Composting 101: Stupid-Easy Compost Making in Piles & Bins

[@purelivingforlife]

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[@priayief]

I've been composting for years. And I believe I've viewed/read 100's of videos/articles on composting. I've come to these conclusions: you can turn your compost or not; it can take a month or a year to be ready; if it smells, add leaves; if it gets dry, add water; you can add beer or something else to accelerate your compost (if you want to waste $); you can add mature compost to new compost to accelerate decomposition; you can build it in a pile using chicken wire, wire fencing, pallets or just free-standing; you can make it cold or hot (hot takes more effort and precision); you can make it simply by burying organic matter into your garden beds; you can make it (judging by KZbin tag-lines, in as little as 18 or 19 days) or you can just pile it up, do nothing more than that and it will be ready in one season. Its not an exact science but its fun, useful and you can put as much effort into it as you wish. Cheers.

"Analysis paralysis" that's exactly the thing. One wants to learn more to do stuff correctly and ends up feeling like "can't do it, too complicated". Thanks for your simple approach contribution!

[@grannyanniesfarm4972]

Nice video! I had a friend once (passed away a long time ago) that was a great doctor and an excellent gardener. His "rule of thumb" for his compost pile was... "Anything that was once living goes into the compost pile." He had the most beautiful roses and the most beautiful and productive veggies I ever saw!

[@applenaut]

Great compost primer vid! Most people never realize how imperative it is to look down first. For many years I worked for a gentleman named Archie Byatt, straight up the coast in Victoria, BC. He was in his late 80's at the time and he spent at least 80 of them gardening in a time when organic was the only way. He was a great teacher and I'm grateful for all the things he took the time to teach me. Each layering, he had me add peat moss/manure/soil/compost with the leaves and the grass. No turning. He was in the camp of "turning compost disrupts the heat process that breaks things down". Each spring, after a year of layering, I would take the compost and add it to his raised beds. I called this soil "fluff" because once in the raised bed, I could stick my arm into the soil as deep as my elbow. The root growth and water retention properties of this fluff would blow your mind.

[@mitalic25]

mulching

[@danielmocsny5066]

Free tip: you can make the fresh pile decay much faster by sprinkling in shovel-fulls of the old brown compost from the "finished" pile as you build the new pile. Then cap the new pile with a continuous layer a few inches thick of old compost. The old compost provides several benefits as a compost starter: 1. It is highly porous and absorbs rainwater that can otherwise run off fresh leaves and straw. 2. The compost cap prevents the fresher organic matter below from drying out as quickly when the weather clears. 3. As water percolates through the old compost, it picks up hungry microbes looking for their next meal.

[@danielmocsny5066]

Think of the old compost as a kind of "new yard waste destroyer." A pile of only fresh leaves might take months to break down on its own, but if you mix fresh leaves with old brown compost the leaves will be largely obliterated in a few weeks. Every point in a pile where a bit of old compost touches a new leaf or grass stem is another point of attack for the microbes that have built up their numbers in the old compost. These decay microbes are present everywhere in our environment, but in much lower numbers on fresh leaves and grass. For the decay process to get going, the microbes have to build up their numbers. You win the numbers game by just mixing in some old compost which contains far more of these microbes already than the fresh material does.

[@stevenmccallan9202]

I love your attitude of , "Just get started..." That is half the battle. Great vid and well articulated.

[@1d1hamby]

using branches on the bottom helps keep the flow of oxygen moving through the pile.

[@sapulpaorganics5402]

May I add a suggestion? I use pallets for my compost bins too, but I cut one in half to use on the front. This helps to hold the compost inside and it's easy to turn everything every few weeks. Enjoy your videos and thanks for sharing

[@elizabethjohnson7977]

Thank you for this post. I found it to be the most practical video on composting I have come across - it answered questions other videos did not. Your philosophy of just getting started with something to avoid analysis paralysis is inspiring.

[@lennyf1957]

Excellent composting video. I live in suburbia, South Florida, And have been composting for many years. I've watched many composting videos on KZbin and some of them simply get too crazy technical. Mother nature is wonderful in its simplicity and efficiency. If you put organic material in a pile, give it time and water, it will rot. Rot = Compost, simple as that.

