Anyone Can Compost

I am an 'assembly line' kinda guy. I take a process and refine it and refine it. In that way my 'speed composting' has become rather unique and won't appeal to everyone. Heck probably wouldn't have appealed to me 25 years ago. The heart of my system now is a Vitamix blender which I use to mash both kitchen scraps and soggy shredded paper. There are alot of things I used to do in composting that I no longer do for speed and efficiency sake. Not only for the sake of 'speed composting' though, have I made so many refinements but also because my operations cannot weather the winters here in Buffalo so I turned to 'basement composting'. Of course if you are composting inside you want to avoid the smells and flys and bugs that so often accompany composting but which are of no concern if you can compost outside year round.

My point is, as I consider my personal experiences with composting over the last 35 years I realize that I have used so many different styles of composting - that I would hate to alienate anyone who could not relate to how I do things now but may benefit from past experience.

Anyone can compost. You can compost in a lidded Rubber-maid container in the kitchen, on the back porch or on the balcony. You can compost in a big bottomless box in the backyard, heck you could just make a big pile in the backyard without the box. I have twice taken a sand and rock yard and dug it out 12 to 18 inches deep, removed the rocks and clay added aged broken down manure, once horse manure, once cow manure - mixed it up with the sand and then added red worms. When it settles add to the soil with some rich top soil and more compost and when it has settled level plant grass seed. The reason I go so deep is in case I ever want to turn it into a garden, which would be easy because it is so dang furtile and rich, the worms keep it aerated and composting.

One of my most pertinent messages is 'use red worms' they are the composting kings and 1 pound of red worms will eat 1/2 a pound of scraps a day and under optimum feeding, warmth and moisture conditions will multiply exponentially every 7 days. What if you don't have everything perfect? So what they still lay an egg every 7 days or so, it hatches with up to 20 little worms who will begin breeding in about 3 months. The more you fine tune the process the closer you get to the averages.

Many sites speak about overbreeding and having too many worms in a box, if you don't want to expand your operation don't worry about it. If they are overcrowded they will get smaller, a pound of worms will still eat a half pound of food. Also if you introduce those overcrowded smaller worms to a new bin with more room, the new generation will be full size.

If you are thinking about composting and want more info their are rich resources on the Internet, read widely and take what works for you - iF I can be of assistance I would be happy to help you put a plan together.

Happy Gardening, Dan Hamon, email: dkhamon@hotmail.com