kellystevens I tried setting up my own composting but it simply became a salad bar for the local racoons - and my fish pond was their sushi bar. Thankfully my city composts everything from our green waste bins - including kitchen scraps and cardboard.

aeykelbo I also quit composting when my city started collecting, thankfully. It's a lot of work, and small city gardens can only accept so much compost before the start to have a very high ratio of organic to mineral soil, at which point other problems ensue (like how to get rid of all this compost.)

Also, cities have the ability to get far more green benefit out of organic waste than individuals do; e.g., when the scale is big enough, anaerobic digestion and gasification for the cogeneration of heat and biogas become possible. Also, organic waste can be pyrolyzed for heat and energy, and the residual, an extremely stable compound called biochar, can be buried in the earth as a way to sequester carbon (which is nature's way of storing carbon in ecosystems that experience a lot of fire).

Point is, if you don't love composting, write to your city council about trying organic waste collection, if they don't already, and looking into these types of technologies. That's where the real environmental benefits come in and they could one day totally transform how we heat and power our cities.

jdforney We started composting right when we bought our house & it's been fabulous. During the not freezing months, we stir it every couple of days, so we can harvest compost every 3 months. Ours doesn't get hot enough to kill tomato or squash seeds, so last year we had at least 30 volunteer plants spring up in our yard- enough for me to put up 6 quarts of tomato sauce & have 8 pumpkins for Halloween decorations.

We used to create 3-4 bags of kitchen trash every week. Now we are down to 1.

I just wish our town did curbside compost collection (other than yard waste). That way, others would be willing to compost without the (little) work.

mrkvndns I have been composting with two bins for about 3 years. I absolutely love it. I live in Midwest, so the process slows down quite a bit in the winter months, but I keep adding to the bins throughout the year and am usually surprised by the results in the spring. I typically get a finished product by mid to late summer, which is the perfect time to restock the bins with grass, leaves as well as the predictable kitchen straps and coffee grounds. There’s nothing better than getting a few wheelbarrow loads of “black gold” to spread out over garden and flower beds. I haven’t yet used any compost on my lawn, but I’m planning to try a thin layer this year. I have a typical subdivision lawn with only a thin layer of good dirt on top. I’m hoping a layer or two of compost will improve it.

JMittman Designs I've been backyard composting for 2 years now. I built my compost bin from pallets. I have harvested from it, and it is work to turn it. If I did it again, I'd build at least 2--I really like your 3 bin one but don't think I have that space. I also keep a small compost container under the sink to collect the food wastes before I take it outside. I find it to be very satisfying work. I added a rainbarrel last year. REALLY love it!

ConnieQ Having a lid on a compost bin is a good idea. I've found two rats in our bins (tall plastic barrels without lids). One rat was belly up and very dead. Today, as I was dumping kitchen waste into our empty bin, I was surprised to see a rat scurrying around in circles trying to find his way out! After letting out a shriek, I tipped the bin on it's side and out he went!

Dorman Architects I use 3 side x side bins with low sides constructed from untreated pallet timbers.

The first two bins are the active bins. One is left empty, the other we deposit our uncooked food waste, torn up newspapers, dead plant matter, crushed eggshells, egg cartons, seaweed etc. During the summer I cover it with cardboard box flattened, in winter with cardboard and carpet. The boxes rot into the compost eventually.

Every 2 weeks or so I turn those contents into the empty bin as part of the compost aeration process. I find it easier to tip from one to the other rather than trying to turn the compost within the bin itself. This along with low sides makes it easier on the back.

Having said that I sometimes do sacrifice one of the bins for leaves which I pile up and leave open to air and rain to break down into leaf mould. Leaves break down through bacterial activity and so don't require worms or heat to facilitate the process. Can take up to 2 years though...better in a large wire basket or if stuck for space in black bin bags well punctured.

The third bin is the 'closed' bin i.e the previous seasons full bin which is covered with cardboard and carpet and is in the final process of composting.

JMittman Designs What is the scoop on pine needles? Yay or nay? I have read conflicting articles. I am speaking of brown pine needles that have dropped from the tree.

