I really enjoy your segments. For composting, there’re two dangers I encountered that may not affect most people. As a new gardener, I read everything I could find. I built large, expandable piles from rewire and rebar. The wire cuts with a metal blade on my Skill saw, as does the rebar. Then I connect two sections of wire to make a container five feet high and six to eight feet in diameter. I then collected truckloads of people’s bags of leaves and filled my piles. In spring and summer there were bags of grass clippings, too. Once I had enough material I built my pile, watering every six inches or so. It started cooking immediately, heating up to 140-150F in days. I then pulled off the wire, moved it a few feet away, and started turning the pile into the new location, putting the outside of the pile into the middle. And then I got full scale bronchitis and had to take antibiotics to recover. The City of Austin grinds up Christmas trees every year and gives it away to all comers, and they discovered something like ten percent of people are allergic to the biological steam coming off the pile. I tried making hot compost once more, wearing a painter’s mask for turning the pile, but it still got me. So now I’m happy with cool compost. The second danger is imported fire ants. After rainy days they will move into the bags piled by the curb. Not something you want to add to your pile! 49:32
I just came across this channel. I absolutely love and appreciate it. No nonsensical music or wannabe production garbage. Just clear, concise information in a format that’s not distracting. I love e how you focus on scientific information as opposed to myth and hype. The continuation of scientific progress is changing gardening, and intelligent people learn as information becomes known and they also change as a result of that information. This the first year I’ve used cover crops, and I plant seeds all season long even though winter will come before they mature. It’s not always about ‘harvest’. I now ‘garden’ soil, not vegetables and fruit.
Thank you for the relaxed presentation. Most you tubers are so desperate to stop people clicking off their videos they max out the energy and speed 'whatsupguystodayletsgetrightintomakingperfectcompost'😅
Oh God no....I cant stand all that edginess lol or the word "edgy" or all the way-overexxaggerated personalities and likewise facial expressions they spend all practicing in the mirror or phone cameras for their "reaction" videos and shite..... ahh, i just hate everything lol.
Over the summer, I gather up all our kitchen scraps, garden scraps, and anything else organic I can get my hands on and throw it in a pile. In the fall when the garden is done, I throw all the plants in there too. My neighbor has an apple tree that drops a lot of apples before they're ripe. Those go in there too. In the fall, I start pulling the pile apart and one bit at a time, I run it over with my lawnmower unit it's practically a pile of paste. I mix that with the soil from my pots, and grow buckets. 2 or 3 shovel fulls of soil, and a shovel full of compost into the cement mixer. Once it's mixed, I dump it and do another batch. Once there's a big pile of mixed compost mash and soil, I cover it with a plastic tarp. In the spring, I put it back in the pots and buckets, and away we go again. It works VERY well.
I’m so pleased I found this channel. Thank you Robert for so much precious information. I live in UK and my garden is packed with brambles. They grow to 30ft long easily in one season - I must have ideal conditions!! I thought I’d minimise weed growth by carpeting the whole space in thick weed blanket and covering with decorative flint. Yet the brambles still grow at Olympic rates and I realise I have simply starved the soil of valuable nutrients by sweeping up the fallen leaves ( I live adjacent to woodland) and taking them to the tip. I’m not young and tbh dread gardening because I’m forever clearing the weeds and brambles - I’ve never enough energy left for planting. But at least I’ll stop wasting precious energy on tactics that don’t work. I’m now thinking of removing the weed blankets and planting decorative trees and underplanting with shade and rain loving woodland ferns and other shade tolerant plants. Hopefully I’ll be able to make something of my garden after all.
I'm so happy that after explaining the CN ratio, you brought up the fact that the measurements are by mass. I had a feeling you would because you're a scientist and you're thorough. This is why I love your videos.
Another very informative video. I've been composting for decades, and experience had taught me not to put certain things in my bin. My compost doesn't get hot enough to kill a lot of the seeds. For example, if I compost tomatoes, I spend time weeding them all over my garden once the weather heats up. Eggshells don't seem to rot down either. I've never layered my compost. I mix it up as I add it to the bin, and I make pretty good compost. Once it gets to a certain stage, I spread it over my beds as a mulch and allow the weather to do it's thing. It cuts down on a lot of weeding.
@@deltatango5765I like that as well! Once in a powder version, eggshells are easier to spread in the soil and I also try to heat them for about 20 minutes in the oven before blending and mixing.
Mine usually stays around 120°F in the working stage. It'll large pork bones in 4-5 years if broken up. I sift it so I can actually see the process and progression.
Southern California is so dry that our piles are broken down more by UV degradation than by microbial action. My pile started in 1982. I'm going to pass it on to my children.
I spot compost in my garden area. When my kitchen collection bucket is full I just dig a hole and pour it in. I might or might not mix a few mulch handfuls in with it. The worms find it and it disappears in about a month. The soil is nice and loose and perfect for planting. It is small scale but adds up over time.
I throw all my green grass clippings in my garden and make long narrow piles of plant stems like okra/sunflowers/bolted giant mustard (after seed collection) on top of some cardboard then cover it with a mix of thick green grass clippings, leaf mold and sandy/silty soil from a wash in the woods. I spray it regularly with water. After a few months I can sort out whatever stems remain and plant carrots, potatoes, turnips, beets etc depending on time of year. Roly Poly bugs, worms and fungi break it down. Mushrooms pop up in my garden after rains and birds, lizards, frogs, toads and garter snakes hunt bugs in it constantly. My soil stays covered in grass clippings and chopped leaves and very few weeds sprout so they`re no problem and the soil is very dark and rich. It feels spongy to walk on. I started with rock-hard red dirt last spring. I began with a layer of brown cardboard, added thick green grass clippings, chopped weeds, chopped leaves, rotting branches, then covered this with a few inches of the sandy/silty soil and leaf mold and immediately planted southern peas, beans, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers and greens. I keep adding green grass clippings and pine straw beneath the plants all year. I use any rotting wood I see in the forest too and crumble it in my garden. I make mounds around my fig trees this way too.
@Teckriter This is a good idea. We are going to give it a try this fall which is when I get pretty terrible at taking out the bucket. We do love the quick compost vids though to!
It’s the best video about composting. I have made several batches and find this information correct. I get the thermophyllic action and mix it regularly, keep it wet etc. once it has cooled down, I throw in red wiggles and they go to work on it.. I live in S Oregon so summers are parched. The worms motivate me to keep it wet and occasionally mix again.
Overall great presentation! I am particularly happy to see you challenge the hype and fear mongering around composting (most) diseased plant materials, weed seeds, meat, dairy, etc. I would like to point out that Bokashi is in fact a composting system. The first step is a fermentation process, but the system involves following that fermentation with a decomposition process…. Finally, I would push back on your framing of the fact that composting produces CO2 as inherently negative, albeit a negative that is preferable to the alternatives…the fact that the Carbon being released into the atmosphere by the composting process is balanced out by the fact that the Carbon it releases originated in the atmosphere in the first place…CO2 is plant food, and is an integral component of the Carbon cycle. There is nothing inherently negative about the point in that cycle at which Carbon returns to the atmosphere from the Biosphere. The only issue with regards to CO2 and climate change lies in the release of otherwise sequestered carbon back into the carbon cycle…I.e. in the burning of fossil fuels and the release of sequestered soil carbon through soil degradation and as you say, composting actively sequesters a portion of the Carbon content of the composting biomass.
