Plant Gardens 101

The newest form of making compost has really taken off in terms of popularity. The compost bin tumbler is so quick at making compost and has so many other advantages to conventional compost heaps that it is now extremely popular. You should ensure that you buy the tumbler that is right for you.

There are a number of different designs available and each will make compost very fast. Some, however may be better suited to you and your lifestyle. There are dual chamber urban compost tumblers available which will be better suited to those who make a lot of compost.

The more standard models come in either a vertical or horizontal style. I normally recommend the horizontal models and here is why. (more…)

If you aren’t already making compost at home, you need to get started today! The soil in your yard and garden will thank you, your plants will thank you, and so will the environment. Compost is a finely divided, loose material consisting of decomposed organic matter.

Although many people associate compost production with small garden compost piles that are tended with a shovel, most compost is produced in large municipal, industrial, or agricultural facilities using mechanized equipment. Nature has been producing compost for millions of years as part of the cycle of life and death on Earth. Rain kept the piles wet and aided the decomposition process, producing a rich compost. The Greeks and Romans knew the value of compost to boost crop production and even used the warmth of decomposing compost to produce summer vegetables in winter. Today, most compost is processed in large facilities designed to handle a specific type of raw material. Agricultural compost is usually produced and used on the same farm that generated the raw materials. Industrial compost may be bagged and sold to individual buyers, or the raw materials may be sold in bulk to other (more…)

As more and more people decide to move away from a conventional compost heap and begin to use an urban compost tumbler it is important that they are used correctly. Knowing how to use the compost tumbler for maximum results will mean that you can produce compost in a matter of weeks.

Here is how to get the fastest results using a compost bin tumbler.

If you want to make compost in a few weeks then there are a few things you need to do to make it happen. Firstly you need to ensure that you only put very soft materials in the tumbler. Only add organic matter that will break down quickly. Don’t put hard stalks of cabbages or the like inside. Just use soft leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds and other materials that can be turned in to compost quickly. (more…)

Billions upon billions of pounds of food waste every year are thrown away with the regular garbage pick up. This puts a tremendous strain on not only our environment but our wallets to pay people to come pick it up and hail it off to a local landfill.

All is not lost though. You can do your part and solve this problem by recycling your food waste. By recycling your food waste you are create what is called compost. Compost is the end result of organic matter that decomposes.

Your food waste doesn’t simply sit in your kitchen and rot away, which wouldn’t be too pleasant, you actually do something with it and that is you bury it. I will get to more on that in a moment. (more…)

Composting can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. The best part about creating compost is that it can consist of any organic material and we all have access to plenty of that every single day because it is produced by the lawn, garden, and kitchen. Compost is what happens when leaves, grass clippings, vegetable and fruit scraps, woodchips, straw, and small twigs are combined, then allowed to break down into a soil-like texture. Compost introduces and feeds diverse life in the soil, including bacteria, insects, worms, and more which support vigorous plant growth.

Compost is multi-faceted but not intended as a fertilizer. It offers only a relatively low proportion of nutrients, yet what it does is close to magical. In its finished form as mulch, it reduces evaporation, reduces or prevents weed growth, and insulates the soil from extreme temperature changes. Mulch also keeps the upper inches of the soil cooler in daytime, warmer at night. (more…)

by Dave Tee

The rotating composter is by far the best way to make fast compost. The claims of being able to make compost in a few weeks are absolutely true and even without this distinct advantage the compost tumbler has a number of other very useful benefits.

The fact that they are a sealed unit apart from the ventilation holes makes for almost no smell. This means that they will not attract vermin and other animals like a normal compost bin would. Because there is no smell it also makes it much more pleasant to have in the garden. (more…)

Composting is the process of organic material breaking down. The process of breaking down is more commonly known as decomposing. There is an entire ecosystem of earthly creatures, some you can see like worms, and many you can not like bacteria, that are working hard for you to give you great compost.

With that said there are still some things you can do to either speed up the process or make it more efficient. I have listed some of my tips below that have helped me with my gardening adventures and I am sure they will help you as well.

Ventilation & Aeration Oxygen is required by all living organisms. For humans we need it to breathe and stay alive. The ecosystem in your compost pile is the same way. They need oxygen to live, throve and prosper. So when you build your compost bin, whether it is a wooden box or a store bought one, make sure there is plenty of ventilation holes in it so oxygen can get in. (more…)

I have grown my own vegetables for years. This means making compost to ensure I get maximum yields. Making compost can be a messy affair and can also attract unwanted pests. Not with a rotating composter. These low priced compost tumblers are amazing. For anyone wanted to make compost fast you simply cannot get better that one of these machines.

