where everything was cooked in the compost pile. You can bake a potato in it easy.

1. Ewww! :?

2. DAMN :shock:

I’m sure tin foil is involved. It’s better than your gas bill going up…

see. . . this sounds kinda genius. are there products out there that utilize compost heat as a practical energy source?

jazzypants wrote

Mercurius wrote We used to do potlucks where everything was cooked in the compost pile. You can bake a potato in it easy.

1. Ewww! :?

2. DAMN :shock:

I’m sure tin foil is involved. It’s better than your gas bill going up…

Mercurius wrote We used to do potlucks where everything was cooked in the compost pile. You can bake a potato in it easy.

1. Ewww! :?

2. DAMN :shock:

jazzypants wrote . Are you still supposed to flip those? I’m guessing yes, but I can’t imagine how it could be pulled off aside from pulling rotten stuff from the bottom and putting it back in on top.

It matters what kind, worm or cold no, but hot- yes. To get a hot pile, all you need to do is get your nitrogen to about 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen, water it and flip it. We used to do potlucks where everything was cooked in the compost pile. You can bake a potato in it easy.

Mercurius wrote

It is true, his AKC name is The Duke of Chocolate Mousse

Mousse!

Cute!

I have been surprised at how little it smells, but I’ve also been surprised that I can go put food in there and the stuff that’s 2 weeks old has barely decomposed. Does it take a year to be useable? One person I know told me her family keeps 2 composters in rotation, one for this year, one from last year.

Rockmastermike wrote

Mercurius wrote :cry: :oops: :cry: I throw all food scraps in my pile and have never seen any vermin (except moose) in it. As long as you regularly flip it and keep your nitrogen levels right, you have nothing to worry about, it is going to be hotter than any vermin is going to want to mess with.

oh please please PLEASE tell me we have MOOSE roaming 1st ave now! It is true, his AKC name is The Duke of Chocolate Mousse

Mercurius wrote :cry: :oops: :cry: I throw all food scraps in my pile and have never seen any vermin (except moose) in it. As long as you regularly flip it and keep your nitrogen levels right, you have nothing to worry about, it is going to be hotter than any vermin is going to want to mess with.

oh please please PLEASE tell me we have MOOSE roaming 1st ave now!

Anne wrote

roy wrote I’m glad you’re interested in composting. The key in the following paragraph is ‘authorized receptacles’:

(G) No person shall deposit or allow to accumulate in any building, premise, yard, court, lot, street, alley, sidewalk, easement or any other place, except in authorized receptacles, any substance, solid, semi-solid or liquid, or animal, vegetable or mineral origin, that by its decay, decomposition, chemical action or by becoming a harbor for animal or insect pests, *would become an unsanitary condition. (Ord. 858-01 §§ 1 (part), 5 (part).

In no way does the City intend to discourage responsible composting.

What are the authorized receptacles?

If you look at the code, it’s intended to prohibit food grease, animal waste and related icky stuff. Once a tanning oil company filthed up an entire area dumping waste, hoping it would drain down the alley and disappear. They abandoned the site and taxpayers had to pay for cleanup. Unscrupulous restaurants and pushcart food vendors sometimes dispose of this type of material improperly.

There are many acceptable compost containers, pre-made and home-made, that meet the code requirement, which says you must maintain a *’sanitary condition.’

The code you listed is intended, among other things, to outlaw animal waste (read: dog poop) from accumulating in yards, attracting rats. Rodents don’t check demographics and real estate values. They thrive where food sources exist. Keep your compost clean and free of unpleasant odors and you’ll have no problem. PM me if you want to talk to a compost specialist and I can arrange it.

roy wrote I’m glad you’re interested in composting. The key in the following paragraph is ‘authorized receptacles’:

(G) No person shall deposit or allow to accumulate in any building, premise, yard, court, lot, street, alley, sidewalk, easement or any other place, except in authorized receptacles, any substance, solid, semi-solid or liquid, or animal, vegetable or mineral origin, that by its decay, decomposition, chemical action or by becoming a harbor for animal or insect pests, would become an unsanitary condition. (Ord. 858-01 §§ 1 (part), 5 (part).

In no way does the City intend to discourage responsible composting.

What are the authorized receptacles? The person with the city who responded to me made it sound like food waste is a total no…