Thank you so much for busting the widespread myth of not adding diseased leaves to the compost pile and highlighting the pyralid issue. I always do a simple test before using straw/manures Just grow a pea or bean in a 50/50 mix of soil and the manure or straw. If it grows ok then all good. If it doesn't grow, try again. If it has curly or deformed leaves, DO NOT USE. Great video 👍
I just throw my grass clippings on a heap. I don't have other materials. It is in the open and it does not seem to have a strong smell. I planted on the heap from last year. Everything grows well. You have to wait for a little warmer weather so that heap gets the right moisture level for plants. I move my heap every year. It worked well last year. Doing it again this year.
All of my green grass clippings, brown cardboard, rotting branches and chopped leaves go straight into my garden or under my fruit trees as mulch & fertilizer. Bugs, worms and fungi break it down into rich, dark loamy soil.
You are such a source of good information. I appreciate that you have such knowledge based in science but are able to communicate in a way that is easy to understand. thank you.
I blend all of my kitchen scraps in the blender before adding it to the compost pile. I shred paper and add it. Everything that goes into my compost pile is in the smallest form. My compost takes less than 30 days to turn into very fine, loose black gold. I sprinkle water on it when it starts looking dry. I don't take a temperature or anything. I just let the worms and organisms do their job.
Thank you!! This is Very Informative Video!! ~ If we Observe Nature, and Copy it, to the best of our abilities, we can Help our Garden produce, and help the Natural World as well!!
Killed a three cubic yard pile of compost years ago by adding charcoal ash to the pile. It seems commercial charcoal briquettes contain a high concentration of industrial waste. Still throw the barbecue ash in, but only from lump charcoal.
We practice chop and drop, have a compost tumbler that gets tumbled once in a while and a compost bin. I'm hoping to pick up a wood chipper to help me add more organic matter to our sandy soil. I'm trying to build a garden from scratch. Loam wasn't built in a day. I do bring in straw from a local farmer and it hasn't harmed anything I've planted so I'll keep using it. I use brown kraft paper as a mulch and it gets replaced every year. It breaks down completely over the season. Another point in favor of keeping material on your property: no fossil fuels are burned to move it between locations and thus, less air pollution.
very interesting stuff, love to see a chemistry focused view on gardening! I've been doing some research on organic gardening and permaculture, and one theory I've been exploring is in regards to humus. I've been finding some evidence that bacterial biofilms play a role in these seemingly large organic molecules. essentially binding "unrelated" organics together, which leads to the composition of humus being hard to categorize. I'll be writing up my findings in a paper and video essay next year after this round of compost is "finished". keep up the great content, you've got a new subscriber here 🫡
Omaha Nebraska 5B. Sell your compost thermometer use your recipe for fire starter. Add what you have when you have and just screen some when you need. Every living thing decomposes and has since time began. What’s the rush? I can get a bushel or two whenever I need and I never measure or turn. I do water during dry spells but pile is next to lawn so only work involved is tweaking the sprinkler
This is an excellant video and everything is well explained. There is just one thing I would contest and that is that keeping compost aerated (by turning reduces methane emissions). Surprisingly, this is wrong - turning compost actually releases more methane. No matter how much you turn compost there will always be microscopic areas that choke off oxygen and contains microbes that produce methane, but this is balanced by microbes that arrive and feed on methane (methanotrophs). Turning compost destroys the methane eating microbes and thus allows the methane to escape. As ever, nature has the solution as long as you do not disturb it!
Thanks, as always. I'm curious about the amount of cooking salt that's acceptable. I dump everything from the kitchen in a slow-compost pile, including occasional bits of cheese, and used oil. I've always wondered if there's too much salt.
Researchers Davis and Rawls learned how to use magnetism to supercharge the remediation and composting ability of bacteria. Their research reached a peak in the 1970s from what I understand and their books may still be available. One of their books was titled _Magnetism and Its Effects on the Living System_ .
I’m actually amazed how fast all the leaves and grass clippings and even random things from my kitchen compost disappear in my garden. It’s hard to actually keep the soil covered and overwinter will see because I took all the pumpkins and smashed them huge pieces and put them in my bed my bet is it’s all gone by spring.
I put all my grass clippings around the base of my trees where no grass grows and week to week it disappeared. Maybe the wind but during the heat of summer in Indiana we don't generally have alot of wind.
Here in Ohio: why is it that a bunch of cut magnolia branches produced black gold over the winter but my compost piles take for ever? Not enough air flow? I trimmed up the tree and dragged all cutting to the back part of the property and the next spring I was cleaning them up and was surprised at how all the leaves were being broke down. Ever since then, I would make sure sticks were in my compost pile.
If you only add leaves to your compost and it gets really wet it just turns into a mouldy mash. It decomposes unaerobic. Or the opposite if it too dry the bacteria can not work, only the little critters. One has to find a good balance of materials, water, oxygen.
When the whole world was tropical and new, the co2 levels found in the arctic core samples shows near double todays co2, and thats natural. Edit, also if you stick the black rotating composter in the summer sun it can reach fairly high temps, 180, 200, depending on latitude and time of year
I will argue the point with you about bins & tumblers Back in 68ish I bought the very first Compost Tumbler in Australia made by Osborne Metal Industries It was a drum of about 60 US gallons I would estimate and after the second year of trial & error I got it to the point that I could reliably make 14 day garden ready compost in summer & about 3 to 4 weeks in winter . I thought my initial failures was because I did not have a 48" chest , wear a skimpy bikini and garden in 4" high heels like the girlie in the TV advertisement . Eventually I worked out the most important thing was the W:D ratio ie wet to dry while the C:N ratio simply varied the length of the process . In winter it could blow out to 6 weeks . Over the years I probably made several hundred tons of compost with this machine till by 2000 there was more weld on the drum than the original drum . I will agree 100% that the size of the feed is very important and for that I bought a B &D 600D shredder which chops up waste very very fine and some of those mixes were just about explosive I miss it greatly but OMI are long gone and you are right about the plastic ones, they are way too small . So now I use up to 12 Relin corrugated compost bins that get tossed every 1/2 day for the first 2 or 3 days then daily for the next week or so then once or twice a week till it is garden ready . I now know that this makes 100% bacterial compost so I mix it with the end product from a Johnson - Sue type fungal pile made from shredded pruning mixed with manure , usually poultry . The Relin Bins usually take a full month to be garden ready but I have done the odd 2 week hot mix but they would be lucky to be 1 a year at the best . The bins are also handy for storing material till I have enough for a run of at least 1 bin . It is very rare to get anything to sprout and when they do it is not normally a problem as tossing exposes the root so the sprout usually dies . Right now I have a brew that was seeding grass, seeding fire weed, seeding moth vine , seeding scotch thistle + lantana & sticky nightshade both full of berries . Not a single seed has germinated ( yet ) but to be on the safe side I will run this brew through the worms as well . The previous rented house the garden was a 5 house brick high loosely stacked rectangle on the concrete hard stand down the side of the garage and it was nothing but compost , topped with a jacaranda seed shell mulch and everything I planed in there for the 10 years I was there grew really well . The sole exception being the sweet potatoes . They grew beautifully , lots of leaves but no tubers thicker than my thumb so they were eaten as salad greens and as a salsa mixed with parsley , carrot tops & mints
THE most informative gardening channel, hands down... Off the current subject, I have two questions. (1) What potting mix recipe would you recommend for peppers in ten gallon grow bags? (2) Due to past drainage issues with plastic pots with bagged potting soil, what is your opinion and/or experience with 5-1-1 potting mix? Thanks
Thanks I have watered my piles and never thought of using nitrogen fertelizer to the mix. I mix with pearlite and peat moss, top dress and use lawn clippings as mulch
The way I rapidly compost my kitchen scraps is to grind and dehydrated it to a fine powder first with my FoodCycler, then I feed to to my Reencle home aerobic digester which breaks down that feedstock into even finer nutrient molecules with thermophilic bacteria, heat, and, moisture, and finally I feed that output after a week of bacterial decomposition to compost worms to generate rich, black castings in my flow-through worm bag system. Usually, I can generate a good amount of castings every week just because of how bioavailable the nutrients are. And my process isn't particularly picky about which inputs I start with. I can even process tough bones like beef or pork by first pressure cooking them to leech out the connective tissues and then the FoodCycler can more easily shatter the remaining calcium and phosphorus rich material into bone meal that can be combined with the rest to provide a good soil amendment as well as the necessary grit the compost worms need to power their gizzards. I am curious about possibly using a retort oven to turn those bones into biochar and then grind those to dust to alter the tilth of the soil.
