Compost from start to finish

[skateboy159]

i made a compost pile about 4 feet tall 5 feet wide 7 months it broke down till about 1½ feet composts i took the wire off it my chickens scratched my compost everywhere but the grass is nice and green

[Praxxus55712]

@skateboy159 Sounds like your chickens had a blast! They will scratch a compost pile to bits and eat every single bug in it.

[ycats1000]

"why are my gloves so full of holes?"

[judenwayne]

Love your videos...what part of the country are you in? I'm in zone 7 (I think)...north central Alabama. If I cover a compost pile with a black tarp, will it work enough in the winter to be ready for spring?

[Praxxus55712]

@judenwayne I'm in southwestern Minnesota. It's zone 4. As far as compost, you need to mix up the pile every now and then or it'll take forever to break down.

[judenwayne]

@Praxxus55712

Thanks. Yes, I can toss it but I was just wondering how well it would

break down in 30 degree weather. We "usually" have the occasional couple

day cold streak...nothing like zone 4, of course..but last year was

unusually frigid. The weather is getting wonky all over, which brings me

to another concern about raised beds.

I had raised beds year before last and we had a drought. Raised beds are

convenient in some ways, but they do dry out quickly, don't they?

[Praxxus55712]

@judenwayne If the compost is active, it'll heat up and stay cooking until the compost is done even if the outside temps dip to freezing. The bigger the pile, the better it cooks and the more resistant it is to cold.

Raised beds do require more watering. yep. The good side of this is they don't stay soggy if overwatered or if rains are heavy.

[angelinarai]

Thanks for explaining the science behind it! Your vids are super thorough! Thanks!

[slt218]

so if I use kitchen scraps, dried up leaves and grass about how long will it take to turn into compost?

[Praxxus55712]

@slt218 If it's a large pile, you keep it turned at least twice a week.....I think you can get finished compost in approximately 2 months at the very most. It may have uncomposted-looking things in it when it's finished, but it'll be ready to use.

[BrianLuper]

LOL....Birds will be birds. Always trying to peck at or eat something. This video is the real deal though. Compost IS the very best to use on any plant or garden. It's the difference of having a few small tomatos, or tons of large tomatos.

[jameronies]

Thanks for the response i don not plan on using sandy store bought stuff while i can make my own one last question can you put clipped weeds that you picked from your garden and yard into the compost pile?

[Praxxus55712]

@jameronies I compost weeds all of the time. They make excellent compost. It's about time weeds were good for something. :)

[peter16334]

ikr i had my garden full of weeds and i weeded it and i got good soil after summer for fall :)

[jameronies]

I have the same metal chicken wire that you used but can i use a garbage can for fruit and vegetable waste because the neighbors probably not enjoy rotting plant smell

[Praxxus55712]

@jameronies You sure can. It would help to have a few small holes punched in it but totally necessary if you plan on letting it rot for a whole year.

[PuganPoo]

Thanks for the speedy response.I know my dogs are in perfect health but I won't use their Poop on my Garden.Maybe the flowers.

I have so enjoyed your videos that I have seen this far/Thanks.

[PuganPoo]

I know this sounds nasty but I have two dogs can I use thei endless poop to make compst?

[Praxxus55712]

@PuganPoo Most say no. It can be composted but should probably be used only on non food plants such as flowers, trees etc. The risk is pathogens. The arguments go both ways but the basic answer is it can be composted down.

[per31san]

That bird distracted me from listening to you..lolz....nice video though.. i learned a lot from you. thanks for sharing..Godbless...

[mic10311]

my compost is not working 'coz its all brown,,,can i add fruit scraps so my compost works???

[Praxxus55712]

@mic10311 Yes, kitchen scraps will be perfect to add to compost. Pretty much everything except cooked foods and meat will be fine.

[mic10311]

@Praxxus55712 Thank You!!!

[Hemolymph]

did you name your bird idiot!?

[Praxxus55712]

@Hemolymph Her name is officially Peabody, but she responds to idiot or crackhead depending on which glove she steals. :)

[skillah69]

how do you're compost steam???

[Praxxus55712]

@skillah69 Compost produces steam due to aerobic bacteria digesting materials. The bacteria generate heat, which heats up the moisture in the compost and produces steam.

[skillah69]

@Praxxus55712 but my compost didnt steam,,

[Praxxus55712]

@skillah69 Pile it high and don't overwater it. Overwatering it will keep it from working.

[mic10311]

@Praxxus55712 Thank you very much ray,,,,

[mic10311]

@Praxxus55712 Thank you very much ray,,,,this is my new network

[Praxxus55712]

@Auslander999 The professional was 100% wrong. Most professionals are too busy acting professional to be able to actually do anything worth their title. :)

Add compost and peat moss. Peat moss lowers alkalinity because it's acidic. Compost is the best additive. It will lighten up clay & alkaline soil, adds nutrients, drainage, micro organisms and fertility. No such thing as too much compost. Do this & you'll be amazed. Soil gets better as you use it and add compost yearly.

[22justus2]

The effluvia from the compost pile will make you deathly sick. I know two people who have contacted pneumonia from breathing it while distributing it to the garden. Be very careful!

[Praxxus55712]

@22justus2 After researching this, I found you are absolutely correct. The amonia that is released from the composting chicken manure can cause what's called "Chemical Pnemonia", which unlike bacterial or viral pnemonia is a burning of the lungs. I've been luck I guess and haven't had this happen yet. I'll be more careful now though. :)

[caltrain2]

here we have a very similar thing exept all we do is put it in our compost cart and the recycling company takes it and composts it we still have our own compost for chicken manure and stuff like that but recology (recycling company) takes all your food waste and food soiled paper

[MoneyDummy]

45 days! That's impressive! Did your pure grass pile compost this quickly? I ask because I'm using only grass, and I want to know what to expect.