[@lucymoussa4679]

Silt fence

[@gabevieira8732]

A couple of words of advice. The steer manure one gets at any store is neutral and will aid in helping break down the pile faster. Also a wide pitch fork works way better than a shovel for turning the pile.

[@yes350yes]

Nice vid with good info and hints. Last year I didnt get my pile hot enough to kill weed seeds but this year made a slight change I got a roll of 3' welding wire and cut it to a 4' circle putting in leaves , sawdust, yard trimmings, coffee grounds from starbust. After the first turn which had reached 130F I closed the wire circle to 3' which allowed the reduced pile to be taller once again. Then after a couple of days the pile heated up to 155F which is what I wanted. Using that system it is much easier to turn the pile as I would just remove the wire from the pile and re toss the debris back into the wire tower which I watered and it also allowed for the air mixture by turning. Turning the pile every few days is key for hot composting. For those not interested in hot compost the pile will still compost over winter providing you turn it a few times during.

[@kalpic11]

I like how sincere and practical and easy this advice is. Makes me not as scared to get things wrong and just start.

[@sundancer442]

Great primer vid ! Don't forget the wood ash; it breaks down and becomes similar in composition to lime, which then breaks down the remaining compost faster. It will also sweeten the pile , allowing you to add even more kitchen scraps if you want!

[@kellishinn5878]

"analysis paralysis" Boy, you nailed it. I needed to hear that phrase. That's going on the fridge! Time to get going!

[@susansharphaynes555]

We have been composting for 20 years and it is well worth the time! Great video!

[@HoracioLGeuna]

A little bit of green a little bit of brown and u mix it all around LOL THANKS A LOT!!!! it is easy to understand and funny to watch, again txs!

[@spacerag]

Analysis Paralysis... How have I never heard this term before? I feel like that perfectly describes what happens to me on every project. lol. Great video, great info! Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@spacerag]

May I borrow a dollar?

[@petebachman5694]

Another great video, Alyssa. Stuff just decays anyway- composting makes it decay in such a manner as to enrich a chunk of soil so green stuff can grow. Your descriptions are concise without lots of fluff, and get to the point with your trademark humor (something I always look forward to). Cheers!

[@tilday]

Well, I came here with many questions and my biggest question is finally answered. I was ignorant to this whole process. After watching, I feel confident that I can make this happen. THANK YOU! May your adventure be a success!

[@pauld1424]

I was inspired by the video , so I rounded up some pallets and two hours later TA DA Great compost bin! Thanks for the idea

[@christinegrant4718]

Clear , simplified and answered all the questions a suburbanite needs . I'm on the way out back to start now!

[@chrisharvey2155]

In my 30 years of composting the secret is alkalinity. The easiest way to get a lot of alkalinity in your compost is baking soda. Just add a little sprinkle to each layer and you will see heat coming off the compost in a matter of days. Good luck

[@purelivingforlife]

+Chris Harvey Haven't heard that one... will look it up!

[@denningdavidm]

you need a nice pitchfork! That makes the handling of compost and all of the materials you put into a compost pile much easier.

[@cdnsoul5808]

Mother nature also provides some of the best compost makers. Worms. So on one of your outing, go pick up as many worms as you can, bring them back to your pile and feed them with vegetable scrap as much as you can, even getting veg garbage from neighbors if necessary and you will be rewarded with the best compost ever.

[@trosanelli]

To get leaves, I wait until my neighbors rake and leave the bags by the curb. Some of my neighbors know that I want leaves and drop them off at my house. It's like someone doing the work for you.

[@deannaparamo]

That's an EXCELLENT idea! My neighbors left about 6 giant bags on the curb. The trash truck took them two weeks ago....booo. Wish I would have read this before then. :D

[@KickStandsandKeyboards]

Come to my house! Every freaking year! I have at least 50 Home depot bags full of leaves and there are still freaking leaves in my yard!

[@Graeme408]

The pallets are a perfect choice. They look nice and sturdy and seem to blend into the landscape.