Yep. I spent a lot of time making a steel 55 gallon drum compost tumbler. It doesn't allow the components to heat up, even on a hot summer day. So now it's going to be changed into something useful, maybe a charcoal grill - and i have a lot of charcoal already made. Folks, he's right, the compost tumblers are not even close to simply piling the components on the ground and doing the exercise to turn it by hand. No container needed, and its walls only get in the way. Only a tarp is needed to cover the pile. Type: billboard sign material for tarps for sale.
One of those black plastic tumblers worked for me. I would put partially composted material from the big compost into the tumbler and compost would be ready in a couple of weeks. A small amount from the previous pile should be left in and acts like a culture that gives the compost a head start.
At a minimum size to get the thermal mass needed, you need a pile that is 3' x3'x3'. You can go bigger too. My first pile was about the minimum size I stated. It got hot , about 100F. Months later I trucked in two pickup trucks of horse manure & mixed in oak leaves to make a pile that was about 5 ' high with a base about 7' wide. It got hot!. Mid winter I could feel the heat through my pants & was sweating as I was turning the pile. WARNING: although animal manure is a good source of green material. Manure can contain animal parasites that you really don't want getting into your body. That's why it is highly important to get that pile hot enough for long enough to kill parasites & pathogens. I stopped using manure because parasites sleeve me out. I use other green materials over manure.
I added Purple Cow compost to my lawn a few days ago (late Oct here in the Midwest/Chicago). Do I need to add horse manure or liquid Nitrogen to speed up the compost I already applied? Love the channel, already a subscriber.
Thank you for this informative video. I learned a lot. Do you recommend using this compose for only for vegetable in the garden, or can I use them to perennial and plants in the pot?
You can use it anywhere, even 2.5 cm on the lawn if you sieve it first. Also if you have potting soil, do not throw it away. Next year replace 1/2 the potting mix with compost, mix well, and use again. It's a great cost saver.
I watched a video tonight showing your gardens on your property. My question is you must use something bought to also put on the garden because of not having enough compost You did mention mature in this video cow horse and sheep. Is this what you would recommend if you don’t have compost pile
It is best, cheapest and the least amount of work involved, is to imitate nature. Mulch heavily, using the lots of free natural materials, chop and drop and green manure. Like nature nutrients will break down and leach into the grown via gravity over time. The Ruth Stout no till method is one name for this, permaculture is another.
@@Atimatimukti The opposite is true. Imitating nature is the way to go, as so many have learned. Nature ain't stupid. Just making a statement does not make it true.
@@jackson32 except it's not imitating nature. In nature if a plant disease comes along it might wipe out a bunch of species in an area. After many years the amount of bacteria fungi, virus, or whatever might decrease enough that when a stray seed or two makes it back to said area the various may eventually repopulate. Instead we plant things that don't naturally grow in that area. We force them to limp along if they get diseased. We remove diseased plant material at the end of the season to prevent spread. How many permaculture people have just let their plants die off or burn down like in nature? None.
@@jackson32did you notice I said "a lot" and not the all thing? Tell me where do you find raized beds in Nature, or a design, or the obsession. with nitrogen fixing plants. Actualy, the all nitrogen thing is a mith, the soil needs carbon and the micro organisms are the ones producing nitrogen
I seem to find the opposite ratio is the only one that gets me to 140 degrees, but I'm not too smart so who knows? I've tried over and over and two big bags of lawn clippings will get it going, what am i not getting? Thanks!
I call what your doing is sheet composting. I like doing fast composting. I build a4x4 pile and turn the pile when it reaching 150 degrees which is approximately every 3 days. Then in 2 weeks it's pretty much finished. Can't see anything that you can recognize. I do chop everything small.
Vermicomposting IS composting. Worms have bacteria that do the same job as microorganisms growing directly on organic material. The worms may also play an additional role as garden waste crushers.
A good source of high quality *and* free ammonia is urine (aka filtered blood). A good source of compost starter, also free, is a shovelful of dirt from your garden.
I pee into the mulch under my fruit trees. I`m expanding my garden to a dead packed gravel parking area on my rural lot by filling cardboard boxes with about 7-8 inches of sandy/silty soil from a wash in the woods. I start by putting a mix of rotting branches, green grass clippings, weeds, leaf mold etc in the bottom and a handful of rich soil from my heavily mulched garden in the box and then I cover it with the soil and plant immediately. I started fig trees this way there but I`ve kept adding rotting wood chunks, cardboard, green grass clippings, chopped leaves, pine straw and sandy soil around them to create big wide mounds. My garden wagon has been the most valuable tool I have. I can get it very close to my soil source, fill it up with buckets, and not have to carry dirt very far.
I have a three phase system of roughly 6 to 8 containers each, of "composting material", and a worm farm. The material consists of shredded maple leaves, grass clippings, tea leaves, coffee grounds, egg shells, homemade biochar from eucalyptus bark and saw dust, brush cherries, gutter mulch, and a variety of other gathered materials to build up the biology within the system. In each phase I empty 6-8 containers into my bathtub, turn and mix it, and leave it for two days. Then I sift material out of that, leaving larger particles in the system. By the time I'm done with one set, the next set in line has been resting for roughly 6-7 days. I take the remaining larger particles and add a portion of the worm farm to it and set it to rest in the rotation. Edit: The worm farm has 4 x 45 liter containers on a rotation of feeding and harvesting castings. I'm gardening in a small apartment loft bedroom, and haven't been to a nursery in 6 months. This video was very informative. Thank you.