[Praxxus55712]

@MoneyDummy Turning it very often is the key to super fast decomposition. The pure grass compost heats up fast and breaks down even faster than the manure compost. I think 30 days or less is the expected time for grass if you turn it twice per week faithfully and keep it moist.

[hanode01]

Hi there.. do you use this as a soil or you mix it with the dirt?

[Praxxus55712]

@hanode01 I add it into the soil as an amendment to enrich the soil. A couple inches of compost dug into the soil is enough for an entire growing season.

[soccer123456789ist]

do u need a fence or can you make it into a pile

[Praxxus55712]

@soccer123456789ist A fence isn't needed. I use the fence to keep the pile hight and even......and most importantly to keep the chickens, turkeys, guineas and dogs from digging in it and eating it.

[beaulieu4008]

Hi Friend, I just started to watch you videos today. You are a natural in front of the camera, and they are a pleasure to watch, - very informative and entertaining. You are a GENIUS. Thank you.

[gameplay1999]

i have a question i hope you could ask on a weekend edition, here it is

do you think i could do the same thing you did with composting chiken manoore and straw exept i compost budgie dropings and dried out grass

[jude1c9v]

I have more grass and old plants than anything, will it break down like yours without adding any browns? please respond or make a video please.

[Praxxus55712]

@jude1c9v Already did it. How fast was THAT? LOL Check out my video titled "compost made easy". It's exactly what you're talking about. :)

[BobbyLockerz]

How far into composting do I flip the compost inside out

[Praxxus55712]

@BobbyLockerz if you want compost fast, turn it once a week. If you don't need the compost for a long time, you can turn it every 3 weeks.

[Nubster12]

Compost question...I started a pile maybe 3 weeks ago. There is no heat...in fact it is actually cooler than the air temp. The pile is moist enough but maybe not enough mass. Also...all the stuff in the pile is yard waste and kitchen scraps. Maybe I need more brown? But my main question is about using sod. I have been building some raised beds (your my inspiration...lol) and I have been throwing in the sod chunks from prepping the ground. Is that ok? There is still dirt on them so I wasn't sure.

[Praxxus55712]

Nubster make sure your pile is moist & at least 3 feet high & wide. That'll do it. The grass part of sod will decompose & take up alot of available nitrogen in the soil until it's done. Then it releases it back into the soil. In the meantime you may have problems with veggies being a little anemic looking. You can pour in compost tea to help the plants get through this time period. If you don't have any compost, buy a bag of composted manure & make tea out of it. It's really cheap & works fine.

[KerriMade14]

You've inspired me again! I have tons of horse manure that usually gets tossed into one huge pile to rot for the year. This year I decided to take a more hands on approach to the composting . Our barn is about 40 feet away from my garden so I have 4 big piles of manure going. Everytime I want to turn they get forked about 8 feet closer to my garden so by the time it is finished cooking it will be waiting at my garden fence ready for use! Thanks again!

[JoeHell67]

Hi,

that's what i call some serious rich compost!!

I think, watering it is a good tip, it gives it a real boost, i mean look at this stuff steaming!

I made compost at my parents garden and and since i had no 'chicken manure', i added some regular soil to it (very good!)

turning the compost inside out is required!

I think most people make the mistake, throwing everything 'organic' in it and wonder why rats show up...

No Citrus peelings or left over food into your compost!

Joe from Germany

[thewulfden]

Great video! (inspired me to make one myself) Do you ever use any fertilizers other then the compost? I've seen your other videos on your garden an everything looked like it did really well...

[Praxxus55712]

Wulfden, the only fertilizer I use is compost and compost tea made from the compost. I've never used a single chemical or packaged thing on my land since I moved here 14 years ago. The weird thing is, since I use alot of compost, the plants are so healthy that no bugs or disease has affected them enough to cause a problem. They seem to be too strong to die from random bugs. Hopefully none of my mutant musclebound plants turn on me. lol

[thewulfden]

LOL! I live in the northwest (Washington) Our garden season wont start for another month or two, you want to trade seeds?

[Dreamline45056]

The peacock or peahen is hilarious!

[kkburnout]

sorry i havnt been on in... a month ray. xD

have you seen those tomato plan ts that grow upside down? what are they going to come p wth next? a sumer towel ?? XD they should call it shamwow

oh wait, thats right....

[Praxxus55712]

You just dissapeared for awhile! Good to see you're back. :)

Oh, did you hear about the ShamWow guy (Vince) got his tongue bit by a hooker and he got arrested for having to punch her in the head to get her to unclench her teeth from his tongue..........or something to that effect? Why am I not surprised that he got himself into that situation? LOL

[stymye]

best quote from shamwow guy commercial "your gonna love my nuts..."

[Octahoney]

Awesome video! Thanks so much for doing a time-lapse compost vid. :):)

[cwaj]

Awesome.....I always forget to turn my compost...

Would an "Awesome Auger" As seen on T.V. - Do the trick, instead of using a pitch fork?

[kimmiegirl1975]

hmmmmmmmmmm ...........

that's a idea, lemme know if it works

[dipswell]

well done

[stymye]

wonderfull compost ! it definately is the best thing for any garden.thanks for showing the entire process !

[jc3mer]

that compost looks really rich

[3CoolKats]

Great looking stuff! Please send about a ton of it my way:)))

[frozentootsiepop]

Makes me want to give my own compost pile a bit more attention...

[bookhound63]

That is some beautiful compost!