I used your idea and love it! It works JUST LIKE YOU SAY IT DOES! Today is put the garden to bed day.. so mine will look like this soon. You are a gem, Ariel. Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas and lifestyle with us. 👍🐾
I love to compost.I actually have 4 large compost bins. My compost bins are always filled with very large earth worms. Each spring I have the chore of separating earth worms and placing them in one compost bin and in my potted plants because I have so much...LOL....the worms just multiply so much in my compost ,Its amazing.therefore I have lots of rich and nutritious compost because of the worm casting.....keep the videos coming.
I have compost piles in the woods right off of our yard. Now that I have retired, I am turning them to help accelerate the breakdown. I was surprised to see that I had dry uncomposted leaves in the middle of one of the piles. Am adding them to new green material. Thank you for the ideas. I would like to get a three bin pallet compost. Am on the lookout for free pallets.
Try a local farm/ranch store if you have one in your area. That's where I got my pallets. They are always getting feed bags, salt, fertilizers, etc. in on pallets and need to get rid of them.
I agree with you 100% I use to have a composting area at the bottom of my garden and I never had a problem and in the 11 years of living in that house I never had a complaint from the neighbours.
So glad you did this video, and have been composting for nearly 10 years. It wasn't always so successful as I live in the city of Houston and found that when I had an open pile as you are doing, the rodent problem was prolithic. We had a real issue with rats for a bit, so I needed to purchase or build a tighter container, with air circulation, but no holes big enough to allow for a rodent to enter. When you talked of no problem with rodents or preditors it made me realize that where you live, the balance of preditors vs prey is the way Nature had intended it to be, but in a big, hot and humid (actually a swamp) city, preditors are limited and prey can accumulate with amazing speed. At any rate, we learned through trial and error, and I now have two composters to rotate for feeding my small garden.
I can see how that would be an issue in an area like that. Yeah there are so many predators here they kill other predators too. I would guess some kind of fine wire like hardware cloth stapled over pallets or some other wood frame might stop rodents? You'd need another one to go the top as a lid and that might allow a setup much like this. But it sounds like you already worked out a good solution for you!
For some reason, I thought you had to turn compose. If I'd know it was this easy, I would have done it years ago. What about cats? I have a ton of wild cats around here in the country. They come from a neighboring farm that doesn't do anything about the cat population. I'm fine with a few cats around, but it has gotten way out of hand. They get trapped in my garage and walk on the cars, etc...I wonder if they would scrounge in a compost bin? Love that I am always learning from you Ariel! Hugs, Brenda
Some do. It does tend to decompose faster. But there's also research showing you get a better, more nutritious compost with a better diverse microbe community by not turning. Well, there are no stray cats at all here due to all the predators. But as long as you're not composting meat, I can't imagine most cats being interested in weeds, leaves, veggie scraps etc.
I tend to avoid avocado skins and seeds because they take forever. Shredded paper is good for bulk. What I find to be a problem though is if it's too wet. All the worms seem to disappear if I don't keep the bin sheltered from rain, which probably wouldn't be the case with a set up like yours considering the water can soak down into the ground. I also have a problem with heat. I've had heatwaves that have killed every worm in the bin, but again with a set up like yours they could escape deep underground. I think I will build something similar to yours this year
They do break down slower than a lot of things, but by the time I'm using the pile a year later, they are all digested. Yeah if compost gets too wet, they will flee to avoid being drown. Though you're right with piles like mine in contact with the earth, they come and go as they please.
Another excellent video. The modern world really needs to get in touch with the reality of their own waste. Western society lives with a very wasteful mind set, and for the most part wouldn’t want to even think about what happens once they flush the toilet.....😳 We are composers too.
Where do you get water for your garden if there is so little rainfall? And about the green/brown ratio in composting, I have a free-form pile going, but I have much more green material (kitchen produce waste) than brown. It seems to break down, so maybe it’s more of a free-form vermiculture pile than compost? I’ve never been able to achieve a quick, hot pile, but I have produced rich dark soil with worms in it. I did so in a compost tumbler, but added straw (brown carbon) to it, again to counterbalance all the produce waste. I turn my pile every week or so mostly to cover up newly added kitchen waste. I hose it down at that time, but we also get nearly 60 inches of rainfall per year. In the past, when I’ve top dressed potted plants, they went nuts. However, I think my compost was probably pretty high in nitrogen since I got a lot of foliage. I’d like to be able to keep adding to my pile as I have waste, but if you do that, the pile never gets finished. Thoughts?