Dorman Architects I think that this guy provides a good explanation -ultimately they make composting more complex -leave them out I'd say and give them their own area to break down as you would do with deciduous leaves
http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/qa/pine-needles-compost.aspx

JMittman Designs Connie--eeeeewwwww! That would freak me out a bit! (I fear spiders!)

Stone & Land, LLC Thanks for the article, I just have a heap in a back corner of the yard. I agree with some about the work involved but my boys really like seeing the worms when I turn over the soil. It has started attracting mice though (don't tell my wife). I'm in a newer neighborhood with not very mature trees but I grabbed a bunch of bags from the neighbor in the fall and covered my spent veg garden bed. I also snatched a straw bale from the curb and added to the heap. I'll clean out the area and put the good stuff on top of the leaves when it thaws, till it in. Hopefully have a better garden this year, and a new compost system that's more functional and attractive

Stone & Land, LLC @ aeykelbo, I went and toured a cool place in Chicago called " The Plant " that is going to collect green waste and use an anaerobic digester to produce gas to run a jet engine turbine for electricity & harness the heat. I’ll describe it as a Repurposed Sustainable Urban Vertical Agriculture Small Business Incubator Building. It’s pretty cool if you like green technology.
http://www.plantchicago.com/

aeykelbo @ Stone & Land, LLC --> that IS a very cool, multifunctional building, and a huge learning opportunity. Green technologies and green buildings have come so far, it really gives me hope for some actual positive change in the future. Thanks for sharing and hooray for closed loops!

Stone & Land, LLC @ aeykelbo - Thanks, went MLK day (10 degrees F) and saw them growing tilapia and greens in the basement aquaponics room. I heard about it at an Landscape Contractors conference during a round table discussion with other Landscape Architects last week. So refreshingly tangible, people making real changes and real jobs in a sustainable way.

Steve Masley Consulting and Design I've been composting for 28 years. I make compost from kitchen scraps, chopped-up spent garden plants, straw, dry tree leaves, horse manure and bedding, any organic materials I can get my hands on. I do 3 or 4 one-yard piles a year--that's one yard finished compost--so I process 6-8 yards of raw material a year.

I usually hot-compost, generating temperatures of 160-170 degrees in the middle of the pile, so I kill any pathogens or weed seeds, and get finished compost in about 6 weeks. In 28 years, I've seen every kind of composting problem.

What's my ideal compost bin? a cylinder of welded wire fencing. Either 1 x 1" or 1 x 2" mesh. 3 pieces of wire to seal the ends together. Enough room to turn the pile to one side.

Why is this better than a 3-bin system? Because when you want to turn the pile, you untwist 3 strands of wire, pull the fence aside, and turn the pile over to one side. After you've turned 1/3 of the pile, put the hoop back around, wire it up, and fork the rest of the pile over the top.

ginnys1010 I dump shredded paper into my recycling mulch container. It doesn't take long before the white pieces turn color and haven't spotted anything but dark brown when it's time to get the prime dirt from the bottom.

mrsben Not to start a debate as I feel 'composting is a good thing', however one should be aware that there can also be health hazards that one can contract by doing so. To name a few; histoplasmosis, aspergillosis, tetanus, e-coli, paranychia etc.

richardaz I found composters with locking lids at www.GreenExpressDirect.com which keep animals out.

kimberlyjos I had a tumbling composter which was a waste of time it was hard to get out the compost once it was ready & then it was such a small amount. What I do now, that I personally think works wonders, is once my kitchen bucket is full of green matter I simply bury it in the garden. I do this a few times a week in a different location through out the garden. I also spread grass & leave clippings on top when I can. Give this a try you might be surprised.

Lisa Nelson I like to put my shredded documents in too.
And when it needs a boost I get the boys to wee on it!!
No fear of anyone stealing your identity then. Ha ha!

Steve Masley Consulting and Design Kimberlyjos, your method of burying a bucket of kitchen scraps in various places in the garden is actually a form of "trench composting", where you dig a trench in the garden where you want to plant heavy-feeding vegetables the next season, then slowly fill it in with kitchen scraps, dead leaves, and grass clippings, then top it off with soil. If you're planning to plant a fruit tree the next year, dig a deep planting hole for it and start backfilling with kitchen scraps, leaves, and grass clippings. Cover it with a trash can lid to keep critters--and kids--out. Fill it up 3-4 months before you plan to plant, then top it off with soil. When you're ready to plant it's all broken down into nice compost for your new tree.