There are two basic types of dewormers, one disolves the worms inside the pet, the others paralyse them which causes them to detach and are then excreted. There are some concerns that the chemicals used may be having an adverse effect especially if it reaches water courses but it shouldn't be an issue in most gardens and if only used when necessary.
Fastest composting I ever seen was when I cleaned all the wild Garlic out of my new - fixer upper I bought. I threw all the wild garlic in a cheap black garbage bag and set them on the north side of the old garage . Bags tightly sealed. The bags of wild garlic were packed but by next spring looked like fat 4 inch pancakes. When I spread the stuff out in my flower pots with fresh potting soil, The Begonias on my porch were Huge. People driving by would stop and ask if they could buy my Plants off of my Old Fashioned Porch Railings in Wooden Boxes! I used to get bags of Grass Clipings from my local bank set up for the Garbage Truck. Now everybody uses a Mulcher rather than a Catcher Bag on the back of a mower.
I was told that if your dog is taking deworming medication, not to use their poop as it would kill earth worms and composting worms. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Question: Where does dried seaweed sit on the green/brown scale? Another thing against these electric 'composters' is they use electricity & unless you're on 'green' energy or solar, using one contributes to carbon emissions.
The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere reach 427 ppm (0.04%) in 2024. So, 0,004%!!! An increasing it is WHAT !! As Shakespeare said, much ado about nothing.
I did that last year with my leaves, I used my leaf vacuum to shred them up then poured them back onto the soil and added the last couple of bagged grass clippings to the top. By spring it's pretty much broken down and gets worked into the soil as I plant.
More justification for applying chop n drop where prudent… and pile up where prudent… since I’m humanuring… I’ll give the pile the two years rule … and stick with the 2” topper/layer rule and estimate the nitrogen to carbon ratio and try to keep that up, based on cues like smell etc…. but not worry too much. It’s all organic matter that will be added back in the garden and do its thing. I don’t have time to do all that frequent turning … compost piles are just places to put organic waste that’s not conducive to a chop and drop situation to be used later and will add value and nutrients in some way eventually… good to know what’s happening but, unless there’s a persnickety plant… if stuff is growing… it’s not worth worrying about too much… anything you want to grow, that doesn’t grow easily… and you think it has something to do with the soil or the compost you are adding… then spend time working on building the right soil for that plant… if getting more scientific about your compost is the key to getting those plants to grow… and a person wants to put the effort in… by all means… but, I doubt the way a person handles their compost, is the solution to the persnickety plants… it could be the variety or some kind of atmospheric pressure or any multitude of factors. I’ve watched garden channels and have noticed the gardens looking more and more productive year after year… my biggest takeaway is the 5 years to full nutrition out of compost… but the plants are still benefitting from the pre full broken down compost used as a top layer or worked in as an amendment
Such common sense advice. I knew rhubarb isnt that poisonous. My chickens occasionally have a bit. And so do the possums and I can still hear them stomping over my roof at night.
I would have thought that when you use home made compost and grow healthy plants they in turn give off oxygen thereby cancelling the Co2/Methane generated by the initial compost processes?
was watching a video on jadam gardening nd the korean man says tht air only gets about two inches into the soil and below that its anerobic so one needs to grow anerobic microbes. so how far does air actually get into the soil. plowed ground i have smelled does not smell anerobic
All lrganisc .aterial composted or not generate co2 and methane in co.lost or. Kt..in compst. An create fungi and ktgrr thingd wich are brneficial for plants
In terns of CO2 and "global warming", the author, Mr Pavlis would do well to watch physicist William Happer's presentation on the topic, available on youtube.
@@jeanmcginlay2363 Don't you find it interesting how an emeritus physicist is the "denier" and Mr. Pavlis is the "authority" on complex planet-sized physical phenomena relating? 🙃😄 Thankfully we have geniuses on SoMe to guide us through this maze of political dogmas! Thanks for helping clarify that, Jean! 😆
Many people say that using synthetic fertilizers kills off soil bacteria. Is this only true when done in excess? I ask because you mention several times that you can use synthetic nitrogen to help balance your compost pile's CN ratio.
My mother in law is worried about salmonella getting in my garden from me composting food scraps and meat. I told her in a hot pile the good bacteria takes over. She seems to think I'm crazy lol! Is there a better way I can explain this to her? Is it a risk?
I really enjoy your segments. For composting, there’re two dangers I encountered that may not affect most people. As a new gardener, I read everything I could find. I built large, expandable piles from rewire and rebar. The wire cuts with a metal blade on my Skill saw, as does the rebar. Then I connect two sections of wire to make a container five feet high and six to eight feet in diameter. I then collected truckloads of people’s bags of leaves and filled my piles. In spring and summer there were bags of grass clippings, too. Once I had enough material I built my pile, watering every six inches or so. It started cooking immediately, heating up to 140-150F in days. I then pulled off the wire, moved it a few feet away, and started turning the pile into the new location, putting the outside of the pile into the middle. And then I got full scale bronchitis and had to take antibiotics to recover. The City of Austin grinds up Christmas trees every year and gives it away to all comers, and they discovered something like ten percent of people are allergic to the biological steam coming off the pile. I tried making hot compost once more, wearing a painter’s mask for turning the pile, but it still got me. So now I’m happy with cool compost. The second danger is imported fire ants. After rainy days they will move into the bags piled by the curb. Not something you want to add to your pile!
49:32
Is their any deciduous trees that are bad to compost
I just came across this channel. I absolutely love and appreciate it. No nonsensical music or wannabe production garbage. Just clear, concise information in a format that’s not distracting. I love e how you focus on scientific information as opposed to myth and hype. The continuation of scientific progress is changing gardening, and intelligent people learn as information becomes known and they also change as a result of that information.
This the first year I’ve used cover crops, and I plant seeds all season long even though winter will come before they mature. It’s not always about ‘harvest’. I now ‘garden’ soil, not vegetables and fruit.
Yes!..👏👏👏
i joined based off this review
I agree.
Thank you for the relaxed presentation. Most you tubers are so desperate to stop people clicking off their videos they max out the energy and speed 'whatsupguystodayletsgetrightintomakingperfectcompost'😅
That would be a great video title for most of them 😂👍🏻
Oh God no....I cant stand all that edginess lol or the word "edgy" or all the way-overexxaggerated personalities and likewise facial expressions they spend all practicing in the mirror or phone cameras for their "reaction" videos and shite..... ahh, i just hate everything lol.
Relaxed yes...his voice, tempo, and pitch are nap inducing...in a good way (unless you can't take a nap, of course, lol). 😅
Over the summer, I gather up all our kitchen scraps, garden scraps, and anything else organic I can get my hands on and throw it in a pile. In the fall when the garden is done, I throw all the plants in there too. My neighbor has an apple tree that drops a lot of apples before they're ripe. Those go in there too. In the fall, I start pulling the pile apart and one bit at a time, I run it over with my lawnmower unit it's practically a pile of paste. I mix that with the soil from my pots, and grow buckets. 2 or 3 shovel fulls of soil, and a shovel full of compost into the cement mixer. Once it's mixed, I dump it and do another batch. Once there's a big pile of mixed compost mash and soil, I cover it with a plastic tarp. In the spring, I put it back in the pots and buckets, and away we go again. It works VERY well.
