If you’ve read a fair bit about backyard composting you will likely know by now that one of the cardinal rules is “don’t add pet waste to your compost bin”. This advice certainly has merit, at least as far as a regular compost bin goes (i.e. one you add your kitchen waste to, and eventually empty for the garden). After all, these materials can contain various pathogens, and aren’t exactly all that enjoyable to work with.
I should mention that the term “pet waste” is actually far too broad to be used in this context. There are many different types of pets out there, and a lot of them produce waste materials that make for an excellent addition to your compost piles. Really, any of the herbivorous rodents (is there such a thing as a carnivorous rodent - haha?) - such as rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs - will create some quality compost fodder for you. It will be very easy to work with (not wet and smelly) and there won’t be the same risks involved.
I think the ‘no pet waste’ rule is definitely more applicable to carnivorous (or at least omnivorous) animals. Of course, the two most popular pet poop produces that fall into this category would be cats and dogs. Both of these animals produce wastes that are not only unpleasant to work with in general, but they can also contain nasty microbes as well.
Cat waste in particular warrants extra caution, since it can contain a parasitic protozoan called Toxoplasma gondii. This organism is relatively harmless for many people who become infected, but it can be a serious threat for pregnant woman (it can harm the unborn child) or those with compromised immune systems. Just so you know, most cases of Toxoplasmosis actually result from the consumption of raw meat, NOT from contact with cat feces (see http://www.metrokc.gov/HEALTH/prevcont/toxoplas.htm), so there’s no need to get ultra-paranoid about it - unless of course you like your steaks rare!
While I definitely DON’T recommend adding dog and cat waste to your ‘regular’ bins, I do in fact recommend setting up a completely separate system to handle these wastes - after all, why bag it up and send it off to the landfill when you can easily process it yourself and take advantage of the extra source of plant nutrients as well.
A pet waste composter should be set up a good distance away from your other composting systems and vegetable gardens, and as far as possible from the nearest water body (at least a good 100 yards or more). You can start by simply digging a hole in the ground - perhaps 2-3 feet deep and 2 feet across. Once the hole is dug you should add a nice thick layer of shredded cardboard, or some other carbon-rich, absorbent material (coir, shredded paper, aged straw etc) in the bottom. I would also recommend using some sort of enclosure over top. A regular plastic backyard composter will work fine. Aside from leaving you in control of the amount of water added (the last thing you want is to let it get flooded), this will also allow you add a lot more material, and should even help to ward off any curious children/animals.
Now all you have to do is start adding your poop (well, not YOUR poop - although I suppose you could - haha!), along with more bedding material and a sprinkle of water with each deposit. If you leave one of these systems to sit for a couple weeks or so without adding any more fresh waste (you might want to start up a second system), you could also add some composting worms. The worms would help you turn the material into compost much more quickly than would occur by simply letting it sit - but the worms definitely need a buffer zone from the fresh waste materials (hence the suggestion to let the system age for a bit) since it is a little too potent (with ammonia etc) for their tastes.
I wouldn’t personally harvest the compost from these composters - I would more likely try to put them in a strategic location so that surrounding trees/shrubs could take advantage of the rich compost being produced.
For quite some time I’ve been meaning to buy some compostable plastic bags so I can see how quickly they will breakdown in a composting system. I’ve always been really fascinated with the idea of biodegradable plastic in general, and really happy to learn that the technology has continued to improve (I seem to recall that the earliest bioplastics simply decomposed into a zillion plastic fragments rather actually breaking down completely).
Anyway, yesterday I ordered a box of 50 BioBag (R) doggy poop bags and can’t wait till they arrive - I have lots of ideas for different experiments.
I had fun with my “coffee cup challenge“, but I know this will be a lot more interesting!
For a guy who is mega-passionate about composting I can certainly be a dunce sometimes! Until just a couple of hours ago, I had no clue that ‘International Compost Awareness Week’ (May 4-10) was about to begin. Thankfully, I at least found out BEFORE it started, not after it had passed!
Anyway, I just wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know. In a sense it almost seems like my subconscious knew it was coming up - as you may have noticed, I’ve been pretty active with the composting-related posts on the blog lately (in comparison to my usual posting schedule and range of topics, that is).