Lisa, shredded documents are great "brown" materials in composting systems, especially worm composters. I just mix half chopped kitchen scraps, half shredded paper to feed my worm bin. What you said about your boys whizzing on the shredded documents reminded me of what my mom used to do. She didn't even shred her bank statements, she'd just put them in the diaper bin from my sister's day care center. She never worried about identity theft, either. it

fadingdust @JMittman Designs, regarding pine needles: I'm no expert, but pine needles are typically very high in acidity - notice that pine trees rarely have weeds within their needle-matte. This makes needles great for mulching, but I'd be careful using it for plants that can't tolerate the high-acid level. Other pine-like plants like rosemary, juniper and lavender might stand a chance. Of course, insofar as acidity is all that is involved here, buying a pH testing kit is the precise and inexpensive answer to this question..

Steve Masley Consulting and Design It's not so much the acidity of pine needles that's problematic, but the extremely high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio--upwards of 500:1 (finished compost is around 20:1). When you add high-carbon materials to soil, bacteria multiply to break down the carbon. They suck up all the available nitrogen in the soil as their numbers increase, depriving nearby plants of the nitrogen they need for growth. Eventually, they use up the carbon, and then the nitrogen in their bodies becomes available to plants as they die off or are eaten by other organisms.
This period when bacteria monopolize nitrogen is called the nitrate depletion period.

Pine needles used as mulch won't create this problem. It's only when they're mixed into soil that they become a problem.

Juniper is related to pines, but rosemary and lavender are in completely different plant families. You can use small amount in compost, but large amounts are not advised.

Never use walnut leaves or chips in compost piles. Walnuts contain juglones, persistent chemicals that are toxic to nightshade vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

Counselor Realty, Inc. One word: Vermicomposting. Much faster, very rich soil. Been doing it for 4 years and love the results.

Steve Masley Consulting and Design I started vermicomposting when I moved into an apartment 12 years ago, from a house with a huge garden. I hated throwing kitchen scraps away, so I got an upward-migrating worm bin, and I still use it, even though I got a plot at a community farm a year after I moved, and have my compost pile out there. Now, I do both. Kitchen scraps go into the worm bin, and excess scraps go into the compost pile, along with garden waste. I use the worm castings--with live worms!--in my salad table trays and container gardens. The worms enrich the soil with beneficial bacteria and fungi, and help cycle organic nutrients in the potting mix. The beneficial bacteria and fungi compete with pathogens that would otherwise attack my plants.

Here's a couple pictures of pepper plants grown with worm castings:

Jilson Modern Home Staging Steve Masley,
You are hilarious, "speaking of peeing on your compost.... reminds me of my mom..." (not actual quote : ) And knowledgeable! Thank you for all the great info. Even why pine needles aren't good for composting, but great for mulch.
I have to say that I just knew you had to be in California. Props to CA!

kakanui This will disgust some of you but it's miraculous.
Urine in compost increases it's temperature which kills pathogens more thoroughly and speeds the process - the resulting compost contains significantly higher nitrogen than wee-free compost.
1 part wee to 2 parts compost is the primo ratio (that's a lot of urine!) and it should be added in 3 separate lots a week apart.
For more info - http://www.ecosanres.org/icss/proceedings/presentations/26--PragyaShrestha--PresentationAugust.pdf

Shavonda Gardner I absolutely love gardening and have begun a small compost heap in my yard. I plan on making a large compost bin out if some wood palettes I got from work. In the meantime ill be Starting my composting in a large Tupperware bin I've drilled holes in for aeration. I'm so excited about it.

Steve Masley Consulting and Design Shavonda, just be sure you're adding enough "browns"--shredded paper, shredded cardboard, dead tree leaves, straw, etc. Most people have a steady supply of kitchen scraps, but don't have easy access to brown materials, or don't realize the importance of adding them.

The first time I tried composting 28 years ago, I was excited, too. I started tossing my kitchen scraps in a pile in the back yard, and three weeks later, it was full of maggots, and stunk to high heaven. You should add equal parts "brown" and "green" materials (like kitchen scraps).