[@whasumara73]

Thank you for the instructions. I like the basic learning. I'll try it. If my pile fails, at least I tried, and I'll try to improve. Much appreciated.

[@davidmichaelvara]

Awesome and truly simple. Yes, I agree that some videos out there suffer from analysis paralysis (something one of my high school teachers always said as well) and yours is just plain simple. Thanks for posting so my brain could comprehend just how easy this can be. 👏😁

[@dhlincali1]

Thanks for the video. Love your classic tabby!

[@theoldwizard998]

Glad to see you are more "serious" about compost this year ! Brown leaves, layered with grass clipping is EXCELLENT ! I am not sure what your plans are for preparing you new garden area for next years planting, but in fall I would start a compost pile right on the new garden plot.

[@williamhustonrn6160]

Another thing about composting and farming, my grandmother is a big fan of the hay bale garden. She stacks them in rows and plants the plants in the hay and puts compost an inch or 2 on the top layer every so often.. as it dries and becomes useless for nutrients the wind blows it away and she just keeps adding it every so many months..

[@ChicagoCFH]

the homestead is coming along nicely! I'll add that if you are adding manure, allow an extra couple months for the compost to be safe. We have a tumbler that we don't put manure in for quicker use, and one we do that we allow to "cook" longer.

[@huffster6344]

Spent brewery grains are great for composting and are often overlooked. It's similar to cooked oatmeal and doesn't have alcohol in it. I consider it a carbon source.

[@kansasgardener5844]

This is a simple straight forward video. Great job! I get my grass and leaves mostly from people I know and my own yard. A little tip on leaves "shred them" they will break down faster. :-)

[@cathyanderson8197]

we have a compost bin, it gets piled up high during canning season with tomato skins and onion tops, tons of it, so then we have to put in leaves and sawdust or its too green. our dog came in with a porcupine needle in her face one night so i thought i think i better wall that in - so we got thin plywood (3/8) and walled it in and put a sheet over the top. You have to cover it or it gets too wet and spongy. it's a fine line of how wet its sposed to be. also you can use a piece of old carpet. we now need two more compost piles so your idea of pallets will work. also we dont turn it because we noticed mother nature doesn't turn the forest floor

[@PCMenten]

Nice job. I have also learned to use 4’ x 4’ pallets. I tie the corners with a doubled strand of tie-wire. I keep my compost loosely covered with old leaf bags and line the inside walls with a piece of visqueen on each side.

[@FAGBOUTIQUE]

Love that you reminded folk that mother nature uses nothing...just let it be. Love love the video

[@terrymcnickle332]

when building a pallet compost bin (container) make it 2 pallets deep as u can see by the video, 1 wide works but 2 deep contains so much more goodness...good luck and happy composting

[@SurfviewTV]

A real easy thing to add to get the compost more like black gold is to add worms. I have two vermicompost piles going. Much smaller than the ones in this video. I went to a big box pet supply store and bought 24 red wigglers for about $5. I put them in the first vermicompost pile and within 3 months they more than doubled in quantity. Then I moved about half to my second starter-vermicompost pile. After a year, I have a ton in both. Here in Arizona (with nearly 120 degrees in the summer - I have both piles always in the shade. Good also for winter to keep frost off of them. By piling the equivalent of mulch over the pile and wetting it - the evap cooling keeps them alive during the very hot summer. In my freezer, i have two sets of double plastic bags (the kind you get with groceries at the store). I split the weekly scraps Sunday-Wednesday in one and Thurs-Saturday in the other, so that each bag has about the same amount of bananna peels as well as other non-dairy and non-meat/fish/chicken scraps. Worms don't care for citrus. So - toss that in you non-worm compost pile. I save eggshells and once I have about 3 or 4 dozen, I crush them with the blender (dry) and then put them in the toaster oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes to kill the salmonella or other anaerobic bacteria. Then I use half of that crushed shell powder with a quarter going into each vermicost pile. I put the remaining half evenly in my two 5 gallon buckets - the ones where I leave water out for 24 hours before using with my plants. I put some worm castings in those buckets and some chunks of dried sweet sorghum to sweeten it for the microbes - to make a great vermicompost tea. The lady in the video is correct. Don't overthink it. And if you use worms - if you see them multiplying and enjoying those spoiled mangos and bananas, know that you're on the right track.