I'm a no turnover kind of composter myself...figure if it takes longer to compost I'm good with that...have never turned my compost bins & they produce black gold anyway
There also seem to be some studies showing that unturned compost gives you a more nutrient rich and greater diversity of microbial life compost as a result! Yay for us lazy compositors! :)
Another excellent, easy-to-understand video. Wish someone with your experience had been around in the later 70's to advise me. Composting was taught as something complicated, laborious, and easy to fail. I finally gave up.
I should have showed that too. There is a smaller little bin that you can't quite see behind these two bins just for humanure. I usually let it break down for two years before using it just to be really safe.
Totally convinced me to compost when I move out to my off grid living and how unbelievably cheap and easy using pallets and ties. Lol I just want to catalogue all your videos lol they are so informative. Thank you :)
0:47 -- Hm... If you have a composting toilet, you are eventually adding it all back to the soil. Maybe not directly to the garden, but to your flower beds, but soil is a large factor that a few feet/meters distance is over longer time not relevant, and needs to be considered as such.
I do indeed add it all back to the soil, but didn't cover it in this video as I already covered that in some depth in videos specifically on my composting toilet setup. :)
Probably the best, simplest explanation I've heard. Might even add that you don't need the pallets, if you just want to start a compost pile on the ground, or in a shallow pit, it works, and is easy to get to. One other thing, hearkening back to fire safety rules we all learned in grammar school, re: spontaneous combustion; don't build a compost pile next to a building or trees. I see that yours, Ariel, is next to trees... pretty hard to avoid there, but pretty far from the house. For the newby compost pile creator, every year there are stories of a bag of grass, near a house, or compost pile next to a fence catching on fire. It's part of the reason, some people in hotter climates turn theirs more often, and wet it down. If you're new to all this, you can check with your local garden club, and/or extension service for recommendations in your area. All in all, Ariel is right, it's pretty simple. Enjoy.
True, though anything that helps keep the compost in a pile is handy as it breaks down faster than spread out more shallowly. Good tip for hot climates. Never having lived in a hot area, I've never heard of one igniting.
small footprint - I did a bit of research via Google and found that it is very rare for even a too hot compost pile to spontaneously combust. One article said such fires are usually due to large masses of organic material (commercial or landscaping operations) that have been improperly maintained (dry, pile well insulated, dry pockets of air, unattended for long periods of time, poor air flow). If concerned about a home compost pile, you just need to make sure your pile does not overheat which, of course, is not good for composting anyway because at temperatures approaching 200 degrees Fahrenheit there is a risk of the heat killing all good biological activity. A compost thermometer can be inserted into your pile to keep tabs on the temperature. Other suggestions: Do not allow a pile to exceed 12 feet in height, avoid excessively large piles, water your pile if it is dry (which Ariel mentioned), and good air circulation (Ariel's pallet bins are perfect).
I think the prerequisite of being a homesteader/off-gridder is not that you can rear animals or grow food or be self sufficient. No, the prerequisite is that you absolutely must own at least one lumberjack check shirt........😊 Keep up the great content, Ariel.
:) I actually prefer solid colors, but companies don't seem to like making warm wool shirts like this in plain solids. Or at least I haven't found a great deal on one in a thrift store yet which is where this one came from.
I just noticed a video you made in 2017 and I'm confused... it was about finding and buying your own homestead? Did it happen are you still prepping the land or did I miss something? Sorry just it was dated 2017 yet some of the comments looked recent? Anyway I'm sure you will put me straight..:)
Bet we all are eager to hear more of Ariel's plans for her own property. I think she explained that it might take a few years to make the property ready for homesteading. The tiny house will move with her, but I wonder if it will need new tires by then.
Very interesting info and i have to bow to your knowledge and experience . Thanks for clarifying this subject . Having said that i have seen someone bury water pipes in a compost heap for a free hot shower .Could not believe how much heat was in the center of the compost heap .
I've always composted , but I'm in NYC. Not a lot of room, hence a very small compost pile. Every bit helps tho ! I love that you kept it simple Ariel :-)
Just let let you know about the urine that you put on the trees during winter the nitrogen will re-activate the growing process of the trees but as it is winter the tree exposed to the cold will then die again and sometimes in the spring they don't come back and permanently die. It is a great idea for your fertilizer but just be aware about the other surrounding good trees out there. Just a food for thought!