Shavonda Gardner Hi Steve. Thanks so much for the info. Ill be sure to add enough brown material. Ill be sure the check out the link as well.

ginnys1010 Today I added whatever was in my bagless vaccum and dryer lint.

mapiedra I actually do as @Kimberlyjos. The surprise is that I found 3 tomato plants, 1 potato plant and a garlic plant coming all up at the same time. I guess the soil that was once pretty damaged, started to become fertile with all our fruit and vegetable wastes!

JMittman Designs "One part wee..". heeheehhee. Thanks for the giggle. :)

ML Landscaping I'm curious, I used to mix our coffee ground into our beds that we use for the tomato's, since my wife bought a kuerig we don't have the grounds anymore and our tomato's haven;t been as good. Can pine needles be used for the same purpose since they have a high acidity like the coffee grounds??

ConnieQ ML Landscaping, if you read further up in the comments I think someone else asked about pine needles. My husband and I sometimes make "coffee runs"...we live in the Seattle area, so there are lots of coffee shops...and they all go through lots of coffee and put the grounds aside for gardeners! Even Starbucks! Sometimes there will be coffee filters in the mix, but they just decompose too.

mhetterman I've been using worms for over 10 years....we literally have MORE recycling for the street pickup than trash, now that most of our kitchen scraps go to feed the worms. My neighbors all ask me what I do to my plants; they are thriving! When I tell them it's the worm compost, they can't believe it could make such a difference!
I also ONLY use leaf compost in my beds....back to the way nature intended.
The worms do not smell and are workaholics....a lb of worms will produce 100X their weight in rich, organic compost....and my kids love the idea they are "growing worms"~

sarahmarg All you need is a couple of round garbage pails with lids. Poke holes in the bottom, kick it over (with lid) every once in a while to stir it up. Fill the second one while the first one decomposes.

chamimcrod I recently read on gardenweb,com a thread about how roaches gravitate to compost piles. A lot of people were talking about how that's just part of what you have to deal with. That is a deal-breaker for me though. Anyone else have different experiences or measures they take to counteract that problem?

gypzigurl I just started a worm compost a few months ago as a winter project. Just used a Rubbermaid bin with holes drilled in it for drainage and air circulation. Put one lid underneath to catch drips and a lid on top. I put in kitchen scraps (including egg shells and coffee grounds), soil, dead leaves from houseplants, newspaper/cardboard and also a cup of water from time to time. Also, when we change our pet guinea pigs' bedding, we toss in some of that too. It contains enviro pet bedding, Timothy hay and, of course, their waste. The rest of the guinea pigs' spent bedding goes out on the flowerbeds: in the spring, timothy seeds will sprout and create a fresh treat for the piggies! So far, the compost seems to be working quite well: dark, gorgeous compost and the worms are multiplying like crazy! The only drawback is the fruit flies but being in a northern climate, the red wriggles wouldn't survive the winter being out in the unheated garage so I just try to keep the problem contained by keeping the composter in the laundry room with the door closed.

lolakitchenera I do my compost using a sack of rice (5 kilo capacity) I just dump vegetable and fruit peels in it and seal it. I just leave it on the ground near my plants. I think the juices from the decomposing peels find their way into my plants so I don't have to deal with the smell. I have been very successful with it as my plants are all very healthy.

Andrew Ovenden I was composting with a standard black plastic compost bin, but I was never able to keep up with it in the summer as the heat would cause it to digest faster than I could supply it. We always mulched our grass and leaves with the lawn mower anyway. In the winter, it got too cold (we live in North Carolina). I decided to go with worms instead and it's been great. We have a three tray system ("Worm Cafe" brand) and I'm now at the point where I'm harvesting about 5-10lbs of "dirt" every six weeks.

My worms have multiplied from the one pound (1,000 worms) that I started with, and the most time consuming part of the process is separating the worms from the harvestable dirt (not difficult, and I could make it easier on myself if I didn't try to retrieve every last worm from the dirt). Our two-year old LOVES feeding the worms each day and she knows when they're happy (or "being squiggly"). If you're turned off by the thought of contact with the worms, don't be. They're very shy (really!) and usually bury themselves quickly when you lift off the lid. If you don't want contact with them (e.g., when you harvest the dirt), then you basically leave the soil in a pile on a tarp. The worms stay away from the light, so they bury down. You just scrape the top layer of dirt off every so often and keep repeating the process until you're near the bottom of the pile. Simple!!!