I’m so pleased I found this channel. Thank you Robert for so much precious information. I live in UK and my garden is packed with brambles. They grow to 30ft long easily in one season - I must have ideal conditions!! I thought I’d minimise weed growth by carpeting the whole space in thick weed blanket and covering with decorative flint. Yet the brambles still grow at Olympic rates and I realise I have simply starved the soil of valuable nutrients by sweeping up the fallen leaves ( I live adjacent to woodland) and taking them to the tip. I’m not young and tbh dread gardening because I’m forever clearing the weeds and brambles - I’ve never enough energy left for planting. But at least I’ll stop wasting precious energy on tactics that don’t work. I’m now thinking of removing the weed blankets and planting decorative trees and underplanting with shade and rain loving woodland ferns and other shade tolerant plants. Hopefully I’ll be able to make something of my garden after all.
I'm so happy that after explaining the CN ratio, you brought up the fact that the measurements are by mass. I had a feeling you would because you're a scientist and you're thorough. This is why I love your videos.
My Scottish grandfather did cut and drop and lots of other things you speak of, Thanks for your content.
I have no questions because this is absolutely complete ! I thank you very much! 😅
Another very informative video. I've been composting for decades, and experience had taught me not to put certain things in my bin. My compost doesn't get hot enough to kill a lot of the seeds. For example, if I compost tomatoes, I spend time weeding them all over my garden once the weather heats up. Eggshells don't seem to rot down either. I've never layered my compost. I mix it up as I add it to the bin, and I make pretty good compost. Once it gets to a certain stage, I spread it over my beds as a mulch and allow the weather to do it's thing. It cuts down on a lot of weeding.
Weeding after compost spreading is my big problem too. I also get a lot of tomatoes sprouting all over.
I lightly wash eggshells and after they dry, put them in the blender. I grind them down to a powder and they compost much, much faster.
I just do eggshells anyway. Seems like the float to the top and become part of the mulch :-D
@@deltatango5765I like that as well! Once in a powder version, eggshells are easier to spread in the soil and I also try to heat them for about 20 minutes in the oven before blending and mixing.
Mine usually stays around 120°F in the working stage. It'll large pork bones in 4-5 years if broken up. I sift it so I can actually see the process and progression.
This is the go-to source for good and reliable composting expertise for discerning composters... 👍
Southern California is so dry that our piles are broken down more by UV degradation than by microbial action. My pile started in 1982. I'm going to pass it on to my children.
Decomposition grinds to a halt around 20% moisture level
😂
🤣
Worked in Cali, one day threw a banana peel on the ground and watched it for months, barley lost its color!
lol
I spot compost in my garden area. When my kitchen collection bucket is full I just dig a hole and pour it in. I might or might not mix a few mulch handfuls in with it. The worms find it and it disappears in about a month. The soil is nice and loose and perfect for planting. It is small scale but adds up over time.
I throw all my green grass clippings in my garden and make long narrow piles of plant stems like okra/sunflowers/bolted giant mustard (after seed collection) on top of some cardboard then cover it with a mix of thick green grass clippings, leaf mold and sandy/silty soil from a wash in the woods. I spray it regularly with water. After a few months I can sort out whatever stems remain and plant carrots, potatoes, turnips, beets etc depending on time of year.
Roly Poly bugs, worms and fungi break it down. Mushrooms pop up in my garden after rains and birds, lizards, frogs, toads and garter snakes hunt bugs in it constantly. My soil stays covered in grass clippings and chopped leaves and very few weeds sprout so they`re no problem and the soil is very dark and rich. It feels spongy to walk on.
I started with rock-hard red dirt last spring. I began with a layer of brown cardboard, added thick green grass clippings, chopped weeds, chopped leaves, rotting branches, then covered this with a few inches of the sandy/silty soil and leaf mold and immediately planted southern peas, beans, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers and greens. I keep adding green grass clippings and pine straw beneath the plants all year. I use any rotting wood I see in the forest too and crumble it in my garden. I make mounds around my fig trees this way too.
@Teckriter This is a good idea. We are going to give it a try this fall which is when I get pretty terrible at taking out the bucket. We do love the quick compost vids though to!
I've done this and it works well but you do get volunteer potatoes sometimes.
How deep do you go? I've tried this but wild life digs it up
@@simminscover it with something
Tremendous video, you touched on all the important concepts and put it in a method that we can all understand. Just tremendous.
Well done. The Hartford CT municipal mulch pile caught fire one summer when it was not turned enough.
As a clinical microbiologist I loved the video!💎💚 Thank you for this great content 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼☮️🕊💚🌱🙋🏻♀️
What about the synthetic fertiliser in a compost pile ? Surely it kills the microbes ?
This is literally what I came on to find! Exactly the info I was searching for.. 😂.. Good job reading minds..
It’s the best video about composting. I have made several batches and find this information correct. I get the thermophyllic action and mix it regularly, keep it wet etc. once it has cooled down, I throw in red wiggles and they go to work on it.. I live in S Oregon so summers are parched. The worms motivate me to keep it wet and occasionally mix again.
Overall great presentation! I am particularly happy to see you challenge the hype and fear mongering around composting (most) diseased plant materials, weed seeds, meat, dairy, etc. I would like to point out that Bokashi is in fact a composting system. The first step is a fermentation process, but the system involves following that fermentation with a decomposition process…. Finally, I would push back on your framing of the fact that composting produces CO2 as inherently negative, albeit a negative that is preferable to the alternatives…the fact that the Carbon being released into the atmosphere by the composting process is balanced out by the fact that the Carbon it releases originated in the atmosphere in the first place…CO2 is plant food, and is an integral component of the Carbon cycle. There is nothing inherently negative about the point in that cycle at which Carbon returns to the atmosphere from the Biosphere. The only issue with regards to CO2 and climate change lies in the release of otherwise sequestered carbon back into the carbon cycle…I.e. in the burning of fossil fuels and the release of sequestered soil carbon through soil degradation and as you say, composting actively sequesters a portion of the Carbon content of the composting biomass.
Thank you so much for busting the widespread myth of not adding diseased leaves to the compost pile and highlighting the pyralid issue.
I always do a simple test before using straw/manures Just grow a pea or bean in a 50/50 mix of soil and the manure or straw.
If it grows ok then all good. If it doesn't grow, try again. If it has curly or deformed leaves, DO NOT USE.
Great video 👍
I use Bokashi all the time, it turns into compost very quickly once buried in the garden soil, raised beds or compost bin.
I just throw my grass clippings on a heap. I don't have other materials. It is in the open and it does not seem to have a strong smell. I planted on the heap from last year. Everything grows well. You have to wait for a little warmer weather so that heap gets the right moisture level for plants. I move my heap every year. It worked well last year. Doing it again this year.
All of my green grass clippings, brown cardboard, rotting branches and chopped leaves go straight into my garden or under my fruit trees as mulch & fertilizer. Bugs, worms and fungi break it down into rich, dark loamy soil.
You are such a source of good information. I appreciate that you have such knowledge based in science but are able to communicate in a way that is easy to understand. thank you.
I read that Ruth Stout for easy gardening and it really made,a lot of sense.
The exact ratio formula I use is whatever I have to put in the pile.
