I've been making my own soil (composting) for a few years. Recently it's been coming out well.

Here is how I do it, its pretty labour intensive.
Use a compost tumbler, mine has 2 separate compartments. Fill up one, then close it off and fill the 2nd while the 1st one does it magic.

Use a mix of about 50% green stuff (grass cuttings, leaves, new green shoots, kitchen scraps).
These are nitrogen.
50% brown stuff. Newspapers, dried twigs, cardboard.  These are carbon.

I also put in a shovel of soil and 200 gms of Organic Xtra

I use one of those big black bins with no base on them for anything the rats will get into. I sink the base a bit so they can't burrow in. The black soldier fly larvae get stuck into it. I move it every few years, whenever it fills up.

Everything else just goes into a pile.

The grass clippings I use to kill weeds by smothering them.

Had the best compost BAYS down at the prop'ty - all the cut grass and household composting stuff went into it and the gardens loved it - and so did the black snake in winter.  One year taters grew in one and they were the best...


Aside Story:- Had an evil neighbour - always causing trouble.... overweight etc.... one even as the sun went down in winter I lit a small pile of grass cuttings.... the faintest breath of wind came along at the right moment and blew it straight into his 'compound' where he'd planted trees all around his shed - then stopped ..... smoke stayed there all night.... I like to think it helped with his heart attack...
He was a hater - came the knuckle with me once - and rather than fight him - I summoned the constabulary - they arrived just as his wife arrived from work - she who had told him NEVER to do that again like he did everywhere he went - and she left him... then I called the water people and showed them video of him illegally pumping water from the dry creek from an illegal hole - big fine.... then he had the heart attack ... then he developed cancer - and sold and moved again so his missus would come back .... she could have done a lot better... not the most beautiful but smart, slender, and I think pretty OK as a person.  Country girl.

I'm a patient man and kind and gentle by nature....  by nature....  a Commando officer once said so ...  I'm one of those guys who just wants to get on with his own life in peace....but once offended.... if you keep barging in at me .... I will haunt you to your grave...

freediver wrote on Jan 17^th, 2024 at 7:48pm:

I use one of those big black bins with no base on them for anything the rats will get into. I sink the base a bit so they can't burrow in. The black soldier fly larvae get stuck into it. I move it every few years, whenever it fills up. Everything else just goes into a pile. The grass clippings I use to kill weeds by smothering them.

Nowadays I do that on the gardens and let it slowly break down.... and scraps just go on the gardens.... sometimes the birds eat some... but again most of it breaks down - this year's beans grew from throw-outs and were terrific - same as the tomatoes, which the birds also eat some of and then they drop seed all over the place and the neighbours get free tomatoes as well.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jan 17^th, 2024 at 7:37pm:

...Use a mix of about 50% green stuff (grass cuttings, leaves, new green shoots, kitchen scraps). These are nitrogen.

Ensuring no meatstuffs or animal fat goes in.  No
steak or chicken bones, and no vegetable oils.      8-)

Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Jan 17^th, 2024 at 11:13pm:

freediver wrote on Jan 17th, 2024 at 7:48pm: I use one of those big black bins with no base on them for anything the rats will get into. I sink the base a bit so they can't burrow in. The black soldier fly larvae get stuck into it. I move it every few years, whenever it fills up. Everything else just goes into a pile. The grass clippings I use to kill weeds by smothering them. Nowadays I do that on the gardens and let it slowly break down.... and scraps just go on the gardens.... sometimes the birds eat some... but again most of it breaks down - this year's beans grew from throw-outs and were terrific - same as the tomatoes, which the birds also eat some of and then they drop seed all over the place and the neighbours get free tomatoes as well.

Good news, thanks.
We gets lots of tomatoes pop up, some pumpkins.
Some things recently come up, I don't know what they are, looks like convolvulus, I pull them out when very small.
All of my compost goes into wicking buckets.

AusGeoff wrote on Jan 17^th, 2024 at 11:36pm:

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jan 17th, 2024 at 7:37pm: ...Use a mix of about 50% green stuff (grass cuttings, leaves, new green shoots, kitchen scraps). These are nitrogen. Ensuring no meatstuffs or animal fat goes in.  No steak or chicken bones, and no vegetable oils.      8-)

Oh yes, stuff I do not put in there is most important.
No animal protein or fat, no chemicals, no seeds or bits of weeds I do not want .
I do some weeding of the lawns before I mow so I don't pick up unwanted seeds or 'cuttings' of weeds

It depends on whether you are composting to create compost for a vegetable garden or for your lawn sprint

If you are trying to improve a lawn
Or if I am trying to improve a 20 acre paddock

It's really quite simple
If your soil is very Sandy you can add a bit of heavier clayish soil to your compost
If your soil is very clay based you can add a bit of sand to your compost