Excellent information, thank you. I’ve been composting for many years and my only rules are no meat in the compost bin. Because I don’t want to meet a bear at the bin....other than that, if it breaks down, it goes in.
Under the trees so less/little snow there. Just keep throwing stuff on the pile, as the pile decomposes (slower in the cold) the pile is warm in the center. Ariel has friends who also live off grid and "homestead" so it might be interesting to visit other homes to see their operations.
COMPOSTING IS GREAT FOR EVERYONE-- EVEN IF YOU DONT GARDEN OR GROW FLOWERS- COMPOST IS GREAT TO JUST SPRINKLE ON YOUr LAWN TO FEED IT NATURAL INGREDIENTS-- THANKS FOR THE SHARE- BLESSINGS
Ariel, Thanks for sharing this. I think I will have to see if I can get some of my neighbors to save their scraps for me. I still need to build up something so that the wind won't blow it away. I thought that it gets too cold around here so that things won't decompose in the winter, but it it works for you then I should be OK.
I love to compost. I have compost chickens that I put in my "chicken secure" compost bin. The chickens scratch all the compost and add nitrogen to the soil. I move these dedicated chickens every few weeks. Thanks for sharing!
The problem is not the cold but the predators. There are chickens in very cold areas. But there are so many things here that would eat a chicken that unless I built a sold concrete cube to keep them in, they would be eaten. Cats can't even survive the other predators here.
Fy Nyth I hope you’ll think about it. With your experience blogging and photography skills, I think you’d make a beautiful book. It’s not even so hard to self publish to amazon these days.
I should have showed that too. There is a smaller little bin that you can't quite see behind these two bins just for humanure. I usually let it break down for two years before using it just to be really safe.
I live in the burbs and when I had this type of compost bin I was visited by raccoons which was very unpleasant as they then raided my garden. I now have a tumbler but it doesn’t seem to break down very well. Any suggestions??
Thanks for the information. I've got a plastic compost bin that I got from my local city council. It's full of worms and plenty of slugs and bugs but it doesn't seem to be breaking down very well. Also I've noticed balls of worms pooling in the lid. I usually knock them on to the grass. I can't leave the lid off because I live in a residential area. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I too have a compost bin from my city. I've also added 3 more by drilling holes in garbage cans. Composting requires 3 things. Compostable material, air and moisture. I live in a dry place 1 state south of Ariel so I just water my composting material as needed to keep it wet. I also stir it up to keep it from compacting and from having dry spots near the airflow holes. I just drill the holes to mimic the air slots that are on the bin I got from the city. During the summer it takes less than a month to go from filling the bin to usable compost. I have a pile with wire mesh around it that everything including sticks from the trees go into, much like Ariel's pile. As I dump a barrel I fill it from the pile. 3-4 weeks later it goes to the beds. In the winter the pile just builds up like Ariel's does.
There does need to be air or you will start to get anaerobic breakdown which generally smells horrible. If the worms are moving to the lid, they are probably either too wet and trying not to drown, possible if there is no drainage. Or too hot. They will leave to look for a cooler area if the temp is too high like sitting in direct sunshine.
Yes, yes, yes! Like you, I compost the easy way in pallet-made bins. People! At LEAST compost your coffee grounds! Such a waste to put food scraps & coffee grounds in the landfill, or worse down a garbage disposal.
I have a question for ya Ariel, I wondered if you could do a video or speak about how to cook in a Dutch Oven? It's easier for me to cook that way as a single person... I thought probably not a full Video but just a few words About what can be cooked and the best way to go about It. Thanks Ariel 😇👍❤🇺🇸☕🎃
That's something I never do personally, but my father is a great dutch oven cook. Maybe sometime I'm around him again I'll see if he would star in a video on that topic.
I grew houseplants, herbs and leafy greens on the tiny patio, and flowers and more food in the little foot wide strip of dirt along the outside wall. :)
If you have a pile in contact with the ground like this, they will show up on their own. If you are using a sealed off container like a bucket in a garage, you would need to add some.
As soon as I have them! Mail moves very very slow out of this area, but the lab should have the soil by now so I'm hoping to see that report soon, maybe tomorrow?
When you were editing this vid, did you see the chipmonk in the background? I love those little guys. Does your compost pile get snow piled up in the winter, or is it too 'hot'? I'm in Seattle, very little snow and my pile never had snow on it-when it did snow-it would just melt into it because it was too warm. It was the only place in the yard with no snow.