I blend all of my kitchen scraps in the blender before adding it to the compost pile. I shred paper and add it. Everything that goes into my compost pile is in the smallest form. My compost takes less than 30 days to turn into very fine, loose black gold. I sprinkle water on it when it starts looking dry. I don't take a temperature or anything. I just let the worms and organisms do their job.
So do u use a blender jug for your “compost bin” please?..😊
Thank you!! This is Very Informative Video!!
~ If we Observe Nature, and Copy it, to the best of our abilities, we can Help our Garden produce,
and help the Natural World as well!!
Killed a three cubic yard pile of compost years ago by adding charcoal ash to the pile. It seems commercial charcoal briquettes contain a high concentration of industrial waste. Still throw the barbecue ash in, but only from lump charcoal.
We practice chop and drop, have a compost tumbler that gets tumbled once in a while and a compost bin. I'm hoping to pick up a wood chipper to help me add more organic matter to our sandy soil. I'm trying to build a garden from scratch. Loam wasn't built in a day. I do bring in straw from a local farmer and it hasn't harmed anything I've planted so I'll keep using it. I use brown kraft paper as a mulch and it gets replaced every year. It breaks down completely over the season.
Another point in favor of keeping material on your property: no fossil fuels are burned to move it between locations and thus, less air pollution.
very interesting stuff, love to see a chemistry focused view on gardening! I've been doing some research on organic gardening and permaculture, and one theory I've been exploring is in regards to humus. I've been finding some evidence that bacterial biofilms play a role in these seemingly large organic molecules. essentially binding "unrelated" organics together, which leads to the composition of humus being hard to categorize. I'll be writing up my findings in a paper and video essay next year after this round of compost is "finished".
keep up the great content, you've got a new subscriber here 🫡
Omaha Nebraska 5B. Sell your compost thermometer use your recipe for fire starter. Add what you have when you have and just screen some when you need. Every living thing decomposes and has since time began. What’s the rush? I can get a bushel or two whenever I need and I never measure or turn. I do water during dry spells but pile is next to lawn so only work involved is tweaking the sprinkler
This is an excellant video and everything is well explained. There is just one thing I would contest and that is that keeping compost aerated (by turning reduces methane emissions). Surprisingly, this is wrong - turning compost actually releases more methane. No matter how much you turn compost there will always be microscopic areas that choke off oxygen and contains microbes that produce methane, but this is balanced by microbes that arrive and feed on methane (methanotrophs). Turning compost destroys the methane eating microbes and thus allows the methane to escape. As ever, nature has the solution as long as you do not disturb it!
Thanks, as always. I'm curious about the amount of cooking salt that's acceptable. I dump everything from the kitchen in a slow-compost pile, including occasional bits of cheese, and used oil. I've always wondered if there's too much salt.
Researchers Davis and Rawls learned how to use magnetism to supercharge the remediation and composting ability of bacteria. Their research reached a peak in the 1970s from what I understand and their books may still be available. One of their books was titled _Magnetism and Its Effects on the Living System_ .
I’m actually amazed how fast all the leaves and grass clippings and even random things from my kitchen compost disappear in my garden. It’s hard to actually keep the soil covered and overwinter will see because I took all the pumpkins and smashed them huge pieces and put them in my bed my bet is it’s all gone by spring.
I put all my grass clippings around the base of my trees where no grass grows and week to week it disappeared. Maybe the wind but during the heat of summer in Indiana we don't generally have alot of wind.
As always, thanks for the very practical advice and the benefit of your knowledge and experience!
Here in Ohio: why is it that a bunch of cut magnolia branches produced black gold over the winter but my compost piles take for ever?
Not enough air flow?
I trimmed up the tree and dragged all cutting to the back part of the property and the next spring I was cleaning them up and was surprised at how all the leaves were being broke down. Ever since then, I would make sure sticks were in my compost pile.
If you only add leaves to your compost and it gets really wet it just turns into a mouldy mash. It decomposes unaerobic. Or the opposite if it too dry the bacteria can not work, only the little critters. One has to find a good balance of materials, water, oxygen.
When the whole world was tropical and new, the co2 levels found in the arctic core samples shows near double todays co2, and thats natural. Edit, also if you stick the black rotating composter in the summer sun it can reach fairly high temps, 180, 200, depending on latitude and time of year
I will argue the point with you about bins & tumblers
Back in 68ish I bought the very first Compost Tumbler in Australia made by Osborne Metal Industries
It was a drum of about 60 US gallons I would estimate and after the second year of trial & error I got it to the point that I could reliably make 14 day garden ready compost in summer & about 3 to 4 weeks in winter .
I thought my initial failures was because I did not have a 48" chest , wear a skimpy bikini and garden in 4" high heels like the girlie in the TV advertisement .
Eventually I worked out the most important thing was the W:D ratio ie wet to dry while the C:N ratio simply varied the length of the process .
In winter it could blow out to 6 weeks . Over the years I probably made several hundred tons of compost with this machine till by 2000 there was more weld on the drum than the original drum .
I will agree 100% that the size of the feed is very important and for that I bought a B &D 600D shredder which chops up waste very very fine and some of those mixes were just about explosive I miss it greatly but OMI are long gone and you are right about the plastic ones, they are way too small .
So now I use up to 12 Relin corrugated compost bins that get tossed every 1/2 day for the first 2 or 3 days then daily for the next week or so then once or twice a week till it is garden ready .
I now know that this makes 100% bacterial compost so I mix it with the end product from a Johnson - Sue type fungal pile made from shredded pruning mixed with manure , usually poultry .
The Relin Bins usually take a full month to be garden ready but I have done the odd 2 week hot mix but they would be lucky to be 1 a year at the best .
The bins are also handy for storing material till I have enough for a run of at least 1 bin .
It is very rare to get anything to sprout and when they do it is not normally a problem as tossing exposes the root so the sprout usually dies .
Right now I have a brew that was seeding grass, seeding fire weed, seeding moth vine , seeding scotch thistle + lantana & sticky nightshade both full of berries .
Not a single seed has germinated ( yet ) but to be on the safe side I will run this brew through the worms as well .
The previous rented house the garden was a 5 house brick high loosely stacked rectangle on the concrete hard stand down the side of the garage and it was nothing but compost , topped with a jacaranda seed shell mulch and everything I planed in there for the 10 years I was there grew really well . The sole exception being the sweet potatoes . They grew beautifully , lots of leaves but no tubers thicker than my thumb so they were eaten as salad greens and as a salsa mixed with parsley , carrot tops & mints
THE most informative gardening channel, hands down...
Off the current subject, I have two questions. (1) What potting mix recipe would you recommend for peppers in ten gallon grow bags? (2) Due to past drainage issues with plastic pots with bagged potting soil, what is your opinion and/or experience with 5-1-1 potting mix?
