01-15-2007, 03:13 AM
Aloha, Beachboy,
We compost everything from the table scraps to all the weeds we pull out of the gardens. We did not have a conveniently located puka, so we built an unmortared square rock enclosure. Actually, we built two, one for household waste and the other for weeds. (The weed compost sometimes has weed seeds in it, so we have to wait longer to use it.) We left the front wall of the enclosure only two-thirds as high as the other three to allow for easier turning and removal of finished compost.
We didn't use any fancy starter cultures or anything. Just started throwing stuff in there, and it started rotting. If it gets stinky, we throw a thin layer of soil or cinders on top. (Only the household stuff ever stinks.) We turn it with grubbing fork every couple months, which lets us admire all the earthworms living in there.
This is very unscientific, but it works, and we have nice dark brown compost to mix with cinders to make new garden soil. There is a lady on the island who gives classes and sells systems for this, and her methods are probably better, but this works for us.
Cheers,
Jerry
Edited by - JerryCarr on 01/15/2007 07:17:47
We compost everything from the table scraps to all the weeds we pull out of the gardens. We did not have a conveniently located puka, so we built an unmortared square rock enclosure. Actually, we built two, one for household waste and the other for weeds. (The weed compost sometimes has weed seeds in it, so we have to wait longer to use it.) We left the front wall of the enclosure only two-thirds as high as the other three to allow for easier turning and removal of finished compost.
We didn't use any fancy starter cultures or anything. Just started throwing stuff in there, and it started rotting. If it gets stinky, we throw a thin layer of soil or cinders on top. (Only the household stuff ever stinks.) We turn it with grubbing fork every couple months, which lets us admire all the earthworms living in there.
This is very unscientific, but it works, and we have nice dark brown compost to mix with cinders to make new garden soil. There is a lady on the island who gives classes and sells systems for this, and her methods are probably better, but this works for us.
Cheers,
Jerry
Edited by - JerryCarr on 01/15/2007 07:17:47