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Assuming you would keep it dry, which I'm sure is possible, for me the problem would be the grinder I use is not dedicated to garlic powder and cleaning it multiple times would be a chore. It's just easier to do it all at once. But good luck however you choose to do it, it's definitely worth it!

That's a good question. I would say most likely you're not dehydrating enough. It's should be crispy. However sometimes it clumps if it sits on the shelf too long. If you bang your container on the table or against a hard surface it should all break up if it's properly dry.

Leave the peel on , blend them before, dehydrating, spread on a dehydrate sheet ,the peel helps not to clump in the jar

And the food quality is better than store bought too!

Just harvested my earliest planting and they are curing now! So exciting! I have another whole raised bed. I need to remember to make the garlic powder.

Great to hear. It's so rewarding. I have a new video coming soon on spacing. Make sure you're getting the most from your garden!

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ Looking forward to your ideas on spacing. I planted in grow bags and a raised table bed and both are going well The only spacing issues I ended up with was those small cloves in the garlic that are multiple but look like one. I thinned those.

They can stay in buckets for months for sure. It's just "pre composting". I do the same thru the winter and I usually have 15-18 buckets when spring comes. Good luck!

Good question. So the ratio is not fixed and hard to determine because the type and condition of the leaves is variable and its very hard to compare that to say shredded grass which can be wetter or drier. But my best generality is somewhere between 20%-25% leaves by volume or 4:1 to 3:1.

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ Makes sense. If using 25% leaves and 75% grass clippings, that gives a CN ratio of about 30:1 which is ideal. Thanks for clarifying and good job 👏

It could be. Number one each unit only handles 16 zones so unless you had some amazing water pressure you'd need a lot of zones and it would get very expensive. But if you could break it into an affordable amount of zones and units I don't know what the maximum amount is but I know you have at least three units linked together.

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ thank

Yes I get them from the county for $35 each. I don't know which counties do and don't but I've heard other people tell me that they've tried this and it's worked for them. At $229 that's ridiculous better to buy a gigantic garbage can cut out the bottom or just put holes in it.

Your wish is my command...it's been updated a little since then th-cam.com/video/DxKvrIrdh44/w-d-xo.html

Yes I recommend at least 2 inches worth. 12x12 is 144 SQ ft. 1 cubic foot of compost will spread 1in over 12sq ft. So for every 12 sq ft you need 2 cubic feet of compost. Now that means you need 24 cubic feet or close to one cubic yard of compost for a 12x12 area. That small composter in my video is 10.5 cubic feet. So you need two and a half of those full. And I don't add more compost than that unless it gets replanted (and except tomatos where I use more than 2")

6'x4'

THANK YOU for the tip! I have 100+ heads to process from my garden! ❤

That's great. You must be chopping the stuff very fine. And I love having worms finish the compost.

@@TheLazyGardenerNJNot really, I just add lots of browns to begin with and turn it often. I keep the bin covered with landscape fabric so there are no bugs but lots of air and to turn it I just put the lid on and give it a shake. I maintain the same moisture level as I would for bedding.

@@roywarriner8441Love the landscape fabric idea!

How heavy is the bin to shake? I don’t have a worm bin. Could I just dig up a few worms from the garden and toss them in?

@@joybrown8644 The bin weighs 30 lbs at most, or you can mix it with a small trowel or cultivator. Compost worms are specialists, you won't find them in your garden. You need to buy red wigglers or european nightcrawlers. I started with a pound of worms I picked up from a breeder nearby, breeders will ship by mail this time of year but not in the winter. I usually sift castings every two weeks and get maybe 10 liters or so, then put the same volume of compost back into the worm bin. I don't chop the kitchen waste any smaller than I would to throw it in a bin outside.

That depends on a lot of factors including the time of year and how often you mix it. But 60-75 days is very doable for finished compost.