I didn't notice it, but they are all over here! It does't get much snow, but that's mostly due to the tree cover. It does get some as it's not a large enough pile to generate that kind of heat. Huge (semi dump sized) piles of wood chips will generate enough heat to keep a small spot on top melted out all winter here though.
6:17 - Welcome to Web 2.0. Where everyone has an opinion despite being lacking on the facts. So please do not call such FUD *info*, because it is not. What you said is correct. Anything organic will compost. It is only an issue of time and the pile type. Cheers.
As I discussed, that is why I don't compost meat here. And as I mentioned, in our very dry climate, wood chips take more than a decade to even start to noticeably break down.
I tried composting many, many years ago when I didn't know how to do it and gave up after a couple of seasons of just making a mess. I started a small bin compost last year, but have wanted to expand to something bigger now that I have learned so much from you and other channels. I've been considering pallets and have an idea where I'd put them (hard to figure that out when I live in town). Your video is so timely and inspiring that I'm going to try to get it done before winter. Thank you! Biggest concern though-does it attract snakes or create a home environment for them?
I've never seen compost piles attract snakes. Admittedly there are very few snakes in this area period, but I never observed that when I lived in PA either.
I should have showed that too. There is a smaller little bin that you can't quite see behind these two bins just for humanure. I usually let it break down for two years before using it just to be really safe.
@@FyNyth thank you for responding. I really like your channel it is very informative. Looking forward to seeing how pretty you make your land. All the flowers you have in the summer are so pretty.
Yup.. confirmed. Pretty much all of those no-no items will cook down just fine. In the case of orange peels, sometimes in my kitchen before even I get them TO the compost. 🙄 The things that make it through my rig are usually the larger diameter sticks (which make great inoculators at the top of the pile) those produce stickers that were originally on the orange peels, and eggshells that I stacked too many together and forgot to crumble them. Smells..I agree they're nonexistent with 5 cents worth of care and cover, especially when you have infinite leaves to cover with. If I didn't have that I'd do like you and use some of the top compost itself to cover a real stinker such as a dead animal carcass or load of chicken poo. I also like to throw in a handful of sand now and then, seems to help the worm gizzards (or whatever they're called) in my area with its clay muck soil, so they can get in there, digest the scraps and help 'stir'. tcg♥︎
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I used your idea and love it! It works JUST LIKE YOU SAY IT DOES! Today is put the garden to bed day.. so mine will look like this soon. You are a gem, Ariel. Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas and lifestyle with us. 👍🐾
Great ideas.
Thank you so much!
I asked in another video to show your compost and then I came across this one. Thank you!❤🤗
I love to compost.I actually have 4 large compost bins. My compost bins are always filled with very large earth worms. Each spring I have the chore of separating earth worms and placing them in one compost bin and in my potted plants because I have so much...LOL....the worms just multiply so much in my compost ,Its amazing.therefore I have lots of rich and nutritious compost because of the worm casting.....keep the videos coming.
Lovely!
very nice. I love your authority on the matter.
Excellent😊
I have compost piles in the woods right off of our yard. Now that I have retired, I am turning them to help accelerate the breakdown. I was surprised to see that I had dry uncomposted leaves in the middle of one of the piles. Am adding them to new green material. Thank you for the ideas. I would like to get a three bin pallet compost. Am on the lookout for free pallets.
Try a local farm/ranch store if you have one in your area. That's where I got my pallets. They are always getting feed bags, salt, fertilizers, etc. in on pallets and need to get rid of them.
GRATITUDE
🌟 always love your videos 😄 always learn something 🎃
Current Pandemic may force many of us to do what you guys are doing. My hats off to you pioneers...
Thanks for this very informative video. I just love how simple you keep things.
Composting is the way to go. Thanks for sharing. 🌱
Looove your common sense wisdom!
It's wonderful the way you go into detail when you present these informative videos...!
I agree with you 100% I use to have a composting area at the bottom of my garden and I never had a problem and in the 11 years of living in that house I never had a complaint from the neighbours.
Perfect!
Thanks.
You might enjoy the book Cottage Economy (C) 1823 by William Cobbett. It is still in print today. He loved composting
Sounds like one I need to find. Thanks!
You are always a fountain of information. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with the rest of us. Great job as always!
You have proof to have beautiful gardens, so it works!