Needless to say, I am going to make a real effort to continue the trend, and will keep all my posts this week themed around the topic of composting (and related practices).
If you have been thinking about potentially starting up your own composting system for the first time this year or getting back to a neglected compost pile/bin in your yard, what better time to do so than during International Compost Awareness Week?! There are lots of great composting-related events taking place so be sure to check out your city/regional website to see what’s happening in your area.
Anyway, I’m off to bed so I’ll leave it at that for now, but I’ll write more soon!
I’m sure most people have heard the saying, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”. Well, the wisdom behind these words will certainly become apparent if you spend any length of time on the Gomi Style website and watch some of their videos.
So what the heck is Gomi?
Here is a blurb from the site:
Gomi is a slang word meaning trash or junk. It’s originally a Japanese word for dust or garbage, but it’s now used to describe anything that we discard or no longer value. It was introduced to English speakers by the best selling fiction writer, William Gibson, who is also credited with coining the term “cyberspace” back in the 1980’s. Gibson used the word gomi frequently to describe the near-future dystopia of our material culture gone haywire.
Gomi Style then is essentially the utilization of materials/objects thought of as junk to make something functional and/or aesthetically pleasing. In the words of Marque Cornblatt - the man behind the movement - Gomi Style is “so much more than dumpster diving - it’s a way of life”!
The overall Gomi Style philosophy is very cool in itself (and is certainly a prime example of ‘turning wastes into resources’), but I must say that Cornblatt has also done an excellent job presenting his ideas in a very interesting and entertaining manner!
The video I’ve included above demonstrates how to build an aquarium mirror using mostly junk materials - very cool! The Gomi guys also have a number of other great videos featuring other creative DIY projects using junk.
I came across an excellent article yesterday evening called Humanure Composting. It not only covers the author’s own personal experimentation in this area (which believe it or not, makes for intriguing reading), but it also offers insightful commentary on the topic of human waste management in general - effectively highlighting how, despite our so-called advancements in modern sanitation, we have in a sense gone backwards.
Here is a great excerpt from the article:
The fundamental (so to speak) error in the way we have thought about human wastes for a couple of centuries is to think of them as waste at all, i.e. as dross or discard, a substance with no value — or a substance with extreme negative value (dirty, pathogenic, icky). The collection of humanure and urine into centralised processing centres to be biocidally or biotically neutralised and then dumped into bodies of water means that we have interrupted the nutrient cycle, turned what should be a circular energy diagram into a linear one. Instead of returning the excess or byproduct of our metabolic function to the soil that produced the food we ate — as every other living creature on Earth does in a healthy biotic system — we have intervened; we “flush away” our own metabolic byproducts and (in modern times) dump them far, far from the fields which fed us. We thus impoverish the soil (by removing nutrients, minerals, elements which are not replaced), and increase the cost of agriculture by having to replace artificially the missing nutrients, etc.
If this is a topic area that even remotely interests you, I highly recommend that you check out the full article: Humanure Composting (on the ‘Feral Scholar’ blog).
This is one of those topics that will almost certainly make some (if not many) readers squeamish. After all, we’ve essentially been programmed to think of our ‘waste’ products as dirty, disgusting, and dangerous - better known as the ‘3 Ds of Doo Doo’ (ok, so I just made that up) - so it can require a pretty substantial paradigm shift to wrap our heads around the notion of dealing with our own wastes in any manner other than what is considered the ‘norm’ (i.e. the porcelain genie that makes it magically disappear).
As many readers probably know by now, I’m very passionate about this idea of wastes being ‘misplaced resources’ - hence the Compost Guy motto, ‘turning wastes into resources’. As such, the topic of human waste is certainly a topic of interest (not in any sort of creepy, obsessive way, of course - haha), and something I’ll definitely be writing more about here. Aside from blog posts, I will be putting together a resource page all about composting toilets as well.