The microorganisms are all in the soil
If you want to build good soil

I would go and drop your trailer off at a racing stable and get them to fill it with horse poo every week for free
Dump that all over your ground
Check on a few bales of mulching hay spread out
Then chuck on a few cubic metres of heavy soil or sandy soil depending
Then buy a trailer load of chook manure


It's all about structure and organic material

I really use chemicals on my soil anymore after understanding the microbiome


It is estimated that at the time of the dinosaurs soil was up to 10 meters thick
Now in most Australian farms it would be six inches thick

It's easy to build
A guy I know it Tenterfield gets all the food scraps and particularly tomato pulp from the local tomato processing plant
He gets it all for free
Dumps 20 tons of it on his paddock at a time
The cows eat a bit stomp it into the ground poo on it
You come back 12 months later and it looks outstanding


If you are ever in Singapore go to the Singapore Cricket ground and you will see a very green patch
Where the Japanese buried nearly 1000 dead civilians

So never forget that blood and bone is a wonderful nutrient

Cow poo is better  the seeds are broken down in the multi stomachs, unlike the hoss.....

BTW - leave the brumbies alone - one day you're going to need horses again... and leave the deer alone - the way the economy is going people might be out with bow and arrow and spear looking for dinner again.

Cow poo is indeed better grapples
You probably won't find it for free

The subject of weeds is very interesting
Firstly they tell you a lot about your soil
Different weeds indicate that the soil is too compacted
Or it is too wet and needs drainage
All that you are low in potassium or calcium or phosphorus

Weeds if they have a tap root
Help break up the soil
As long as you smash them with a slasher or whipper snipper before they seed
They are probably beneficial

That's probably the other thing to consider sprint
An aerator is great for improving soil profiles
You can make one out of a drum
Weld on lots of 4 cm pieces of Rio
Put on some bearings
Fill it with water or sand and toe it behind a ride on or tractor
Especially after light rain and you will break up the soil nicely
Keeps the anaerobic bacteria out
And encourages growth

aquascoot wrote on Jan 18^th, 2024 at 7:18am:

It depends on whether you are composting to create compost for a vegetable garden or for your lawn sprint If you are trying to improve a lawn Or if I am trying to improve a 20 acre paddock It's really quite simple If your soil is very Sandy you can add a bit of heavier clayish soil to your compost If your soil is very clay based you can add a bit of sand to your compost The microorganisms are all in the soil If you want to build good soil I would go and drop your trailer off at a racing stable and get them to fill it with horse poo every week for free Dump that all over your ground Check on a few bales of mulching hay spread out Then chuck on a few cubic metres of heavy soil or sandy soil depending Then buy a trailer load of chook manure It's all about structure and organic material I really use chemicals on my soil anymore after understanding the microbiome It is estimated that at the time of the dinosaurs soil was up to 10 meters thick Now in most Australian farms it would be six inches thick It's easy to build A guy I know it Tenterfield gets all the food scraps and particularly tomato pulp from the local tomato processing plant He gets it all for free Dumps 20 tons of it on his paddock at a time The cows eat a bit stomp it into the ground poo on it You come back 12 months later and it looks outstanding If you are ever in Singapore go to the Singapore Cricket ground and you will see a very green patch Where the Japanese buried nearly 1000 dead civilians So never forget that blood and bone is a wonderful nutrient

Wooboy, so many errors!

Adding sand, except fopr sharp sand just makes the clay set like cement when it dries out. Gypsum is for turning clay into loam.

Racehorses are fed high energy foods and lots of supplements. To be avoided like the plague by farmers/gardeners.

Chook poo is too high in nitrogen. I suggest using sheep manure, less nitrogen, more phosphorus and potasssium, more balanced.

Blood and bone is OK but, again, high in nitrogen.

meh

clay has got good nutrients

sand lets the soil drain

grass clippings dont have much nitrogen

if horse poo and chook poo are too rich, the biome can break it down

better to have lots of organic stuff in contact with the soil

if you leave it in a big heap, a lot of the carbon ends up in the atmosphere, you need the soil to take it up

aerate

even lantana is a nitrogen fixer

if you have it in a paddock, run it over with the slasher and it gives you a bit of a cover crop

work wth nature

even a joel slatin chick tractor is a great investment

I know clay has and holds onto nutrients and water. Doesn’t drain worth a damn.

Nothing but nitrogen gives lots of soft sappy green growth, vulnerable to pests etc.

Best is to use sheep manure.

Nah. Get rid of the Brumbies, Camels, Deer and Pigs.
If people need them, then they should be kept in secure Farms and properties - under CONTROL.
Not running wild ruining our natural environment to a far lesser quality.