So glad you did this video, and have been composting for nearly 10 years. It wasn't always so successful as I live in the city of Houston and found that when I had an open pile as you are doing, the rodent problem was prolithic. We had a real issue with rats for a bit, so I needed to purchase or build a tighter container, with air circulation, but no holes big enough to allow for a rodent to enter. When you talked of no problem with rodents or preditors it made me realize that where you live, the balance of preditors vs prey is the way Nature had intended it to be, but in a big, hot and humid (actually a swamp) city, preditors are limited and prey can accumulate with amazing speed. At any rate, we learned through trial and error, and I now have two composters to rotate for feeding my small garden.
I can see how that would be an issue in an area like that. Yeah there are so many predators here they kill other predators too. I would guess some kind of fine wire like hardware cloth stapled over pallets or some other wood frame might stop rodents? You'd need another one to go the top as a lid and that might allow a setup much like this. But it sounds like you already worked out a good solution for you!
@@FyNyth The hardwire cloth is a good idea and may use this when we eventually move! Thank you!
informative
Thanks Ariel for the information.
Thanks for a video on composting. You make it very easy to understand, good precise info, well appreciated. Good to see Burley. Thanks Ariel!
For some reason, I thought you had to turn compose. If I'd know it was this easy, I would have done it years ago. What about cats? I have a ton of wild cats around here in the country. They come from a neighboring farm that doesn't do anything about the cat population. I'm fine with a few cats around, but it has gotten way out of hand. They get trapped in my garage and walk on the cars, etc...I wonder if they would scrounge in a compost bin? Love that I am always learning from you Ariel! Hugs, Brenda
Some do. It does tend to decompose faster. But there's also research showing you get a better, more nutritious compost with a better diverse microbe community by not turning. Well, there are no stray cats at all here due to all the predators. But as long as you're not composting meat, I can't imagine most cats being interested in weeds, leaves, veggie scraps etc.
Thank you. That green and brown stuff I have heard and the smell issue has stopped me. I am going to do this!
Go for it!
I tend to avoid avocado skins and seeds because they take forever. Shredded paper is good for bulk. What I find to be a problem though is if it's too wet. All the worms seem to disappear if I don't keep the bin sheltered from rain, which probably wouldn't be the case with a set up like yours considering the water can soak down into the ground. I also have a problem with heat. I've had heatwaves that have killed every worm in the bin, but again with a set up like yours they could escape deep underground. I think I will build something similar to yours this year
They do break down slower than a lot of things, but by the time I'm using the pile a year later, they are all digested. Yeah if compost gets too wet, they will flee to avoid being drown. Though you're right with piles like mine in contact with the earth, they come and go as they please.
I need to add another section, too. Thanks for the pallet idea.
Another excellent video. The modern world really needs to get in touch with the reality of their own waste. Western society lives with a very wasteful mind set, and for the most part wouldn’t want to even think about what happens once they flush the toilet.....😳
We are composers too.
Agreed. Things are not gone because they are "away" somewhere out of your sight.
Where do you get water for your garden if there is so little rainfall? And about the green/brown ratio in composting, I have a free-form pile going, but I have much more green material (kitchen produce waste) than brown. It seems to break down, so maybe it’s more of a free-form vermiculture pile than compost? I’ve never been able to achieve a quick, hot pile, but I have produced rich dark soil with worms in it. I did so in a compost tumbler, but added straw (brown carbon) to it, again to counterbalance all the produce waste. I turn my pile every week or so mostly to cover up newly added kitchen waste. I hose it down at that time, but we also get nearly 60 inches of rainfall per year. In the past, when I’ve top dressed potted plants, they went nuts. However, I think my compost was probably pretty high in nitrogen since I got a lot of foliage. I’d like to be able to keep adding to my pile as I have waste, but if you do that, the pile never gets finished. Thoughts?
I'm a no turnover kind of composter myself...figure if it takes longer to compost I'm good with that...have never turned my compost bins & they produce black gold anyway
There also seem to be some studies showing that unturned compost gives you a more nutrient rich and greater diversity of microbial life compost as a result! Yay for us lazy compositors! :)
Good sense composting video, Ariel, thank you. Black earth; so sweet!
Another excellent, easy-to-understand video. Wish someone with your experience had been around in the later 70's to advise me. Composting was taught as something complicated, laborious, and easy to fail. I finally gave up.
Bummer, maybe this will inspire a second try!
What do you do with the poop compost from your toilet? Could that ever be added safely?
I should have showed that too. There is a smaller little bin that you can't quite see behind these two bins just for humanure. I usually let it break down for two years before using it just to be really safe.
