Garden and Nature Magazine

Compost Activator

A compost activator, or starter, is designed to start a compost pile breaking down quicker and forming a rich soil additive for your soil faster. These activators will all contain a little bit different mix of ingredients. These ingredients will run the gamut from soil fungus and bacteria additives which are natural organisms found in all healthy soils. These microscopic organisms will help activate the compost pile and start it rotting away.

Other ingredients possibly included in a compost activator will be nitrogen rich ingredients like blood meal, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal and soybean meal. Seaweed meals of different types may also be included in these starter blends. If you decide to use a compost activator in your compost pile, be sure to read the instructions thoroughly. These mixes are not cheap and you don’t want to waste your money by misusing the product.

Normal garden soil contains all the ingredients you need to get a compost pile started, so if you can incorporate a little bit of soil in the compost heap, you will be adding the micro organisms you need to act as an activator for your compost pile. You can add the nitrogen needed by these micro organisms by adding green material, such as grass clippings, to the pile.

A compost activator may not be necessary to get your compost pile started. But if you want compost quicker, it may be best to add one. These products do contain all the ingredients to help your compost pile going faster and will digest the compost pile ingredients more efficiently. Keep in mind the fact that if your compost pile contains the a large amount of nitrogen rich (green) materials, you will need to add less of the activator.

Tags: Compost
Posted in Garden Tools |

Compost Turner

In order to be broken down completely, compost needs to be mixed thouroughly with air to allow the microbes to breath. This is accomplished using a compost turner, or aerator. There are two basic types of these garden tools.

The t handle compost turner is usually around thirty six inches long. The handles are on the top, forming a t shape. An augur type blade on the bottom is turned into the mix using a twisting motion. When the blade has penetrated to the bottom of the mix, you pull upward. This action mixes the compost, performing an aerator function by mixing in air.

The adustable handle compost turner has two handles, one on the top, the other about six inches from the end of the tool. The handles on this aerator tool are adjustable for either right or left handed operation. These types work a bit different from the t handle. There are folding wings located at the bottom of the tool which fold up tight to the body when they are plunged into the compost. When you pull up, the wings flip out, mixing and aerating the compost.

Tags: Compost
Posted in Garden Tools |

Worm Composter

Using worms to create compost for your garden is a great idea. Worms can digest just about any vegetable waste from your kitchen and create a high quality compost which has a lot of nutrients.

Composting with worms using a specially made worm compost bin is a fairly straightforward project. The worm compost bins are stacked, one on top of another. When one bin is full of refuse, another is placed on top. Worms are introduced to the bottom bin, which comsume the vegetable matter in it. They will then migrate up to the next bin on their own. You can then use the compost in the bin they have vacated. The emptied bin is then placed on top and refilled with refuse.

Some worm compost bins have another feature which allows you to use the liquid waste produced by the worms. Called worm tea, this liquid can be drawn off with a tap, and used to water plants. A worm composting operation can consume five to eight pounds of food a week and produce one bin a month of compost.

Tags: Compost
Posted in Garden Tools |

Compost Bin

You will find a wide assortment of different types of compost bins, pails, and barrels on the market. Most of these are suitable for either hot or cold compost.

Compost pails are normally meant for only short term compost storage. These are kept in the kitchen or other storage area in the home. Kitchen scraps are thrown in them on a daily basis. The pail is then added to the compost pile every few days, when it is full. This helps avoid daily trips to the compost pile when you don’t have time, or when the weather is bad.

Compost bins can be as simple as the knock down wire compost bins. These are great for temporary compost making, or to store leaves in over the winter for use in the spring as a mulch, or compost material. Typically, these have steel pins which insert in the corners. The pins extend down into the ground, anchoring them in place.

Compost barrels are enclosed containers which have screened holes to admit air, but not rodents. They are usually dark colored to absorb more solar energy to help heat up the compost, causing it to break down faster.

Tags: Compost
Posted in Garden Tools |

Compost Tumbler

A compost tumbler makes good compost fast. You will find four types of compost tumbler, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

A compost sphere tumbler is basically a big hollow ball which you fill with the compost material and roll around in your yard, mixing the ingredients. Some of these models have bases to sit on, allowing the sphere to stay in one place while you roll it. These types may be hard to unload once the compost is finished.

The center axle mounted compost tumbler is the most common type found in the home garden. These tumblers usually have two doors, which makes loading and unloading easier. In many cases a wheelbarrow can be placed directly under one of the doors and the compost emptied directly into the wheelbarrow for spreading. The center axle usually has some type of aerators on it, which help mix air into the compost, allowing it to digest properly.

A rolling drums compost tumbler sits horizontally on a base which is equipped with rollers or bearingsfor the drum to rotate on. These can be harder than other types to load and unload. Some may be removed from the base to load them. If the situation is right, the composter may be rolled to the spot in the garden where the compost is to be used, opened and the compost unloaded right in place. But keep in mind that a compost tumbler loaded with compost will be heavy, and difficult to roll.

A crank-operated drums compost tumbler is considered a top of the line composter, as they can be quite pricy. The rolling action is controlled by a crank, and the drum is mounted on a frame. Turning these units is usually very easy. The compost is mixed using internal baffles which mix and aerate the compost materials. These are a bit harder to load, but may be unloaded in a fashion similiar to the center axle type. One model, the Mantiss 4000 twin, has two chambers. You fill one chamber while the one is composting. When one side is finished, you empty it and fill it, while the other is working.

The operation of tumbler composters is basically the same, though there will be differences between the models and manufacturers. Be sure to read the instructions fully. The ingredients are added to the composter, and then turned daily to fully mix the ingredients and turn out a uniform compost. The units are usually fully enclosed, so they are pretty rodent proof. It is also difficult for small children to get into them, as well as pets. They are usually fairly attractive, and do not look objectional on or near a patio. Since they are enclosed, composting odors are not free to stink up the yard.

Tags: Compost
Posted in Garden Tools |