They can make compost in as little as two weeks. It sounds unbelievable but if you ask anyone who owns a compost tumbler they will tell you the same thing. If you use them as directed you can have quality compost in as little as a few short weeks. They are nothing short of miraculous. (more…)

Since gaining notoriety as an overnight Harrods success, the beehive compost bin has grown in popularity in the United Kingdom. Now, gardening suppliers in the United States are starting to offer beehive compost bins too. But, what are they?

The thinking behind these garden composters is that while garden composting is a worthy pass-time, it is often not very aesthetically pleasing to look at. That is one of the main reason not more gardeners make their own compost. They just have no desire to site a huge plastic eyesore in the garden. For those with huge gardens any type of garden compost bin is easy to hide, either by siting it behind an existing structure, or with imaginative planting.

For those with less space to play with, the ugliness of most commercial and home-made garden compost bins has made finding something suitable really difficult. The beehive compost bins play into our love of an imagined ideal of rural English life. All, church spires, cricket lawns and beehives. There is something just really comforting about the traditional beehive shape. (more…)

There are now any number of different methods of making compost, but what is the best composter and how does it work. In this best composter reviews article we will take a look at what is now one of the best selling composters of all time. It may surprise a few of you.

The Best Composter Is……….

The Achla CMP-05 Horizontal Spinning Composter. Did you know that the compost tumbler is now THE best selling composter? You may not even have heard of it but the compost tumbler work so efficiently and creates compost so quickly that they are being used by more and more people wishing to make quality compost in a matter of weeks, yes weeks! (more…)

Recycling is now a mainstream activity and hopefully the types and volume of items being recycled will continue to increase even during the current weak economic times. There have been a lot of old, dead cars recycled in the past year because of the value of the metal. It wasn’t uncommon to get $300 to $500 per car. Demand has slackened due to the global recession but it is a good example of the benefits of recycling.

Paper, cardboard, glass, cans and metals of all kinds are now recycled. Less and less waste is going to the landfill these days. Families who religiously recycle and compost their organic materials are reducing their trash collection by up to 75%.

The recycling of organic materials by making compost is the most exciting type of recycling for many people. That compost bin on the kitchen counter gets filled up fast by families who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables which most do today.
There are certain items in your kitchen that you shouldn’t put in the compost bin because they can create odor problems and attract rodents and flies. Don’t put meat or fish bones or scraps, any dairy products and any fats grease, lard or oil in your compost bin. (more…)

If you do not have the room to start garden composting, but want all the green kudos from making your own compost have you heard of a kitchen composter? If you would like to know how you could possibly recycle kitchen scraps into compost without your kitchen smelling like the municipal dump, read on.

A kitchen composter ‘does exactly what it says on the tin’ so to speak. With it, you recycle all your kitchen scraps and organic household waste into lovely friable hummus. Because it works through fermentation rather than aerobic decomposition, you can actually site your compost bin indoors.

I admit, I was very sceptical at first. But, it really does make sense. If you seal air out from organic waste, rather than rot, it will ferment. If you introduce helpful yeasts and bacteria into the mix it will start fermenting even quicker. (more…)

Organic is now a word with so many ‘green’ and ‘Environmentally Friendly’ connotations. More people are growing their own food and creating their own garden compost. But It is often confusing as to what organic composting actually is and how we should be making it.

First of all, lets start with the basics. Garden composting is merely encouraging what nature is all to happy to do anyway. That is, decomposing any organic matter into its basic constituents. Hummus and minerals easily utilised by living plants. (more…)

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Having an ample supply of good rich compost is the gardeners dream. It has many uses, and all of those uses will result in nicer plants. However, composting can be time consuming and hard work. I place a reasonable value on my time, so spending hours and hours turning compost piles doesn’t qualify as a worthwhile exercise, at least in my book. Nonetheless, I do compost, but I do so on my terms. (more…)

Choosing a garden compost bin keeps getting more difficult as more new designs and methods of composting are created. One of the best backyard compost tumblers has to be the Envirocycle Composter.

