Steve pfp
Steve
@sdv.eth
Composting 101 (aka some rules of thumbs I loosely remember) ## Making The waste you add to your compost is categorized as one of these 1. green: grass clipping, tea leaves, banana peels, kitchen scraps, etc 2. brown: dry leaves from fall, cardboard, egg shells, paper bags, etc Aim for 3:1, or rather triple the brown for every green. Shredding helps speed up the process. Avoid meat, dairy, grease, weeds, and chemically treated plants. ## Keeping There's several ways to go about containing the compost, but fundamentally each way needs three key elements: water, air, and heat. All three are crucial to the decomposition process, though as with all things it's a matter of consistency and moderation. Don't over or under do it. Watering could be once a week with an amount proportional to your pile (feel it out). Air is tumbling it (if in a rotating container) or pitchfork if in a "lazy" pile. Heat comes from max sun exposure; ideally targeting somewhere around 80-160°F internal temperature. (1/3)
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Steve pfp
Steve
@sdv.eth
## Keeping (cont) Major consideration isn't smell but critters! In my experience it never smells bad or rotten, but moist and earthy. If you decide to lazy compost (leave it out in a pile outside) just be sure to add fencing so you don't have unwelcome outdoor friends munching on your scraps. There are dedicated rotating tumbler bins, or if you're tight for space like I was when I was in my apartment during the covid lockdown, stackable milk crates and bags worked great. Even an old cardboard box could work if you had a way to capture any leakage from watering. There's lots of ways to go about composting. In general I'd just start small and feel it out! ## Using It'll be ready when it's dark and soft, or "black gold" as they say, with no visible trace of the initial materials. Just dump it on any existing plant or tree as if it were fertilizer! (2/3)
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Nicolaus pfp
Nicolaus
@nicolaus
V comprehensive guide to get started I’ve kept a pipe going for several years and don’t do much of the “right” way to do things — I just simply throw all my organic waste out there and hose it down when I’m watering my garden. But understanding the basics of what makes up a pile, placement and care is important to diagnose anything that may be off.
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