Awesome video, thanks.
Totally convinced me to compost when I move out to my off grid living and how unbelievably cheap and easy using pallets and ties. Lol I just want to catalogue all your videos lol they are so informative. Thank you :)
0:47 -- Hm... If you have a composting toilet, you are eventually adding it all back to the soil. Maybe not directly to the garden, but to your flower beds, but soil is a large factor that a few feet/meters distance is over longer time not relevant, and needs to be considered as such.
I do indeed add it all back to the soil, but didn't cover it in this video as I already covered that in some depth in videos specifically on my composting toilet setup. :)
Probably the best, simplest explanation I've heard. Might even add that you don't need the pallets, if you just want to start a compost pile on the ground, or in a shallow pit, it works, and is easy to get to. One other thing, hearkening back to fire safety rules we all learned in grammar school, re: spontaneous combustion; don't build a compost pile next to a building or trees. I see that yours, Ariel, is next to trees... pretty hard to avoid there, but pretty far from the house. For the newby compost pile creator, every year there are stories of a bag of grass, near a house, or compost pile next to a fence catching on fire. It's part of the reason, some people in hotter climates turn theirs more often, and wet it down. If you're new to all this, you can check with your local garden club, and/or extension service for recommendations in your area. All in all, Ariel is right, it's pretty simple. Enjoy.
True, though anything that helps keep the compost in a pile is handy as it breaks down faster than spread out more shallowly. Good tip for hot climates. Never having lived in a hot area, I've never heard of one igniting.
small footprint - I did a bit of research via Google and found that it is very rare for even a too hot compost pile to spontaneously combust. One article said such fires are usually due to large masses of organic material (commercial or landscaping operations) that have been improperly maintained (dry, pile well insulated, dry pockets of air, unattended for long periods of time, poor air flow). If concerned about a home compost pile, you just need to make sure your pile does not overheat which, of course, is not good for composting anyway because at temperatures approaching 200 degrees Fahrenheit there is a risk of the heat killing all good biological activity. A compost thermometer can be inserted into your pile to keep tabs on the temperature. Other suggestions: Do not allow a pile to exceed 12 feet in height, avoid excessively large piles, water your pile if it is dry (which Ariel mentioned), and good air circulation (Ariel's pallet bins are perfect).
I think the prerequisite of being a homesteader/off-gridder is not that you can rear animals or grow food or be self sufficient. No, the prerequisite is that you absolutely must own at least one lumberjack check shirt........😊
Keep up the great content, Ariel.
:) I actually prefer solid colors, but companies don't seem to like making warm wool shirts like this in plain solids. Or at least I haven't found a great deal on one in a thrift store yet which is where this one came from.
those shirts are awesome :D sadly I have only found cruddy quality ones over here... the ones I bought in the states were awesome but now worn out
Thank you for your informative video Ariel!
I just noticed a video you made in 2017 and I'm confused... it was about finding and buying your own homestead? Did it happen are you still prepping the land or did I miss something? Sorry just it was dated 2017 yet some of the comments looked recent? Anyway I'm sure you will put me straight..:)
Bet we all are eager to hear more of Ariel's plans for her own property. I think she explained that it might take a few years to make the property ready for homesteading. The tiny house will move with her, but I wonder if it will need new tires by then.
Still the same plans I discussed here - th-cam.com/video/9WuHfQFjmkk/w-d-xo.html
Thanks folks it was just the dates that threw me;)
How do you get the worms out of the finished compost and into the new batch before you use the 'done' batch?
What about the contents of you composting toilet?
My humanure compost bin is right behind these two. I'll have to do a video on that one too.
Very interesting info and i have to bow to your knowledge and experience .
Thanks for clarifying this subject .
Having said that i have seen someone bury water pipes in a compost heap for a free hot shower .Could not believe how much heat was in the center of the compost heap .
If you have a good sized compost pile, yes it can generate quite a bit of heat!
What about the carbon nitrogen ratio 30/1 or 25/1 ?
I've always composted , but I'm in NYC. Not a lot of room, hence a very small compost pile. Every bit helps tho ! I love that you kept it simple Ariel :-)
great video!
Just let let you know about the urine that you put on the trees during winter the nitrogen will re-activate the growing process of the trees but as it is winter the tree exposed to the cold will then die again and sometimes in the spring they don't come back and permanently die. It is a great idea for your fertilizer but just be aware about the other surrounding good trees out there. Just a food for thought!
