Comments on: Garbage Gardening

By: steve mclean

steve mclean — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:57:36 +0000

VicinSea wrote “I have tried this in the past and had huge trouble with rats digging up the compost (& the plants) Do you have problems like that and what has worked for you to stop them?”

What’s worked for me – both for rats and raccoons – is a layer of coffee grounds. It needn’t be completely covering the composting material, I’ve found but enough to put off the scent of the compost.

By: John

John — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:52:31 +0000

Great blog post! I love learning about this online as gardening/landscaping are not only hobbies of mine but I actually do a little bit of work like that during the summer months as a second job. I appreciate your content in your blog and wish that you would keep up the good work :)

By: al neill

al neill — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:54:05 +0000

Hey guy’s google Bokashi.I want to try the system using newspaper and maybe peat moss . Most of the supplies can be obtained for free from you’re local bakery or grocery store.Go forth and compost ,recycle and use all things green and free. Al

By: Compost Guy

Compost Guy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:09:21 +0000

I suspect that your composter must have been too dry if wasps wanted to build a nest in it. The problem with a lot of backyard composters is that they don’t let in rain so they can easily get too dry inside without you realizing it. Next time I’d recommend simply keeping it moist inside and keeping your eyes open for any indication that the wasps might be thinking about setting up nest.

By: composter

composter — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:45:22 +0000

The last time I tried to compost, wasps built a wasp nest in my composter. How can I prevent this from happening next time?

By: Compost Guy

Compost Guy — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:46:08 +0000

Hi VicinSea,
I haven’t had any issues with rats or other animals, but I’m not surprised to hear that animals can be an issue in some locations. You may want to try ‘marking your territory’ (wink wink) to see if that helps to keep animals away.

Sandy – it has been going extremely smoothly for me, so not really anything negative to report. If you have huge amounts of waste to dispose of, it can tend to pile up a bit, especially during cool/wet conditions. I’d definitely recommend NOT piling up too much waste in any one spot, otherwise you’ll likely end up with a stinky mess.

By: Sandy in Asheville

Sandy in Asheville — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:11:25 +0000

I’d really like to hear about what doesn’t work. I’ve done trench composting before, but making a mistake with “garbage” can be yucky, so I’d love to avoid mistakes if you’ve been kind enough to make them already.

By: VicinSea

VicinSea — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:16:09 +0000

I have tried this in the past and had huge trouble with rats digging up the compost (& the plants) Do you have problems like that and what has worked for you to stop them?