[@sylviaclay6265]

I really like the way you explain composting. you truly did simplify the understanding of what and how. thank you

[@thatguyjoe007]

pine needles and coffee grounds will make your compost more acidic. Such compost would be good for blue berry bushes. I love your videos.

[@cupbowlspoonforkknif]

Nice and easy. Also you can apply a layer of leaves directly on top of your soil then cover with mulch. Then you let it sit and you'll have the start of some great soil ready for when you start gardening. Consider finding a tree trimming company that will dump a load of mulch on your property for free. Mulch will be your best friend.

[@daddykirbs]

You are doing great work sharing these fine skills! Compost does take time and if you pay attention to observe the piles you will learn over time what works best and what does not. I use wire fencing as a "cage" to contain my piles. Great work!

[@jamipottratz1781]

My class enjoyed your video; they gave it a thumbs up!

[@nicolagrimmer100]

Clever girl brilliant thanks for sharing your journey ...its bullet proof ie you cannot and will never fail your unique as is hubby you chose well

[@ajepoc]

A good way to collect leaves.... I check the municipal web pages for the local towns for when they have their leaf collection. Everyone in town rakes their leaves, packages them in nice compostable tall paper bags and places them at the end of the driveway!!! 2 years ago I collected over 130 bags!

[@purelivingforlife]

Interesting... you mean there's a chance I'm working WAY too hard? I'll have to look into this!

[@kanel123boller]

You can buy electric or gas leaf blowers with a vacuum collector function, that can be attached to a trolley.

[@pgffemt5895]

if you don't have an established garden, why not piles your wastes right on the site of your future garden. it kills all the weeds and the worms will break up your soil for you without the need of a tiller

[@kitsurubami]

i like your style. stealing leaves from the park. I WANT THAT CARBON!

[@fanvd]

When I see these videos I'm grateful that I can treat yardwork like a beachday. Swim trunks, flip flops, bare chest and I'm ready to work. #Tropilife

[@dboy6400]

Some folks don't need the swim trunks.

[@thomasgronek6469]

Great video, Thank you. I use the neighbors leaves. I store them over the winter, then mix them with the fresh grass clippings in the spring.

[@williamhustonrn6160]

we do a ton of composting on the farm, we used an old push lawnmower and build one of those wood shop diy propellers they use for dust collection attached directly to the lawn mower engine, on a trailer that we pull around with the atv, it sucks the leafs and such "Carbon" off the ground in a matter of minutes and we just dump the trailer..

[@GettinJunkDone]

Excellent video! So well explained. I like the "Keep it simple" approach.

[@charlesjarmanii]

I learned to not put any sticks into the compost. We have a lot of fir trees that drop small branches that we thought would help add to the carbon but it really made it difficult to mix and use later because the small sticks didn't break down as good as the rest of the mix.

[@purelivingforlife]

I learned that too... HAHAHA! That's why you don't spend too much time on the internet, in my case. There are terrible ideas on the internet. And good ideas...

[@OliveFamilyThoughts]

On that "sticky note" see what I did there... A while ago I made a permaculture/Hugelkultur pit as an experiment. Only a couple of meters long but I've never had such great results growing potatoes. The principle is that the layers of wood heat the soil as it slowly rots, which means you have warmer soil so you can extend the growing conditions, and it protects from ground frost (to a point). Worked in the UK anyway. Loved the video :)

[@allencallender2205]

Break up the sticks to a foot or less and use for garden mulch.

[@nicolagrimmer100]

Your way better than you think girl from a strong girl I'm so impressed your a winner all the wayyyyy

[@2bdefacto]

great video. has me excited about enlarging my small compost pile

[@caseyadams5667]

Also... a great way to eliminate food scraps is chickens!! They are super easy and productive.

[@heavymechanic2]

I had a neighbor who piled their yard waste at the edge of their lot and left an eyesore for others, not a maintained compost heap.. To avoid that situation, my composting is done in a worm bin with amazing results.