Back to the article…
The author was originally inspired to start her own humanure composting experiment after she read Joe Jenkins’ “Humanure Handbook” (incidentally, a book I myself own and plan to write more about here) - but rather than going the thermophilic composting route, she opted for vermicomposting. I’ve heard of numerous examples involving the successful use of composting worms in a compost toilet, so I wasn’t too surprised to learn how well they thrived in her outdoor humanure heaps. Nevertheless, I was in awe of her bravery for trying this out in a small suburban yard (not in a conventional composting toilet, or even a rural property), with neighbours only a short distance away. In fact, she continued with the project for 2 years (likely without anyone suspecting a thing) - clearly a indication that such practices don’t necessarily create a horrific, smelly mess, at least not if done properly.
I’ve been looking forward to someday having my own composting toilet. To me, the idea of flushing it all away (along with countless gallons of clean water) just doesn’t make much sense. I could only imagine what would happen if we (society) put more focus on these materials as nutrient resources. As the author of the article points out herself, it’s pretty crazy that we have such strong feelings about the safety concerns associated with human waste, yet we have zero issues with spraying all sorts of nasty pesticides (and other chemicals) on our properties (among countless other hazards we just don’t take the time to consider).
Anyway, despite my keen interest in all this, it’s not too likely that I’ll be making my own low-tech humanure bucket system (as the author did) anytime soon - it’s enough of a challenge just keeping my wife happy with all the worm bins (and other experiments) in the house!
My large outdoor worm bin as it appeared the day I built it
I’ve been meaning to write about the topic of ‘building a compost bin’, and a post on someone else’s blog (which I’ll chat about in a minute) today inspired me to at least get the ball rolling. Understandably, this is a topic that a fair number of would-be composters are interested in - while there are certainly lots of fantastic composting systems on the market these days, a lot of them are relatively expensive! I’m hoping to show everyone that you don’t have to be a carpenter or need to take out a second mortgage on your home in order to end up with a nice composter in your yard. As you might guess (based on the “part I” bit), this is going to be an ongoing series here on the blog since there are plenty of different options out there and I want to given the topic the attention it deserves.
In my opinion, the ultimate DIY composter is one that you build with used/recycled materials - not only will this save you a lot of money, but it’s obviously more environmentally responsible as well. The homemade compost bin idea I came across today is a perfect example of how you can make a really nifty composter using scrap lumber - in this case, shipping skids. Truth be told, they actually purchased their skids, but I’m sure you could also find some used ones relatively easily.
I’ve actually been trying to think of different ways to use skids in this manner, but I didn’t get very far with it so I’m happy to learn from those who have!
Without further ado, here is a link to the post in question: DIY Compost Bin
I highly recommend you check it out if you are looking for a very easy homemade composter design - they’ve also included some great photos. The authors claim they ‘aren’t even remotely handy’ so that has me feeling good about my chances of being able to build one of these - something I definitely want to do!
Anyway, I’ll leave it at that for now. In my next installment I’ll chat about the compost bin I somehow managed to build myself (pictured above) a couple summers ago.
On the weekend I posted a video featuring a cool home made compost tumbler. As it turns out, there is another excellent YouTube video featuring a do it yourself tumbler - but this one gets into much more detail, essentially providing you with the full plans for how to build one in your backyard.
The creators of the video are known as the ‘Urban Homesteaders’ and they have a number of other quality videos. Here is a blurb from their YouTube homepage:
The Urban Homesteaders live in Rochester, New York, in an area called The South Wedge.
They love the earth. They love their family. They love their neighborhood.
Most days, you can find them at home, trying to dream up solutions to life’s problems. Ocasionally you’ll catch one hugging a tree in Highland park, with their chocolate lab, Veruca, nearby.
Some may wonder why I haven’t written much about compost tumblers here thus far. Truth be told, I’ve actually been pretty skeptical when it comes to this type of composting system. To me they just seemed like over-hyped, overly-expensive toys that didn’t really do anything extra special to enhance the composting process.
I’m still definitely skeptical re: some of the claims (like being able to make compost in days rather than months), but I’m starting to come around. I know from firsthand experience (university research study) that large scale in-vessel, rotating systems can indeed speed up composting times over regular static systems, but I also know that the material I produced in two weeks was NOT finished compost (it was certainly on it’s way to getting there though).
Anyway…
As mentioned in the other compost tumbler video post, I’d love to have a smaller tumbler where I can put wastes designated for my various worm composting systems. Not only would it be a handy temporary storage container, but it would also (obviously) be a great way to mix everything up really well.
