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.
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