Except it just freezes into the deep snowpack and doesn't make it into the soil and therefore the trees till things are melting in the spring. :)
Excellent information, thank you. I’ve been composting for many years and my only rules are no meat in the compost bin. Because I don’t want to meet a bear at the bin....other than that, if it breaks down, it goes in.
...haha “and my worms didn’t complain about it..” so nice you addressed common fears that prevent some from at least trying...
I have a compost pile but now I will make 2. I never thought to do it this way...thanks!
How to add to the pile once snow comes?
Under the trees so less/little snow there. Just keep throwing stuff on the pile, as the pile decomposes (slower in the cold) the pile is warm in the center. Ariel has friends who also live off grid and "homestead" so it might be interesting to visit other homes to see their operations.
@@lindaleal809 👍
Yeah I just add things on top of the frozen pile. The new additions don't really do anything till spring, but then they are sitting their ready to go.
You can make a great candy with orange peels
COMPOSTING IS GREAT FOR EVERYONE-- EVEN IF YOU DONT GARDEN OR GROW FLOWERS- COMPOST IS GREAT TO JUST SPRINKLE ON YOUr LAWN TO FEED IT NATURAL INGREDIENTS-- THANKS FOR THE SHARE- BLESSINGS
Ariel, Thanks for sharing this. I think I will have to see if I can get some of my neighbors to save their scraps for me. I still need to build up something so that the wind won't blow it away. I thought that it gets too cold around here so that things won't decompose in the winter, but it it works for you then I should be OK.
Well it certainly all slows down in the winter. But a year later, you can see what mine turned into here, so I would think you would be fine.
😁👍👍👍👍👍👍⭐⭐
I love to compost. I have compost chickens that I put in my "chicken secure" compost bin. The chickens scratch all the compost and add nitrogen to the soil. I move these dedicated chickens every few weeks. Thanks for sharing!
That's great! If I could keep chickens alive here I would love to do the same.
@@FyNyth,,True! I've never seen an Artic jacket for a chicken. Hopefully you can have them at your other place. :)
The problem is not the cold but the predators. There are chickens in very cold areas. But there are so many things here that would eat a chicken that unless I built a sold concrete cube to keep them in, they would be eaten. Cats can't even survive the other predators here.
@@FyNyth Lol, I don't think about predators. If only you could teach chickens to shoot. :)
Have a great week!
Subscribed, hello from Miny....
Welcome! Thanks for joining us all here.
When are you writing your book??
No plans at this time. :)
Fy Nyth I hope you’ll think about it. With your experience blogging and photography skills, I think you’d make a beautiful book. It’s not even so hard to self publish to amazon these days.
Hi, if it's not too personal what do you do with the rest of your composting toilet contents? Humanure ?
I should have showed that too. There is a smaller little bin that you can't quite see behind these two bins just for humanure. I usually let it break down for two years before using it just to be really safe.
I live in the burbs and when I had this type of compost bin I was visited by raccoons which was very unpleasant as they then raided my garden. I now have a tumbler but it doesn’t seem to break down very well. Any suggestions??
Hi Ariel 👋
Thanks for the information. I've got a plastic compost bin that I got from my local city council. It's full of worms and plenty of slugs and bugs but it doesn't seem to be breaking down very well. Also I've noticed balls of worms pooling in the lid. I usually knock them on to the grass. I can't leave the lid off because I live in a residential area. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I too have a compost bin from my city. I've also added 3 more by drilling holes in garbage cans. Composting requires 3 things. Compostable material, air and moisture. I live in a dry place 1 state south of Ariel so I just water my composting material as needed to keep it wet. I also stir it up to keep it from compacting and from having dry spots near the airflow holes. I just drill the holes to mimic the air slots that are on the bin I got from the city. During the summer it takes less than a month to go from filling the bin to usable compost. I have a pile with wire mesh around it that everything including sticks from the trees go into, much like Ariel's pile. As I dump a barrel I fill it from the pile. 3-4 weeks later it goes to the beds. In the winter the pile just builds up like Ariel's does.
@@JimScholfield Thanks Jim I'll try drilling some holes and see if that helps. 👍
There does need to be air or you will start to get anaerobic breakdown which generally smells horrible. If the worms are moving to the lid, they are probably either too wet and trying not to drown, possible if there is no drainage. Or too hot. They will leave to look for a cooler area if the temp is too high like sitting in direct sunshine.