[@MAILAQASW]

Great Video. Very informative and full of information that is sooo helpful. Congratulations on the work you have done so far... and I wish you the best for things that are lined up for future. Very happy for your team.

[@annie-rosedredge8002]

Thankyou so much! Made me feel not so overwhelmed

[@dawgg0077]

Analysis paralysis, that me! Get going and learn from your mistakes; wish I'd have found you folks sooner. Peace from Ontario, Canada.

[@fynbo1007]

It look exciting, look forward to see the results of the composting

[@mjallenuk]

Nice.... just like our pallet compost bins... we have three to make it easy to mix whichever one is cooking at the time...

[@purelivingforlife]

Perfect!

[@mjallenuk]

The trick is to face the pallets inwards so the majority of the slats are holding the compost in. You can also add mesh to help keep things in place and build sections for the front you can add a bit at a time as the height of your compost goes up...

[@danielmocsny5066]

+Legend Length - as long as one side of the square is open, as in the video, you can easily swing a mattock or pickaxe into the pile to rip it down and forward toward the opening. Then just pitchfork the material back up to rebuild the pile in the bin. I find that is the easiest way to turn a big compost pile by hand. A heavy mattock or pickaxe rips hunks out with every swing, cutting through twigs and vines even in the most compacted pile. A Pulaski tool also works (the double-bladed tool that firefighters use which combines an axe with an adze). Just be sure to twist the handle like a doorknob a few times between swings to shake the loose compost off the blade. Otherwise you'll be throwing bits of compost over yourself each time you wind up for the next swing.

[@littleshepherdfarm2128]

Daniel Mocsny: and for people like me who are not able to swing a mattock there are battery powered rototillers on Amazon you can buy. Maybe they're electric,as in plug-in? Can't remember for certain, but I want one. LOL

[@kaylaheeter7179]

Can you include paper coffee filters in your compost pile?

[@Kittens_Cats_Karma]

Love the cute kitty cat! Great tips, thanks.

[@avonleanne]

the best thing for me that I found about making a compost pile is how much less my garbage usage is!!, a bag in my kitchen doesn't fill for at least a month!!! and it isn''t stinky now...AND my compost pile isn't stinky either! brilliant!! I am always amazed as to what we call urban convienience, when it is so much more convienient to do that little extra step that is better for us, and is so much less expensive.. does that make sense? lol!

[@AK-ru3sg]

May not be feasible for everyone but my chickens seem to enjoy turning the compost pile for me. They add what we call chicken nuggets to it as well so that helps. And of course there's the good old Human Liquid Activator, which is possibly slightly easier for the male members (fnaar) to add. Not sure that the leaves do a lot. I heard they're OK for soil structure but don't add that much in the way nutrients. All helps though doesn't it.

[@BlueCactusDairyGoats]

We clean our goat and chicken pins out and pile it up. It usually makes a big pile. We turn 1/3 of it every week, ish. 1/3 of it from one side of the pile to the other

[@Matttchew5]

I remember learning about compost in grade school. I wonder if it is still included in the curriculum? I remember compost can generate quite a bit of internal heat and be steamy in cool mornings. On that note, I wonder if keeping compost inside a greenhouse will help keep it warm in winter months, ya know, thermal mass and all that science stuff? Thanks for sharing! Your channel is leading me to homestead too and it's exciting!

[@ddd228]

I use oak leaves. The black stuff in the stream beds are the best!

[@jonathancowart1448]

great video, I was just browsing through compost how to's and what to do's lol and your video was recommended, enjoyed the video keep up the good work:)

[@Thg1034]

I think your doing awesome, & I'm far from knowledge in this area, but a suggestion would be to add one more bin, then you could be having one new, one making transition, then your finished product, but its up to you, thanks for all the sharing, doing awesome.

[@gilestramp8880]

May want to ad stakes along the pallets to support the walls from the winds and not ad some screws or ad brackets in the corners should help but super nice work looks good and if you ever have a compost toilet you could compost the toilet stuff to

[@stephenseman8863]

I have been using a sawdust toilet on my property for 2 years. We just add it to the compost pile and it works great!

[@thelightison8629]

thanks! best no nonsense composting vid!