I find that a garage that doesn't freeze and doesn't get too hot inside is best. You could feasibly have the worm bin inside the house if you're good at managing the process.

Try it. It's fun. Much more fun than the old compost bin.

karelina So if it's good to add people urine to compost piles, how about cat litter? I thought that was a no-no? Pine and clay litter are out, clearly. What about wheat chaff or newspaper litter?

Andrew Ovenden Karelina, there are many reasons why you should not compost ordinary (bentonite clay) kitty litter. For one, it's not biodegradable, plus the poop can contain a number of pathogens. Not all pathogens (like seeds) can be killed by the heat of the pile. Human urine does not typically contain pathogens, but does actually readily break down into urea, or ammonia and nitrogen that would help your pile (urine is slightly saline, but since the pile is slightly acidic, that should not be a problem). However, I would NOT recommend peeing in your compost heap if you are taking antibiotics.

You could flush the kitty poop in the toilet and then compost the biodegradable litters (like the newspaper or wheat chaff litters you mentioned).

Andrew Ovenden Chamimcrod: The cockroaches that you find outside and in or around your compost pile are most likely garden roaches, not the sort of cockroaches that one is loathe to find under the kitchen sink. The outdoor loving garden roaches are a different species altogether and are pretty harmless. They're going to be out there anyway and will actually help to break down the pile. The hotter the pile gets, the less likely they are to be a "problem" and they are less likely to reproduce in a pile that is disturbed (turned) on a regular basis.

Having said that, if anyone in the US sees grey-colored larvae, about 1" (2-3cm) long in their pile, say thanks. These are most likely soldier flies and are harmless and very shy (as flies go). They are good to have because they compete with your typical house flies and also eat other insect larvae. There are some people who will actually do vermicomposting (worm bin composting) using nothing but soldier fly larvae.

Hope that helps.
Andrew

Andrew Ovenden Someone mentioned coffee grounds above. If you go to your local Starbucks and ask if they have any "Grounds for the Garden," you will find that they will either have them prepackaged in a bin or they will drag out one of their trashbags for you. I have walked out of Starbucks many times with as much as 50lbs of coffee grounds. It actually makes the car smell like coffee for a day afterward (I work on an ambulance, so I've hit up more than one Starbucks in a shift, and then forgotten to take the bags out until the next shift. We just told the patients that we were experimenting with a coffee-based deodorizer).

Steve Masley Consulting and Design Andrew, you're right about not composting cat litter. Cats that range outside are often infected with toxoplasmosis, a nasty parasite that can cause fetal nerve damage in pregnant women and has even been implicated in some human cases of schizophrenia.

Flushing cat litter down the toilet, however, isn't the best idea. Toxoplasmosis isn't filtered out by sewage treatment, and it's been killing sea otters along the California coast for the last couple decades. Better to bag it and landfill it. The parasite can't make it into groundwater.

Andrew Ovenden Thanks for the clarification, Steve. I hadn't thought about the otter angle (probably because I'm on the east coast). Actually, cat litter in the toilet could also clog your pipes (in my previous comment I said "flush the cat poop" not litter).

karelina I have 2 house cats. As I said, I currently use biodegradable wheat chaff. I never considered composting the poop. I just want to know about composting the litter with cat urine. I got mixed messages when I looked it up online.

Andrew Ovenden I'm sure cat urine would not be a problem. Again, I'd refrain if your cats are on some medications like antibiotics. The cat urine might actually deter rodents.

Steve Masley Consulting and Design Karelina, you might want to try running it through a worm composting system. You'll have to add lots of "brown" materials to keep it from heating up too much for the worms, but the worms actually live on bacteria, fungi, and nematodes like Toxoplasma gondii. A hot composting system would also destroy any stray parasites in the litter, but hot composting is a lot of work.

karelina Steve: A worm system is too pricey for me. Unless you know an inexpensive way to set it up?