The Envirocycle Composter is an extremely squat and sturdy form of revolving compost bin. Compost Tumblers are always quick to produce usable garden compost and this one is no exception. With a good mixture of wet and dry materials added, and regular spinning of the compost you can create compost in weeks rather than the months it takes in a conventional static bin. (more…)

Composting toilets can be a complex product to shop for, because there are so many different styles and types to choose from. If you don’t know much about composting toilet systems or how they work, the process of shopping for one can be downright daunting. In this article, we’ll explain the ins and outs of shopping for composting toilets so that you’ll know what to look for and all the right questions to ask during the buying process.

First, we’ll begin with a basic definition of the product. Composting toilets are a type of waste management system that turn human waste into clean, dry, non-offensive compost that can be applied to your gardens. The toilet itself can be installed virtually anywhere because many of these systems require no water or sewer hookups. The most important feature of any composting toilet system is that it should be 100% guaranteed odorless. It should be a clean and low-maintenance system that is easy to own and operate. (more…)

Compost is a great tool for any gardener. It helps your garden hold just the right amount of water, makes it the right texture for optimal plant growth, and provides it with beneficial natural organisms. While you can buy several different types of compost products at a retail store or gardening center, it’s much cheaper to make your own compost. Not only will you save money, you also get the added benefit of knowing that you’re not just throwing your yard waste away; it’s actually doing something beneficial for your garden and for your health.

Before getting started on building your compost pile, you should know what to put in it. To get good compost you need four elements: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and water. Grass clippings from your yard provide the carbon. Nitrogen comes from leaves in the fall. To make sure your pile gets water, build it somewhere where it will be rained on; just be sure it’s not completely soaked with water. Lastly, you can add oxygen simply by mixing the pile regularly. Just turn the soil over once a month with a rake or garden shovel. Don’t worry if you can’t provide enough nitrogen or carbon to your compost pile through your yard waste, you can always add a little fertilizer. The type of fertilizer you select will depend on what nutrient you’re lacking. (more…)

I am sure you have heard about the latest idea in composting, the Bokashi system, but what is Bokashi composting. Well it is not a real composting system at all but it is a way of treating your food waste before you compost it.

I have been composting for yours and in the summer can produce rich sweet smelling compost in a couple of months using a custom built hotbox composting system I have come up with. This just works with normal composting materials but now I am putting all the things I would have avoided in there. Have you ever composted a chicken carcass or uncooked fish skins. I know where I live this would attract vermin from the local farms. They would be attracted by the smell of the food I had put into the hot compost box. I do not think I would have been happy with the smell either.

Now I have a bokashi composting system and all this goes in. You name it; I compost it, well all the normal waste from my kitchen. I also add waste cooked food, bread, raw meat and fat and even things like duck carcasses left behind after a meal. (more…)

Compost is what is left over when organic matter decomposes. Organic matter can be things like vegetable scraps, leaves, mown grass and any other garden waste. This material will decompose without any assistance at all, though you can help it along and enjoy the benefits of compost faster if you wish.

Because it doesn’t contain a high level of essential nutrients, compost is not considered an actual fertilizer. Instead, it is treated as a soil conditioner or amendment. Compost does supply many good things to the soil. It attracts beneficial creatures like earthworms and it improves the soil composition.

Cold composting is basically just making a pile and letting it sit in the bin. This takes longer than hot composting. Hot composting is when you take a shovel and turn your pile every few days to supply more oxygen to the microorganisms in your compost pile. (more…)

Shredded leaves make excellent and effective mulch for your spring garden. Making mulch from your fallen fall leaves is not difficult. Leaves can be shredded with your lawn mower or a leaf shredder. Shredding leaves and piling them into compost bin or if you don’t have a compost bin a large heavy plastic yard bag works well too. Add the leaves in layers and on each layer add a handful of either urea, ammonium nitrate, or bone meal, either is found in your local garden center. Any of these will provide the needed nitrogen to help break down the leaves.

Continue to add leaves to your bag and when full add water enough to only saturate them ( not soak ) them. If you used a compost bin cover it with a heavy tarp or heavy plastic in the winter and mix it in early spring. If you used a heavy plastic bag, turn it occasionally during the winter. In the spring simply add your leaf mulch to your garden soil. If you notice white spots on the leaves, don’t worry, it’s a leaf fungus that adds a nutrient to the mulch. Leaf mulch is very light in weight and easy to apply and your garden soil will have the added benefits of carbon rich leaves and high nitrogen compost when mixed right into your garden in the spring. (more…)