On Mon, 08 Feb 2016 16:26:43 -0500, Brooklyn1
> wrote:

>On Mon, 08 Feb 2016 13:19:56 -0700, Janet B >
>wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 08 Feb 2016 13:29:05 -0500, Brooklyn1
> wrote:
>>
>>>Janet B wrote:
>>>>Brooklyn1 wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>The composter I use is no work at all and it works very well. It's
>>>>>the only composter with a 25 year warranty. I've been using it close
>>>>>to 20 years and is still like new, only thing is back when I bought it
>>>>>the price was less than half, but it's still a bargain:
>>>>>http://www.amazon.com/Algreen-Produc...rds=composters
>>>>
>>>>I have two rotating composters and one bed about 10x20x4 feet that my
>>>>husband constructs each year.
>>>
>>>Gee, 10' X 20' is enough space for a nice sized veggie garden.
>>>
>>>>http://tinyurl.com/htxzaqh (the smallest)
>>>>http://tinyurl.com/gtenk5a (fairly large)
>>>>and here is my husband working the half the pile in the spring
>>>>http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/ge...nwidy.jpg.html
>>>
>>>That looks like way too much hard labor for home composting, looks
>>>more like a commercial operation... is he bagging and selling compost?
>>>
>>>>I'm generally able to cover all beds with about 3 inches of compost
>>>>each year and my husband puts maybe 5 inches over the vegetable
>>>>gardens before he rototills it.
>>>>Janet US
>>>
>>>A compost pile on the ground is fine but I don't care for those off
>>>the ground rotating drums, they really can't produce proper compost
>>>without a lot of labor and suppying additives called 'compost starter'
>>>(a microbe powder like probiotics people take) as they ferment rather
>>>than compost. Compost is produced by the microbes in the ground, not
>>>by earthworms as a lot of people think... microbes consume and digest
>>>organic matter, earthworms injest microbe rich soil, digest the
>>>microbes and produce castings. Earthworms do not feed directly on
>>>organic matter... you'll find a lot of earthworms in the ground under
>>>the compost pile as they are feeding on the microbes that are
>>>digesting the organic matter. Your soil that I can see around your
>>>compost pile doesn't look very suitable for growing plants, it appears
>>>to be mostly compacted sand and clay. That pile your husband is
>>>working on is not compost, it's mostly small bits of uncomposted 'dry'
>>>organic matter, used as mulch on the ground and kept moist it will
>>>eventually compost. I would keep that pile much lower and keep it
>>>covered with a plastic tarp to retain moisture and heat. What my bin
>>>produces is a rich jet black sweet smelling compost, no different from
>>>what one finds near the surface of a deep forest floor. I don't do
>>>anything except feed it more organic matter, no stirring... and that
>>>bin is self watering and maintains a constant moisture level. A deep
>>>forest requires 100 years of composting to produce 1" of topsoil...
>>>compost is not topsoil... compost is digested (not fermented) organic
>>>matter.
>>>My neighbor bought one of those rotatating drum composters, a very
>>>expensive one, he paid over $600. It had a huge geared cranking
>>>mechanism. Finally he agreed I was correct, composting must be done
>>>directly on the ground. He ordered a composting bin like mine and is
>>>very happy with it. He removed his drum from it's stand, cut out the
>>>ends and retained one as a lid to cover the top. He has it standing
>>>up with the open end down directly on the soil and is using it to
>>>compost raked leaves. He said for what he paid for that thing he
>>>could have bought a half dozen composting bins like mine. I just took
>>>a picture of my neighbor's composting set up, with tele at about 500'
>>>and it's an overcast day so it's not very sharp... but you can see his
>>>shiney new bin like mine and his old drum standing on end next to a
>>>turkey wire cage filled with raked leaves:
>>>http://i63.tinypic.com/6z78g8.jpg
>>>If I needed to do more composting I would buy another bin like the one
>>>I have, but my one bin is sufficient for my needs. I really don't
>>>need to add compost as the soil here in the Hudson River Valley is as
>>>rich as any on the planet, topsoil here is several feet deep. I
>>>compost because I had the composter from where I lived previously and
>>>I hate to toss good organic matter into the trash... I could dump it
>>>in the woods but that's a much longer walk than to my composter.
>>>Mostly I use the compost I make for starting seeds in those little
>>>peat pots... the peat pots are dirt cheap at the 99¢ store in town,
>>>after the growing season they sell two large packs for 99¢ a hundred
>>>pots so for a few dollars so I stock up. Here you can see my
>>>composter and my freshly tilled garden:
>>>http://i63.tinypic.com/a5b11h.jpg
>>>I have a natural spring that runs along side my garden so I rarely
>>>need to water:
>>>http://i63.tinypic.com/nge1i.jpg
>>
>>The 'dry leaves' you see on the pile are those from the very top of
>>the pile. The winter freezes the pile solid so it is impossible to
>>get this skin of leaves into the pile to digest. Yeah, the soil here
>>is bad, but particularly where you mention because the dogs have been
>>stomping that area down for 30 years. I disagree with you about
>>additives to the rotating composters. If you balance the contents
>>correctly the pile will work. There are plenty of tiny microbes
>>working the pile. All kinds of things exist on the vegetative matter
>>that you put in the pile. Besides, we toss in a shovel of garden soil
>>during the summer when we don't have ready access to a great deal of
>>brown matter. It's kind of like keeping a sourdough starter happy --
>>same principle. A little bit of living organisms are fruitful and
>>multiply.
>>I originally (years ago) started with three redwood boxes that I
>>constructed. I went to the lumber yard and had them cut to my specs.
>>each box was 36x36x12. You started by placing one box on the ground
>>and filled it with stuff to be composted. When you reached the top
>>you put another box on top and filled it. The third box was placed
>>alongside of the first two. You turned out the stuff from the two,
>>and added a 2nd box to the one and then completed emptying your
>>initial box. Then you could start all over again, meanwhile using the
>>compost from the final 2 boxes. Worked pretty neat. My redwood
>>boards finally gave up the ghost a couple of years ago.
>>Janet US
>
>Try the composter I'm using. It'll cost less than building three
>redwood boxes. It'll make composting neat and easy. I tried other
>methods until I discovered this one, even huge piles on the ground
>like your husband does, nothing else worked as well.

building boxes is the way I started years and years ago. We are
satisfied with what we have Each composter has reason. We use all of
the compost each year. As noted, the soil here is sandy and clay. We
also do not get very much precipitation to keep a pile moist. We need
to water it.
Janet US