Andrew Ovenden Karelina: I know you addressed the question to Steve, but I'm such a big fan of wormfarming now that I couldn't resist. There's lots of ways to start up a worm bin system very cheaply. The simplest is to get yourself a large plastic tub with a lid from Wal-Targ-Mart. YouTube has a ton of videos with instructions (some are a little kooky, but there's some that aren't bad (I just googled "youtube inexpensive worm bin video and it came up with a good example). I did buy a premade one and I've been happy with it, especially as it's much easier to drain liquids out of it. If you're making your' own, you can get quite creative and worms are quite forgiving. You can make stacking ones in which the worms move up to the next tier as they exhaust the foodstock in the lower tiers. Good luck with it. -- Andrew

Steve Masley Consulting and Design Karelina and Andrew: Yes, you can set up a cheap worm composting system using just a plastic tote, but you have to drill air holes along the top, and either drill drainage holes in the bottom to let liquids out (then you have to capture them, or let them drain into the soil), or tip the bin and use a turkey baster to suck up liquids. If you don't do this, the liquid level rises, goes anaerobic, and eventually kills your worms, and then you've bot something that smells like a dead bass. If you can site your worm bin under a fruiet tree and let the leachate drain out, you solve this problem and feed your fruit tree at the same time.

I bought a worm farm upward migrating system 10 years ago, and it's some of the best money I've ever spent.

karelina Andrew and Steve: Can I just dig up some worms and toss them in my compost bin?Though I suppose they can just wander away. Is there an advantage in having 2 compost systems?

Steve Masley Consulting and Design Karelina: There are many different kinds of earthworms. For worm composting, you want red wriggler worms, Eisenia foetida, not soil-dwelling worms. Soil-dwelling worms can't survive in a worm composting system. Red wriggler worms are litter-dwellers, they live under leaf piles and cow pies, between the organic matter above and the soil below. If you dig down to the bottom of a pile of leaves, you'll find them right at the soil line, or just below.

judybergman I got tired of using a compost bin and now just have a nice piece of pottery next to my sink (with a lid) and every couple days I find a place in the yard to bury it. It seems to turn to compost pretty quickly. I put all green stuff in it and tea bags and shrimp shells, some paper, etc., and have had no bug or animal problems.

Andrew Ovenden ...and Judy, come summer, you'll have a lot of nice vegetables popping up in all sorts of odd places in your yard. I had squashing growing among my rosebeds last year.

judybergman Surprise garden vegetables (and eggs if I'm lucky!).

lambypie I have a small horse farm and am establishing a permaculture system. I use several methods of composting, as weather here in the midwest dictates. In the winter I use compacted bins of manure to heat my makeshift greenhouse. Normally you wouldn't want to compact compost, but this is for a different purpose. Yes, having someone pee on it helps the cause! In the spring it goes into my active compost piles, then becomes part of the permaculture system. Also in the winter, I have a dedicated blender for masticating kitchen scraps. I dilute it with much water, and pour it on my lawn, garden and pasture on my way to and from caring for the horses.In the spring I have great crops and great soil, and hardly any trash all year long. A good book on managing manure waste and compost is "Holy Shit" by Gene Logsdon.

elianecostello I would love to do compost, but I am always scared.
Could someone to help be to be brave and have a simple way to start?

sarahmarg Elianecostello- All you need is a couple of round garbage pails or cans with lids. Poke holes in the bottom, then put in your coffee grounds, vegetable waste, paper, and non-weed yard clippings. Because of the holes in the bottom, worms and larvae will find their way in. Kick it over (with lid on) and roll it around every once in a while to stir it up. Fill the second pail while the first one decomposes.

Andrew Ovenden Elianecostello -- What Sarahmarg said. Plus, depending on where you live, check your local solid waste company's website, county agricultural extension, or 4H club. Quite often, you will find that those organizations do regular workshops or will even sell handy compost containers at reduced prices, etc. to get people started. If you follow the instructions above, you'll find plenty of good ideas. It doesn't have to be fancy or scary.

av8ricks One small caution about using materials or compost of unknown origins. If certain herbicides were used on the compost material (clopyralid), it can remain in the soil and continue to kill plants. Some folks have used the compost from their city composter and not known why all their plants died. You can get more info by searching for "killer compost".