[@TheMwnciboo]

Improving the soil is one part, but improving the depth and structure of it helps. I have soil thats similiar to yours, shallow hill/mountain glacial deposited stone and rocks about the size of a soccer ball down to tennis ball size. I built raised beds using sleepers, which meant i had 2.4m x 2.4m raised beds. I then spent 2-3 days, putting my soil from another part of my land through a sieve until i had enough, rough estimate was 15 tons of decent but nutrient poor topsoil. Then filled the sleeper beds, so i have 24" depth of reasonable but poor quality hill soil, i then mixed in manure, compost etc, 3 years later i have great beds, that i have continued to dig over and improve. Organic material in poor soil, over time will pay off, and worms etc will help.

[@itex136]

I saw in one of your previous videos that you bake in a sun tube and that you dont have a oven. That would be an great up coming project of an wood stone oven with an "pizza stone" in the middle so you can bake bread and ofc make pizza :D

[@Boiler569]

Just do it; don't get caught up w/ paralysis by analysis; good stuff all video but that was a great capstone!

[@jackharis8351]

you can take your straw and sawdust and make another pile elsewhere to innoculate with mushroom spawn, mycelium is a great way to create a very healthy additive for your soil, it can take a while to colonize and eat away at everything, but you get something edible out of it during the process. it could be another project you look into doing and if you decide to go that route, add worms they love mycelium and create even healthier soil... once you have the mushrooms you can make tinctures, or dry them to increase shelf life, a great product to have to trade or barter with amungst your neighbors for other goods

[@todddembsky8321]

Composting is wonderful. Appalachia Homestead has a thing called the Lasagna Garden where Patara layers her compost and dirt in while building up the base. Oh, Alyssa -- I really like that little kick you do with you right leg while dumping leaves from a bag, Very stylish :-)

[@workwillfreeyou]

Stunning Natural Beauty!

[@GoodDayFarm]

Good video. I agree, the internet can over complicate composting. I do a very similar system as you, very low maintenance, which is perfect because I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to compost. ;)

[@hadianwar8273]

I'm using a big black plastic bin with a lid. cut the bottom turn it up side down. use the lid to cover the cut bottom. i put all organic waste.

[@davidcollier3642]

does it matter if bin is in shade? or does it need to be in the sun?

[@abbycastellanos1579]

Dig trenches accessible to your garden and bury sticks and larger branches. Give it time to break down. Helps with future rich soil or a good garden extension plot.....

[@debojitpal3493]

can I use dry or green neem leaves for composting?

[@Wanda_Jannette]

Great video chica!

[@sc1212able]

Check with your local hardware store and maybe Lowes or Home Cheapo, lots of times they well have bags of organic fertilizer, which is processed sewer sludge which contains 4% nitrogen per 50 lb bag that they can't resale if its older then 6o days, nothing wrong with it, just state and federal laws mandate shelf life on certain fertilizer, the trade name for this product is MILORGANITE, also check your local sewer treatment plants, good source to get organic sludge, this is a long shot, but if there is a fertilizer manufacturing plant near you, they throw away tons of unsold fertilizer, they might give you all you can hall off, especially the organic type.

[@mericm]

Awesome as always!

[@LivingTheGoodLife]

Nice,, I'm sure there is a neighbor nearby who would not just let you have leaves put would even pay you to remove them for them!

[@gymover]

Thank you so much for being so smart.

[@lurchie]

I like your compost helper cat.

[@mastertek383]

There's a kitty walkin up the hill @ 1:48

[@monkeychicken27]

If only I was more physically able, I'd be in a dream to live like this!

[@okthisisepic6273]

Thanks! Short sweet and to the point. :)

[@Manuipe]

that is it, keep that simple and go ahead

[@MdennisAK]

Best way to learn is by doing which you two exemplify

[@nathanielbrown7258]

We got our set up in windrows we turn the piles with a loader to get the air in

[@PugFitNation]

people say grab some of the Brown one and sprinkle it on the fresh pile

[@PugFitNation]

acelerates the process

[@amandaforgetteaf]

thank you. u taught me a lot i didnt know. im starting my first garden and i would have done this part all wrong