@@FyNyth Thanks Ariel. That's really helpful. I appreciate the advice. 😊
Yes, yes, yes! Like you, I compost the easy way in pallet-made bins. People! At LEAST compost your coffee grounds! Such a waste to put food scraps & coffee grounds in the landfill, or worse down a garbage disposal.
I have a question for ya Ariel, I wondered if you could do a video or speak about how to cook in a Dutch Oven?
It's easier for me to cook that way as a single person...
I thought probably not a full Video but just a few words
About what can be cooked and the best way to go about
It. Thanks Ariel 😇👍❤🇺🇸☕🎃
That's something I never do personally, but my father is a great dutch oven cook. Maybe sometime I'm around him again I'll see if he would star in a video on that topic.
Great video 😀 I gott pallets and im planing to putt up this kind of compost bin 😀
what did you DO with the compost you created while living in an apartment?
I grew houseplants, herbs and leafy greens on the tiny patio, and flowers and more food in the little foot wide strip of dirt along the outside wall. :)
Earth takes care of itself, we just cooperate.
Do you have to introduce worms into your compost pile or do they naturally occur?
If you have a pile in contact with the ground like this, they will show up on their own. If you are using a sealed off container like a bucket in a garage, you would need to add some.
Another informative vid, love the scarf. When will the soil results be unveiled??
As soon as I have them! Mail moves very very slow out of this area, but the lab should have the soil by now so I'm hoping to see that report soon, maybe tomorrow?
When you were editing this vid, did you see the chipmonk in the background? I love those little guys. Does your compost pile get snow piled up in the winter, or is it too 'hot'? I'm in Seattle, very little snow and my pile never had snow on it-when it did snow-it would just melt into it because it was too warm. It was the only place in the yard with no snow.
I didn't notice it, but they are all over here! It does't get much snow, but that's mostly due to the tree cover. It does get some as it's not a large enough pile to generate that kind of heat. Huge (semi dump sized) piles of wood chips will generate enough heat to keep a small spot on top melted out all winter here though.
6:17 - Welcome to Web 2.0. Where everyone has an opinion despite being lacking on the facts. So please do not call such FUD *info*, because it is not. What you said is correct. Anything organic will compost. It is only an issue of time and the pile type. Cheers.
No meat in there. You have bears in there. They smell meat miles away. Put wood chips in there and pine needles in it help break it down.
As I discussed, that is why I don't compost meat here. And as I mentioned, in our very dry climate, wood chips take more than a decade to even start to noticeably break down.
I tried composting many, many years ago when I didn't know how to do it and gave up after a couple of seasons of just making a mess. I started a small bin compost last year, but have wanted to expand to something bigger now that I have learned so much from you and other channels. I've been considering pallets and have an idea where I'd put them (hard to figure that out when I live in town). Your video is so timely and inspiring that I'm going to try to get it done before winter. Thank you! Biggest concern though-does it attract snakes or create a home environment for them?
I've never seen compost piles attract snakes. Admittedly there are very few snakes in this area period, but I never observed that when I lived in PA either.
"I don't need no stinkin' book. I have you!" te he
Do you put all of your human waste in the compost pile
I should have showed that too. There is a smaller little bin that you can't quite see behind these two bins just for humanure. I usually let it break down for two years before using it just to be really safe.
@@FyNyth thank you for responding. I really like your channel it is very informative. Looking forward to seeing how pretty you make your land. All the flowers you have in the summer are so pretty.
Ottimo!!anche noi facciamo così!
Nice!
👍👍👍😃❤️
Gonna have to put a roof over my compost bin...... Ohio....rains a lot.
Yup.. confirmed. Pretty much all of those no-no items will cook down just fine. In the case of orange peels, sometimes in my kitchen before even I get them TO the compost. 🙄 The things that make it through my rig are usually the larger diameter sticks (which make great inoculators at the top of the pile) those produce stickers that were originally on the orange peels, and eggshells that I stacked too many together and forgot to crumble them.
Smells..I agree they're nonexistent with 5 cents worth of care and cover, especially when you have infinite leaves to cover with. If I didn't have that I'd do like you and use some of the top compost itself to cover a real stinker such as a dead animal carcass or load of chicken poo.
I also like to throw in a handful of sand now and then, seems to help the worm gizzards (or whatever they're called) in my area with its clay muck soil, so they can get in there, digest the scraps and help 'stir'.
tcg♥︎
Chickens are great! Nice setup you have.