Thanks
Thanks I have watered my piles and never thought of using nitrogen fertelizer to the mix. I mix with pearlite and peat moss, top dress and use lawn clippings as mulch
The way I rapidly compost my kitchen scraps is to grind and dehydrated it to a fine powder first with my FoodCycler, then I feed to to my Reencle home aerobic digester which breaks down that feedstock into even finer nutrient molecules with thermophilic bacteria, heat, and, moisture, and finally I feed that output after a week of bacterial decomposition to compost worms to generate rich, black castings in my flow-through worm bag system. Usually, I can generate a good amount of castings every week just because of how bioavailable the nutrients are. And my process isn't particularly picky about which inputs I start with. I can even process tough bones like beef or pork by first pressure cooking them to leech out the connective tissues and then the FoodCycler can more easily shatter the remaining calcium and phosphorus rich material into bone meal that can be combined with the rest to provide a good soil amendment as well as the necessary grit the compost worms need to power their gizzards. I am curious about possibly using a retort oven to turn those bones into biochar and then grind those to dust to alter the tilth of the soil.
Very in-depth explanation !
Is it better to have a red worm composting setup?
What about adding egg shells in compost bin
Yep. I spent a lot of time making a steel 55 gallon drum compost tumbler. It doesn't allow the components to heat up, even on a hot summer day.
So now it's going to be changed into something useful, maybe a charcoal grill - and i have a lot of charcoal already made. Folks, he's right, the compost tumblers are not even close to simply piling the components on the ground and doing the exercise to turn it by hand.
No container needed, and its walls only get in the way. Only a tarp is needed to cover the pile.
Type: billboard sign material for tarps for sale.
Insulate it
One of those black plastic tumblers worked for me. I would put partially composted material from the big compost into the tumbler and compost would be ready in a couple of weeks. A small amount from the previous pile should be left in and acts like a culture that gives the compost a head start.
At a minimum size to get the thermal mass needed, you need a pile that is 3' x3'x3'. You can go bigger too.
My first pile was about the minimum size I stated. It got hot , about 100F.
Months later I trucked in two pickup trucks of horse manure & mixed in oak leaves to make a pile that was about 5 ' high with a base about 7' wide. It got hot!. Mid winter I could feel the heat through my pants & was sweating as I was turning the pile. WARNING: although animal manure is a good source of green material. Manure can contain animal parasites that you really don't want getting into your body. That's why it is highly important to get that pile hot enough for long enough to kill parasites & pathogens. I stopped using manure because parasites sleeve me out. I use other green materials over manure.
@@arthurwellsjr.4082 Have I got this right - did you get the parasites coming into your body?
I added Purple Cow compost to my lawn a few days ago (late Oct here in the Midwest/Chicago). Do I need to add horse manure or liquid Nitrogen to speed up the compost I already applied? Love the channel, already a subscriber.
Thank you for this informative video. I learned a lot. Do you recommend using this compose for only for vegetable in the garden, or can I use them to perennial and plants in the pot?
You can use it anywhere, even 2.5 cm on the lawn if you sieve it first. Also if you have potting soil, do not throw it away. Next year replace 1/2 the potting mix with compost, mix well, and use again. It's a great cost saver.
Anywhere you grow plants!
I watched a video tonight showing your gardens on your property. My question is you must use something bought to also put on the garden because of not having enough compost You did mention mature in this video cow horse and sheep. Is this what you would recommend if you don’t have compost pile
The bags of soil we used this year from our local grange killed our whole crop. The tomato plants grew little green knots instead of leaves.
Great video, anything to say about composting dry toilet?
You need to add 50-60% spruce wood chips or shavings, usable compost within 24 months.
It is best, cheapest and the least amount of work involved, is to imitate nature. Mulch heavily, using the lots of free natural materials, chop and drop and green manure. Like nature nutrients will break down and leach into the grown via gravity over time. The Ruth Stout no till method is one name for this, permaculture is another.
This isn't the best. It's one option that has pros and cons. Much of which he covered in the video.
Permaculture is nice on the book and vídeos, in reality has a lot of nonsense
@@Atimatimukti The opposite is true. Imitating nature is the way to go, as so many have learned. Nature ain't stupid. Just making a statement does not make it true.
@@jackson32 except it's not imitating nature. In nature if a plant disease comes along it might wipe out a bunch of species in an area. After many years the amount of bacteria fungi, virus, or whatever might decrease enough that when a stray seed or two makes it back to said area the various may eventually repopulate. Instead we plant things that don't naturally grow in that area. We force them to limp along if they get diseased. We remove diseased plant material at the end of the season to prevent spread.
How many permaculture people have just let their plants die off or burn down like in nature? None.
@@jackson32did you notice I said "a lot" and not the all thing?
Tell me where do you find raized beds in Nature, or a design, or the obsession. with nitrogen fixing plants.
Actualy, the all nitrogen thing is a mith, the soil needs carbon and the micro organisms are the ones producing nitrogen
I seem to find the opposite ratio is the only one that gets me to 140 degrees, but I'm not too smart so who knows? I've tried over and over and two big bags of lawn clippings will get it going, what am i not getting? Thanks!
I call what your doing is sheet composting. I like doing fast composting. I build a4x4 pile and turn the pile when it reaching 150 degrees which is approximately every 3 days. Then in 2 weeks it's pretty much finished. Can't see anything that you can recognize. I do chop everything small.
Great info!!
Thank you Mr. P. 🌺💚🙃
What can I do to keep my pile hot through the cold winter weather have in BC Canada?
Vermicomposting IS composting. Worms have bacteria that do the same job as microorganisms growing directly on organic material. The worms may also play an additional role as garden waste crushers.
Thank you, VERY informative.
A good source of high quality *and* free ammonia is urine (aka filtered blood). A good source of compost starter, also free, is a shovelful of dirt from your garden.
I pee into the mulch under my fruit trees. I`m expanding my garden to a dead packed gravel parking area on my rural lot by filling cardboard boxes with about 7-8 inches of sandy/silty soil from a wash in the woods. I start by putting a mix of rotting branches, green grass clippings, weeds, leaf mold etc in the bottom and a handful of rich soil from my heavily mulched garden in the box and then I cover it with the soil and plant immediately. I started fig trees this way there but I`ve kept adding rotting wood chunks, cardboard, green grass clippings, chopped leaves, pine straw and sandy soil around them to create big wide mounds. My garden wagon has been the most valuable tool I have. I can get it very close to my soil source, fill it up with buckets, and not have to carry dirt very far.
I have a three phase system of roughly 6 to 8 containers each, of "composting material", and a worm farm. The material consists of shredded maple leaves, grass clippings, tea leaves, coffee grounds, egg shells, homemade biochar from eucalyptus bark and saw dust, brush cherries, gutter mulch, and a variety of other gathered materials to build up the biology within the system. In each phase I empty 6-8 containers into my bathtub, turn and mix it, and leave it for two days. Then I sift material out of that, leaving larger particles in the system. By the time I'm done with one set, the next set in line has been resting for roughly 6-7 days. I take the remaining larger particles and add a portion of the worm farm to it and set it to rest in the rotation.
Edit: The worm farm has 4 x 45 liter containers on a rotation of feeding and harvesting castings.
I'm gardening in a small apartment loft bedroom, and haven't been to a nursery in 6 months. This video was very informative. Thank you.
Great stuff! Does pet waste contain any of their worm medicine or is eliminated another way?
There are two basic types of dewormers, one disolves the worms inside the pet, the others paralyse them which causes them to detach and are then excreted. There are some concerns that the chemicals used may be having an adverse effect especially if it reaches water courses but it shouldn't be an issue in most gardens and if only used when necessary.
