My former wire bin composter. |
During the early years we had shore access. Four years ago our lease required us to remove our stairs to the outhouse (decommissioned in 2018 for an on-float compost toilet), my hillside potato patch, and my compost bin. I had to find an alternative for composting kitchen and garden waste on the cabin deck or in my floating garden.
Cutting a plastic 55-gallon barrel in half. |
Now that last year's batch of soil is ready to use, I'm starting over.
Composting in a Plastic Barrel
Step by Step
A kitchen compost container. |
Place four inches of soil in the bottom to start.
Use a kitchen compost container for fruit and vegetable trimmings chopped into pieces.
Layering chopped plant matter, Rot-It and soil. |
Add garden trimmings if you have them.
Sprinkle with compost accelerator. I use Rot-It.
Moisten with water.
Add 1" of soil over fresh items.
A cover cut to fit and a plastic mesh cage. |
When it's time to add a new layer, stir the ones below first.
Continue layering waste and soil until the barrel is full.
Let your composter rest with it's porous cover on for several months while the organic matter decomposes. Periodically moisten and mix to encourage the composting process.
Compost turned into rich soil in 8 months. |
Your rewards will be less kitchen and garden waste going into the garbage stream, and free rich soil coming into your garden.
Do you do compost? What process do you use? Do you have any tips to add to my post? -- Margy
If you've ever dreamed of living away from town in an off-the-grid home, or in town with a simple lifestyle, you'll enjoy reading Off the Grid: Getting Started.
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Shared with Your the Star at Stone Cottage Adventures. And Tuesdays with a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures.
Visit Simple Life Mom for ideas about homesteading and simple living.
And Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop at Ridge Haven Homestead.Visit Letting Go of the Bay Leaf for more Mosaic Monday.
You are so knowledgeable
ReplyDeleteLiving in a city I have the luxury of not having to do it myself. All food and garden waste is collected once a week by the local council and is used to make compost. The food waste is coverted into a fertiliser for local farms.
ReplyDeleteYou compost well! I have nothing to add. We have three bins in our back yard for compost - rotating each one as it fills. We've had to completely enclose them with wire mesh as, being in a port city, there are rats. We have a wire mesh lid to allow for air circulation. Improving garden soil is so important for productive crops.
ReplyDeleteDear Margy,
ReplyDeleteyou've come up with an ingenious way to compost your kitchen waste, and it's also smart to mulch with the garden waste. Necessity is the mother of invention!
We are fortunate that our garden is large enough to use three compost heaps for the "three chamber method". That means we move the compost from one heap to the next once or twice a year.
All the best from Austria,
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/07/farbtupfer-und-weitere-juni-impressionen.html
Very interesting, Margy!! Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by!! Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Debbie
You have tackled the composting really well.
ReplyDelete