Some may wonder if you could actually put worms in a compost tumbler. This isn’t something I would recommend, unless of course you don’t plan on turning it at all (haha). The activities of the worms helps to mix and aerate the materials in a vermicomposting system, thus no manual turning or mixing is required. Aside from this, worms don’t really appreciate being tossed around all that much!
I may actually try to put together my own compost turning system this summer - just need to find myself a mini barrel. Either way, I’ll certainly be writing more about compost tumblers in general in coming weeks and months!
An e-mail question from one of my readers yesterday reminded me that it might not be a bad idea to write a quick post about the difference between ‘batch’ and ‘continuous’ composting.
A continuous composting system is one that receives waste materials on an ongoing basis - but not necessarily according to a specific schedule. This is typically the most common and easiest form of composting for the average home owner. You simply start up a compost heap or bin and add your waste materials to it as they become available.
Apart from ‘average joe’ backyard composting, another prime example of this approach is vermicomposting. Technically, you could create a batch vermicomposting system, but if you add too much waste at once there is a good chance the materials will generate too much heat for the worms, among other potential hazards.
One of the major advantages of continuous composting, particularly in the case of vermicomposting, is that you are not limited by scale - your system can be as small or large as you want it to be. As such, you can more easily compost indoors, and utilize waste materials right away, rather than stockpiling them until you have enough for batch composting.
The downside however is that you are essentially mixing fresh materials with those that have already been composted - so it can be more of a chore to separate out the ‘good stuff’. If you are composting with worms, this can be accomplished quite easily by using some sort of ‘continuous flow’ system. Such a system relies on the fact that composting worms will generally move away from their own wastes (worm castings) in the direction of the most recently added waste materials. In stackable bins like the “Worm Chalet” for example, the movement is upwards, whereas in a ‘wedge system’ (moving windrow) movement occurs laterally.
Batch composting simply involves mixing ALL your materials together at once then letting everything sit without adding more materials (aside from water), until it becomes compost. This approach is most applicable on a larger scale, and almost always will involve some variation of ‘hot composting’.
One of the main advantages of this approach is that all materials in the system will finish composting around the same time and there will be no contamination from newer materials. This approach is also very handy when you need to deal with large quantities of waste (whether at one particular time or on an ongoing basis). In comparison to vermicomposting systems, using a batch approach saves a lot of space as well (since materials can simply be mounded upwards) - thus more waste can be composted per given unit of area.
One disadvantage of this approach is the fact that you need to stockpile waste materials until you have enough for the next batch - obviously not a big deal if you do have a sizable waste stream at your disposal, but a little more inconvenient if it takes you awhile to obtain enough for a decent sized compost heap. You also generally need to pay more attention to the C:N ratio and overall properties of the materials in your mixture, proportioning them more carefully so as to obtain the results you desire.
So which one of these approaches is better?
It totally depends on what you are trying to accomplish and how much waste material you can get a hold of. I like continuous composting because it is so easily adapted to different situations, and because I don’t have a massive amount of waste to deal with (and even if I did, I’d likely just set up more worm composting systems).
By the way, there is no reason you can’t combine the two approaches. ‘Pre-composting’ large quantities of material before adding them to a vermicomposting system is actually a great way to speed up the composting process, while also getting rid of weed seeds (and possibly pathogens) - so it’s a ‘win win’ situation!
Now that yard and garden season is here again, I’m sure many people are interested in getting their backyard compost bins and heaps up and running once more. If you piled up lots of organic matter in the fall you may be surprised to find that it has broken down a fair bit during the winter. This material can be used as a great mulch for your gardens, or can simply be combined with new material and turned into really nice compost.
If you are fairly casual with your composting efforts - not overly concerned with the speed of the process or amounts of material produced - simply starting to add kitchen scraps to your bin once again may be just fine for you. If on the other hand you are keen to really kick your composting activities into overdrive so that you can produce lots a compost for your garden, then more effort (and attention to detail) will likely be required.