Don't know why the ADF doesn't go out and get some real good training, hunting them down and practicing their shooting skills? Maybe they're so hopeless, they can't even do that?

Land in North America that had lost its wolves and deer were allowed to run unhindered - ruined the land considerably. We don't have predators like that and so these 'Pests' need to be eradicated from the wild and put under controlled environments.
Bad enough that Goats run wild too.
::)

Jasin wrote on Jan 18^th, 2024 at 4:24pm:

Nah. Get rid of the Brumbies, Camels, Deer and Pigs. If people need them, then they should be kept in secure Farms and properties - under CONTROL. Not running wild ruining our natural environment to a far lesser quality. Don't know why the ADF doesn't go out and get some real good training, hunting them down and practicing their shooting skills? Maybe they're so hopeless, they can't even do that? Land in North America that had lost its wolves and deer were allowed to run unhindered - ruined the land considerably. We don't have predators like that and so these 'Pests' need to be eradicated from the wild and put under controlled environments. Bad enough that Goats run wild too. ::)

Gotta feed yer Ay-rabs, too!  Equity, innit?

Anyway - what happened to the gardens and such platform here?  Those passion fruit are tempting me....

Used to get cow poo by the trailer load from the dairy farm across the river - he had piles of it so big.. couldn't get rid of it.  Also brought us front end loads of stones while we were building... bottom layer on the walls was stone and one part was all stone.  Lot of work but bewdiful.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jan 17^th, 2024 at 7:37pm:

I've been making my own soil (composting) for a few years. Recently it's been coming out well. Here is how I do it, its pretty labour intensive. Use a compost tumbler, mine has 2 separate compartments. Fill up one, then close it off and fill the 2nd while the 1st one does it magic. Use a mix of about 50% green stuff (grass cuttings, leaves, new green shoots, kitchen scraps). These are nitrogen. 50% brown stuff. Newspapers, dried twigs, cardboard.  These are carbon. I also put in a shovel of soil and 200 gms of Organic Xtra

Compost tumblers are good as the compost is mixed and aerated well as it is tumbled.
There are 5 small vents per compartment I can open or close to control the compost a bit.

The tumblers also raise the material to a good working height. To empty it out I slide off the door, put a trolley under the tumbler and rotate the handle. All the compost falls out into the trolley below.

If the mix is wet or slimy, there was too much green stuff in it.
If it does not decompose, there was too much brown stuff in it.

Much of my compost is not 'ready' before I use it. When I want to plant something, it is 'ready'.  :)
Still seems to work ok, it decomposes more in the wicking bucket, I always have to top the buckets up during a season a few times.

For me, the tumblers is as much a way to get rid of all the lawn cuttings, tree prunings, newspaper, cardboard, paper and kitchen waste here.
It makes a really healthy environment under and around the tumblers.

At times I have had excess compost and just empty it on the ground at other times I have none left.
It costs me nothing, gives me an activity and gets rid of a lot of waste.

I have an easy question for you gardening gurus...    8-)

Our lawns are being taken over by dandelions, and
as we're both too decrepit to pull 'em out by their
tap root, is there any safe weed killer we can spray
on these bastards?    Will any successful killer also
take out any other pesky weeds?

We have a 1,000m² block.

   Thanks in advance.

I see lots of “Weed and Feed” lawn sprays, no idea if they would help.

There are alternatives to RoundUp these days.

AusGeoff wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2024 at 4:48am:

I have an easy question for you gardening gurus...    8-) Our lawns are being taken over by dandelions, and as we're both too decrepit to pull 'em out by their tap root, is there any safe weed killer we can spray on these bastards?    Will any successful killer also take out any other pesky weeds? We have a 1,000m2 block.    Thanks in advance.

a weak solution of 24 d (amicide) will kill them and not touch the grass.

spray after good rain

A less chemical solution is available.

AusGeoff wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2024 at 4:48am:

I have an easy question for you gardening gurus...    8-) Our lawns are being taken over by dandelions, and as we're both too decrepit to pull 'em out by their tap root, is there any safe weed killer we can spray on these bastards?    Will any successful killer also take out any other pesky weeds? We have a 1,000m2 block.    Thanks in advance.

Dandelions are beneficial to bees and the environment.
Dandelion tea is nice.
weed killers are poison to you and the environment.

Save time and money, leave the dandelions grow freely.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2024 at 5:30am:

AusGeoff wrote on Jan 22nd, 2024 at 4:48am: I have an easy question for you gardening gurus...    8-) Our lawns are being taken over by dandelions, and as we're both too decrepit to pull 'em out by their tap root, is there any safe weed killer we can spray on these bastards?    Will any successful killer also take out any other pesky weeds? We have a 1,000m2 block.    Thanks in advance. Dandelions are beneficial to bees and the environment. Dandelion tea is nice. weed killers are poison to you and the environment. Save time and money, leave the dandelions grow freely.