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ I keep coming back to this video as a helpful guide! Regarding the time it takes of 60-75 days (8-12 weeks), is that in the warm summer weather or also in winter? I would assume in cool winter it would take a little longer? Please clarify. Thanks a lot 🤗

Yes in the spring/summer it's a quicker process. Finishing can be tricky at low volumes, So if you can make two at once and combine them after about 12 days it will finish quicker and more consistently

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ Makes sense to combine them after they shrink down in size to about half 👍 because keeping the pile large will help insulate the heat and thus accelerate the break down process. Thanks again for clarifying !

Yup, you got it! Two at once is my default way to go now.

So the bins are open on the bottom. After the hot compost phase is over the worms 🪱 come in and finish the job!

Not typically. I will usually upplant into compost or a compost mix once they are big enough

10.5 cubic feet is a small bin. The term is usually contrasted against a pallet composters which are typically at least 3x3x3 and often larger. My pallet composters are more like 45 cubic feet!

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ I anticipated you'd demonstrate using a lidded bin. Like a storage tote/bin, which overall would be smaller than the large bins you used. 😉

Ah. Yeah those can be composted in but it a lot of work. Everything needs to be shredded very fine.

I never used it before but my guess would be it's a green if it's wet/fresh and brown if it's dried out

Haha lol. It festers as I fill them gradually. Tho I prefer the term "precomposting". I have a smaller bucket in the kitchen which I empty daily. The family generates all the kitchen waste but it adds up fast.

@@TheLazyGardenerNJSo, you empty the smaller kitchen bin into the larger buckets continually until ready? Where do you keep the larger buckets? Garage?

Oh no I would not put them in a garage. I leave them behind my shed and the roof overhang protects them a little from the rain.

While I agree that over processed food is not ideal in composting, small amounts are not an issue. I really like to keep as much as I can out of the trash stream.

​@@TheLazyGardenerNJ I was thinking the heavy salt content would be the problem, but if it works... it works. Great video.

Thank you!

I can try. But let me say here...ants at least in my zone are not an issue in the compost. That is ants in the compost do not cause harm. As for rats you need to make sure the kitchen waste is buried in the leaves and grass and when it heats up and breaks down the rats are not interested. Cold composting kitchen waste is different.

Check out my compost area tour. I built a large area to store leaves all year for use whenever I need.

Nj

Spread the word!

​@@TheLazyGardenerNJ will do! 😊

Where do you get the composig bins​@@TheLazyGardenerNJ

From the County, they're subsidized

Yes ... But they are too expensive without a subsidy. My county sells them at a discount which is very reasonable. Otherwise maybe a 90 trashcan without a bottom and some vent holes would be cheaper. www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/orbis-npl-300-compost-container-fd0006?cid=Shopping-Google-Product-1918298&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz6ShBhCMARIsAH9A0qVH4uP76GniVp_27CP1UNzcM2uz0Jp4c1CikRbT3ahMBK8Y2a6dgHoaAhdpEALw_wcB

It's called the "earth machine"

You could but I wouldn't use a lot and it will take a very long time to break down unless you shred it very fine.

Lol. No. But I call pvc piping garden Legos

I'm sure the garlic needs to be dried out better. How long did you dry them for and was it in the heat? I leave them in the shed which gets hot for two weeks or so. As for the onions if they start going bad I put them in the fridge and that seems to help a lot. Pretty sure my garlic harvest video has some addl. curing tips

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ they were in the shed for about a month hanging

Hmmm. What happened to the garlic. Like how did it go bad.

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ the once full and hard cloves withered

I thought it might be something i did storing them afterwards

Thank you!

Yes I use one geobin at least for leaf mold. I don't chop the leaves but typically by the time I put them in the geo bin they're already 1-year-old. It's definitely a great method for making leaf mold. They don't get hot for me but I can see how that's a bad thing except it sounds like you had more than a touch of nitrogens. I like that they are open to the elements when making leaf mold. As for composting in geobins you could absolutely do it but the pallet composters are quite a bit larger and I prefer the fact that they have covers so I can control the moisture in a way I couldn't in a geobin... unless, I guess, I made a cover for it.

@@TheLazyGardenerNJ Thanks for the info. Looking forward to checking out more of your content