The first thing you’ll obviously want to do is open up your system and have a look so you can get a feel for what you are working with. Better yet, remove the composter entirely (assuming you even use one) so that you can really get a good look at any materials that may be left over in the bin. What’s there? Is it dry or wet? How does it smell? Is there a lot of bulky plants materials (perhaps woody waste)?
These are the sorts of questions to keep in mind as you scope out the situation.
I’d recommend that you start by chopping up as much of the bulky/woody materials as you can - the more surface area you create for decomposers, the more quickly this stuff is going to break down. Next assess the water-holding capacity of your current mix - if you have lots of dried up leaves and debris and little in the way of humus (the dark, earthy smelling stuff) you should add some materials that will help maintain moisture levels in the system (something that is very important). Something like coconut coir is an excellent choice since it can absorb a lot of water and is more environmentally responsible than peat moss. The downside is that it can be somewhat expensive. Shredded cardboard is a free alternative, and while it can’t hold as much water as coir, it has the added bonus of improving air flow in the bin (it acts as a bulking agent). Some other great materials to consider are finished compost, well-aged manure, or partially decomposed straw or leaves.
Next you need to add some new materials to your system. Hopefully you will either A) Have some yard wastes (such as fall leaves) left over from last year, or B) Have some materials from spring clean up to add to your compost bin. Raking the thatch (dead grass) and leftover leaves out of your lawn can be an easy way to get yourself a decent amount of excellent composting fodder. Weeding your gardens and/or cutting the lawn should provide you with some nice green wastes as well. Even if you use a mulching mower, why not just use the bag for the first cut of the year? Grass clippings, if mixed well with the rest of your materials will provide you with a nice boost of nitrogen and will definitely help to get your heap ‘a’ hoppin!
Kitchen waste is another valuable ‘green’ waste and should help to keep your heap moist as well. As is the case with the grass clippings, just make sure you spread these materials out - too much in one area will likely just create a smelly anaerobic mess.
Once your materials are mixed (better yet, while you are mixing them) use a watering can to add some water to the mix. You don’t need to totally soak everything - keep in mind the often-cited “damp sponge” recommendation. If you are adding (or have already) composting worms you might want to add a little more water since they will help to move/aerate everything and they also really love wet conditions.
Speaking of composting worms, I do highly recommend adding some ‘Red Wiggler’ worms (Eisenia fetida) to your system if you are looking for a way to speed up the composting process in a typical backyard composter. The compost they help you produce is outstanding stuff for your garden and can actually provide major benefits in much smaller amounts that most ‘regular’ composts. One thing to keep in mind though - don’t bother adding them if you are making a giant hot composting heap, since you’ll just end up killing them or at least forcing them to evacuate the system. Worm composting is better as a ‘continuous’ process (I’m going to write about ‘continuous vs batch’ composting in my next post), whereby smaller quantities of wastes are added on a more regular basis.
In case you are wondering what I did with my own backyard composter this spring…
When I first opened it up I found lots of dry, bulky plant wastes that I had jammed in last fall during my garden clean-up activities. I had been a tad lazy with in the fall since I expected to simply end up using the material as fodder for my winter composting bin. When I opened up the trap door in the bottom, things look a lot better - materials seemed to be broken down quite nicely (thanks to the activity of my composting worms) and there was ample moisture.
I didn’t end up chopping up the bulky materials (which I should have), but I did add leaves and well-aged manure to the bin to help fill in the spaces and to improve the moisture retention. I next gave the bin a healthy sprinkling of water to ensure moist conditions in the upper reaches of the composting mass. I was happy to see that a lot of Red Worms managed to survive the winter (remember this is my regular, non-insulated bin), but I decided to add a lot of new worms anyway just to make sure there is a good population of them in there.
That’s pretty much it. Now it will simply be a matter of adding more waste materials, maintaining moist conditions in the bin and of course starting to remove some of the compost from the bottom.
As you can see, it’s not too difficult to get your bin back in shape this spring!
I just came across this interesting YouTube video featuring a relatively simple homemade compost tumbler design. I suspect this system would get a little wonky if it contained a lot of material, but all in all it’s still pretty cool. I know what I’d use it for - I’d make a smaller version for keeping kitchen scraps before adding them to my worm bins. This way I could mix them up and keep them nicely aerated while they decompose prior to vermicomposting!