Andrew Ovenden @av8ricks: All the more reason to compost your own stuff instead of relying on outside sources. However, clopyralid has been taken off the market by Dow, and it's banned in many jurisdictions. Of course, that doesn't mean that other herbicides aren't lurking out there ready to do the same damage (clopyralid was replaced by aminopyralid, but that had the same problem and was also taken off the market in Europe -- not sure about the US), but I think there's a higher degree of vigilance now for "persistent" herbicides.

av8ricks @ Andrew - Unfortunately, I can buy clopyralid at my local big box store. It's sold as Kudzu killer. And yes, relying on your own stuff is the way to go. Especially if you are growing your own organic veggies. I love my home grown tomatoes and since they seem vulnerable, I'd hate for someone else to miss out on that summer yumminess because they didn't know not to use manure or compost that may have been contaminated.

Julie Anderson Pine needles: I use pine needles around my rhododendrons and azaleas. I've had a bin type composter for 4-5 years now. It's kind of a pain to get the dirt from the bottom, so usually I just move it to a different area every spring and fall (to make it easier to get to in the winter) Definitely well worth it!

ofcards I have been composting for many years with red worms and I highly recommend it. I produced a video () to demonstrate how easy it is to compose with redworms. The bin in the video was in my garage and here in San Diego there are only a few times during the year that temperatures rise above the 70s. But when the garage got too hot, strange growths would start to appear in the bin that made me want to put more distance between my habitat and the worm's. So I now use an easier method.

I drilled holes in 3 large plastic pots for plants that I placed directly in my garden behind a bush to provide some shade. I added newspaper and card board on the bottom and all our kitchen scraps go in. I add more card board or paper whenever I reckon the worms need a change, about every 2 or 3 weeks. I put two large tiles on top of the pots to keep the raccoons, etc. out. The worms work their magic as they freely come and go to the garden through the bottom of the pot and they increase their population based on available food supply.

macwalk We are really lucky here in Louisville. The zoo composts and sells "zoo-poopy-do by the pickup truck load (or less). Imagine bragging that your tomatoes are fed with elephant poo!

Kim Long Having a composting toilet has me making humanure. Each time I empty the potty bucket I add a layer of straw or hay into an open 3 sided compost bin. Each bin is abandoned after 6 months and allowed to compost for another 6 months. This then is beautiful black dirt that can be used on Non-edibles. For the veggies the pile must compost for 1 year. It is important to know who is pooping in your potty. Because it is just my family I know there is no antibiotic or disease present. There is no odor or fly problem and I was surprised at how fast the compost was ready.

kakanui Eating the veges is called "Getting your own back"! Well done. The chinese have done it for Millennia.

karelina I'd be reluctant to use human feces, which contain heavy metals, drugs, chemicals, and other stuff you don't want you plants absorbing.

artfulgal I LOVE compost bins! They are a wonderful way to not only get rid of household organics, but also garden waste. I use my shredder/chipper to grind up leaves and branch trimming which helps in keeping the mulch from compacting. In the fall when I have ALOT of leaves to shred, I will just put it right back onto the beds as mulch and then turn them over in the spring, or if they are in the flower beds they stay as mulch! I have 3 mulch bins where I fill one end, then turn it over into the middle bin and by the time it gets turned again into the last bin, it is ready to go! AND to make it easier to work the compost, the front boards are removable (that way the front can get higher as it fills, and then I can remove them to get at it when I turn it over into the next bin.) And yes, I have had a bumper crop of tomatoes too! YAY!

juliemom Is dry grass considered a carbon or a nitrogen addition to the compost pile? Someone in an earlier comment said it was carbon, but I have read in other places that it is still nitrogen, even though it is no longer green. Any definite word on this?

karelina The problem with grass is all of the chemicals people put on the grass. Never add lawn grass to compost for anything you intend to eat.

Steve Masley Consulting and Design It depends on how old the grass is. Young, green shoots have a lot of nitrogen and are always "green", even when dried and brown. Old, stalky grass has a lot more carbon and is a "brown" material. If you use chemical fertilizers on your lawn, you can still compost the clippings, but herbicides like Roundup are more of a problem.

heinz9 Critter proof composter. I also have a raccoon problem in my backyard so I built a composter that can withstand their repeated attacks. Otherwise they would of had a free nightly buffet and I wouldn't have any compost.