No - flat weeds take over your lawn and kill the grass.
I used a Fiskars weed puller to get rid of mine when I had my house.
I removed 1,150 flat weeds what a job!
Trick - wait till it rains so the ground is soft.
see here:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/fiskars-4-prongs-xact-weed-puller_p2970049

It pulls them out by the roots - some are as big as large carrots.
I then filled the holes left behind with compost and sprinkled some grass seeds.
I eventually got rid of them and had lawns like a golf course - very nice.
It added value to my house when I sold it - well worth my time.

I always add charcoal and ash to my compost.
Oily fishheads (crushed) are also great.
I've done this after seeing a doco a very long time ago where the trees where Bears choose to eat their Salmon at, grow twice as big and fast against the trees that are left bare of the fish remains each year.

AusGeoff wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2024 at 4:48am:

I have an easy question for you gardening gurus...    8-) Our lawns are being taken over by dandelions, and as we're both too decrepit to pull 'em out by their tap root, is there any safe weed killer we can spray on these bastards?    Will any successful killer also take out any other pesky weeds? We have a 1,000m2 block.    Thanks in advance.

These thigs are great for creeping indigo, which also has long tap roots. Work best if the soil is wet.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/fiskars-4-prongs-xact-weed-puller_p2970049?region_id=118196&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnrOtBhDIARIsAFsSe52cjeA8E25UcELXwn_f7R-NMltur3MnzAK4Y_1c0T3qBB8z6cHiOtoaAttLEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you want to get rid of your Weeds.
Call Marla!

Put up a sign 'hoons on bikes welcome'.

aquascoot wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2024 at 5:19am:

AusGeoff wrote on Jan 22nd, 2024 at 4:48am: I have an easy question for you gardening gurus...  Our lawns are being taken over by dandelions, and as we're both too decrepit to pull 'em out by their tap root, is there any safe weed killer we can spray on these bastards?    Will any successful killer also take out any other pesky weeds? We have a 1,000m2 block.    Thanks in advance. a weak solution of 24 d (amicide) will kill them and not touch the grass. spray after good rain

Thanks for that Aqua... and for all the other suggestions.   👍

AusGeoff wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2024 at 5:10am:

aquascoot wrote on Jan 22nd, 2024 at 5:19am: AusGeoff wrote on Jan 22nd, 2024 at 4:48am: I have an easy question for you gardening gurus...  Our lawns are being taken over by dandelions, and as we're both too decrepit to pull 'em out by their tap root, is there any safe weed killer we can spray on these bastards?    Will any successful killer also take out any other pesky weeds? We have a 1,000m2 block.    Thanks in advance. a weak solution of 24 d (amicide) will kill them and not touch the grass. spray after good rain Thanks for that Aqua... and for all the other suggestions.   👍

I dunno about poisons?    :-/

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/24Dgen.html

https://www.pestgenie.com.au/msds/nufarm/AMICIDE%20625_24107512.pdf

Jasin wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2024 at 8:17am:

I always add charcoal and ash to my compost. Oily fishheads (crushed) are also great. I've done this after seeing a doco a very long time ago where the trees where Bears choose to eat their Salmon at, grow twice as big and fast against the trees that are left bare of the fish remains each year.

Fish are great compost
I read where East India Company officials complained about the locals in Bombay using fish for fertili zer for their coconut palms.
Seems there was also a local industry in trawling for small fish for fertilizer.

Gemfish were big-time in NSW and my sister had truckloads of fish-processing waste dumped in her cow paddock near Wollongong. It seems that people in light planes could smell it.
'A large commercial fishery was developed for gemfish off NSW in the 1970s with catches peaking in 1980 at 5,000 tonnes however, the fishery has collapsed with trawl catches currently at 100 tonnes or less per year.'..but the gem fish are not listed as needing limits or protection...

Yeah I use fish frames, meat scraps, bones, dead rodents etc. You just have to bury them for health reasons.

Gee. Never dawned on me to bury it.
Have you told this to the Bears?

I worked on a property in Western NSW years ago where when they wanted to establish a new windbreak they would backhoe a trench and dump ‘roo carcasses in it, backfill and plant seedlings, they grew well.

Sounds like the Roos were all rounded up, shot and made for a great sacrifice to the Wind God.

It's amazing what the Mafia use to make a sacrifice to the Vatican's god.

I remember when young and homeless. The back streets of Brunswick West in Melbourne were great. I could jump the backyards and eat from the Compost heaps. Mostly fruit more than veges. Life as a Possum was ok.

Home wastewater systems spread your nutrients each day. Make sure you get top grade sewage and not cheap imitations.

The grass around Harris Park grows tall and fast.