Are green leaves cut from a tree in the spring green or brown ?
Love this. Thank you! ❤
Fastest composting I ever seen was when I cleaned all the wild Garlic out of my new - fixer upper I bought. I threw all the wild garlic in a cheap black garbage bag and set them on the north side of the old garage . Bags tightly sealed. The bags of wild garlic were packed but by next spring looked like fat 4 inch pancakes. When I spread the stuff out in my flower pots with fresh potting soil, The Begonias on my porch were Huge. People driving by would stop and ask if they could buy my Plants off of my Old Fashioned Porch Railings in Wooden Boxes! I used to get bags of Grass Clipings from my local bank set up for the Garbage Truck. Now everybody uses a Mulcher rather than a Catcher Bag on the back of a mower.
I bag the grass that I have to push mow but I do use the mulcher option on my riding mower. I'm 64 not up to push mowing the whole yard.
I was told that if your dog is taking deworming medication, not to use their poop as it would kill earth worms and composting worms. Do you have any thoughts on that?
R.E. your C:N ratio for hay; is that fresh or does it include stuff that's a year or two old?
Question: Where does dried seaweed sit on the green/brown scale?
Another thing against these electric 'composters' is they use electricity & unless you're on 'green' energy or solar, using one contributes to carbon emissions.
You are right!!
The other thing is they just Dry the materials, and dont really make actual Compost!!
CO 2 is plant food. Global warming is not caused by the tiny bit of composting being done on the continents.
Global warming is a scam to keep us locked up!!
Exactly, it would be nice if this circus idea of excess CO2 in the atmosphere would go away. Otherwise, very descriptive and well-laid-out video.
The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere reach 427 ppm (0.04%) in 2024. So, 0,004%!!! An increasing it is WHAT !! As Shakespeare said, much ado about nothing.
So what if we use shredder of some kind to get the organic material to as little bits of pieces as possible? 🤔🙂
I did that last year with my leaves, I used my leaf vacuum to shred them up then poured them back onto the soil and added the last couple of bagged grass clippings to the top. By spring it's pretty much broken down and gets worked into the soil as I plant.
@@lovelight9164 O nice, but u dont till them in the soil, right? Just lay them on top? 🙂
At what tempatuure does compost kill weed seeds? Are any weed seeds toughest for high temp?
Does someone have a quick short recap of this? I am not able to concentrate for that long😢
Very nice and beautiful ❤️ 😍 🤩 👌 Thank you ❤️ 😍 🤩 👌
How do you compost rye grass seeds and burr clover and oxalis wood sorrel?
Plants GIVE oxygen and utilize co2
40:11 What about Oleander or other highly toxic plants?
I Do Growing On TH-cam & I'm Gonna Start A Compost Heap For Next Years Big Ganja Grow 👊 🍄
But remember ganja can be considered a weed! and over fertilising isn't necessary.
lesson me about liquid fertilizer pls
I use only safe wood pellets for my cat's litter.
So, I can throw that in the compost barrel?
Wish I knew that earlier.
Thank you for the indepth info.
I make really hot compost in an old washing machine.
Won’t the synthetic fertiliser kill the microbes and bacteria ?
Why the rush...gardening is about relaxation as well as produce...
I may have missed it but, should I save a percentage from year to year to use as a starter?
No. Microbes are everywhere.
More justification for applying chop n drop where prudent… and pile up where prudent… since I’m humanuring… I’ll give the pile the two years rule … and stick with the 2” topper/layer rule and estimate the nitrogen to carbon ratio and try to keep that up, based on cues like smell etc…. but not worry too much. It’s all organic matter that will be added back in the garden and do its thing. I don’t have time to do all that frequent turning … compost piles are just places to put organic waste that’s not conducive to a chop and drop situation to be used later and will add value and nutrients in some way eventually… good to know what’s happening but, unless there’s a persnickety plant… if stuff is growing… it’s not worth worrying about too much… anything you want to grow, that doesn’t grow easily… and you think it has something to do with the soil or the compost you are adding… then spend time working on building the right soil for that plant… if getting more scientific about your compost is the key to getting those plants to grow… and a person wants to put the effort in… by all means… but, I doubt the way a person handles their compost, is the solution to the persnickety plants… it could be the variety or some kind of atmospheric pressure or any multitude of factors. I’ve watched garden channels and have noticed the gardens looking more and more productive year after year… my biggest takeaway is the 5 years to full nutrition out of compost… but the plants are still benefitting from the pre full broken down compost used as a top layer or worked in as an amendment
Such common sense advice. I knew rhubarb isnt that poisonous. My chickens occasionally have a bit. And so do the possums and I can still hear them stomping over my roof at night.
Your channel provides exceptional insights and valuable information that our industry truly benefits from.
you lost me on CO2 being bad for the environment. Plants require it in large amounts to improve growth.
I would have thought that when you use home made compost and grow healthy plants they in turn give off oxygen thereby cancelling the Co2/Methane generated by the initial compost processes?
Photosynthesis and respiration go hand and hand photosynthesis ====> O2. Redpiration ====> CO2.
Nice video. In your past life, were you biology teacher?
Happened to notice you said composting is a chemical process around the 11 minute mark.
was watching a video on jadam gardening nd the korean man says tht air only gets about two inches into the soil and below that its anerobic so one needs to grow anerobic microbes. so how far does air actually get into the soil. plowed ground i have smelled does not smell anerobic
Wouldn't the roots die without oxygen?
All lrganisc .aterial composted or not generate co2 and methane in co.lost or. Kt..in compst. An create fungi and ktgrr thingd wich are brneficial for plants
In terns of CO2 and "global warming", the author, Mr Pavlis would do well to watch physicist William Happer's presentation on the topic, available on youtube.
Global warming is a scam to lock us up, this has been the coldest summer in Ontario Canada
Unfortunately Mr Happer is a denier and doesn't think there's any problem.
@@jeanmcginlay2363 Don't you find it interesting how an emeritus physicist is the "denier" and Mr. Pavlis is the "authority" on complex planet-sized physical phenomena relating? 🙃😄 Thankfully we have geniuses on SoMe to guide us through this maze of political dogmas! Thanks for helping clarify that, Jean! 😆
Many people say that using synthetic fertilizers kills off soil bacteria. Is this only true when done in excess? I ask because you mention several times that you can use synthetic nitrogen to help balance your compost pile's CN ratio.
Synthetic or naturally derived, they work the same at the same concentration
My mother in law is worried about salmonella getting in my garden from me composting food scraps and meat. I told her in a hot pile the good bacteria takes over. She seems to think I'm crazy lol! Is there a better way I can explain this to her? Is it a risk?
If the meat has been cooked correctly any salmonella will be killed. Unless you are adding faeces infected with salmonella, there is hardly any risk.
39:24 clean the bones 🦴 and dry then grind them up and there’s your bone meal! Spread them out
Supper ❤
I want to join your community!!
I just wonder why do you talk only about mikrobes but never about worms in connection of decomposing?
Is it okay to compost bovine collegen? Thanks for your time and assistance!
I'd say yes personally, but if your operation isn't TOO large you can feed it to worms.
I would say yes.
If you are going to compost it in a pile, then use a very high carbon ratio