Compost

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Originally Posted by NHscrapman

I would like to see your bins as i am about to rebuild mine and am looking at all sorts of ideas there's a million and one out there.

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If you'll notice the corners, there's a 2x2 raised enough to allow the one below it to slip into the slot. The wood, excepting the treated 2x2 corner, is all old growth redwood that came from a job I was on, they were actually sending this stuff to the dump. It is all 7 1/2" x 1"(a solid inch thick) and I used little cross members to not only reinforce the corners but also to hold them 1" apart for air in/water out. When I first built them I painted a red X thinking I might need to have them marked for stacking but they turned out close enough they'll stack in any order or any direction. I also used liberal amounts of exterior glue.
You could probably use treated wood instead for the sides

http://i.imgbox.com/aczvTfqM.jpg

http://i.imgbox.com/abiN3jJB.jpg

Those are just old pallets, correct Bear?

Great design thank you for taking the time to post them.

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Originally Posted by Bear

I'm not sure where you got the pallet idea from? I didn't mention pallets that I recall

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I think he meant that they look like crates

You have a nice design there, Bear. It's a pity no one recognizes the valuable wood you used to make them.

I came across a similar stacking crate arrangement with hinged metal corners--it is used in the industrial supply game in my neck of the woods to ship bearings and power transmission products. The base pallet is sized to fit the foldable sides and they are stacked up just like your setup to the height required to ship whatever. I picked up a dozen or two of the sides and will probably put the metal hinges on some 2" lumber to make something like what you have...but not in Redwood!!!

Jon.

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Originally Posted by sawmilleng

You have a nice design there, Bear. It's a pity no one recognizes the valuable wood you used to make them.

I came across a similar stacking crate arrangement with hinged metal corners--it is used in the industrial supply game in my neck of the woods to ship bearings and power transmission products. The base pallet is sized to fit the foldable sides and they are stacked up just like your setup to the height required to ship whatever. I picked up a dozen or two of the sides and will probably put the metal hinges on some 2" lumber to make something like what you have...but not in Redwood!!!

Jon.

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Thanks Jon
I had quite a bit of that stuff once upon a time, and it all made the move from TN. I wrapped our 8x24ft front porch in lattice, built side boards for the truck, even made a couple of farm gates, one's a 10ft cattle grade. It sure won't ever rot. That's no where near the amount of it they threw away. It was harvested in the 50s, installed in 1960, and we were replacing it with aluminum about ten years ago. Wish I had the rest of it yep, I'm down to 4 or 5 - 8 to 9 ft pieces of it left. I do know the value of it, not only in monetary numbers(last I checked it was around 5-10 dollars a board foot, and I had around 7-800ft of it) but it's rings are in most places 15-20 per inch(12 per inch qualifies as "old growth")

You'll have a rough time stacking panels like that built with 2x stuff, specially if it's treated. Treated is heavy to start, and when it gets wet it's even heavier, and at least the bottom rung of a compost bin will be wet most all the time ; )

15-20 rings per inch!! Wow. I "very" occasionally see that around here, mostly in Douglas Fir or Larch. The only redwood I have obtained up here in the great white north was a clear piece out of a wooden water reservoir that was damaged. I've still got it--never found just the right project for it. Its only about 3" x 8" x 4' long...

I probably won't use treated wood--the chemicals in it cause my wife and I some concern, so we probably will end up with plain old wood and take the necessary replacing every 3-5 years as a given.

We also are looking at this kind of setup for a raised garden and have seen photos of old freezers used as the containers for a raised garden. I believe they cut out the bottom and paint the outsides black or something so they don't look so bad. I have a couple laying in the back 40 and I think I have finally convinced my wife to try one...!! Some of those plastic dishwasher tubs that have been discussed here in the last couople of days sound like just the thing. too.

Jon.

Here's a way of composting that let us add meat, fish, grease etc to the pile: Bokashi composting how to - Time To Recycle

It's more time consuming than regular composting, though.

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Originally Posted by tsmith53149

I have a question/problem y'all might know how to help me with. The other day i went out to check out my compost pile, and since i grew my own tomatoes this year, the rotted/bad/ugly ones i just threw in my compost pile, and the other day i went out to check how things are going and to dump leaves in my compost pile, and noticed that there was a decent amount of slugs... and that some of the tomatoes looked like the tomato slug (or whatever the insect or bug is) that found its way to the tomatoes... I know that beer is a good way to get rid of slugs, but any other tips?

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Without the use of chemicals, beer and copper strips are the best. For killing the slugs that are in abundance like that I would fill an old coffee can half full of beer and place it in a hole so its level with the ground. That may be the meathod you were referring too. Chickens would eat the slugs and help turn the compost a bit.

MMMMmmmmmm....bacon and eggs....and the eggs manufactured from slugs.....MMmmmm....


I tease my wife about this, since the hens don't lay so well without some protein in their feed...I suggest we lay down some plywood and turn them over periodically for the hens to forage...lots of slugs accumulate under stuff around here...

YUM!. (doesn't bother me, tho)

Jon.

Beer raised poultry...an veggies...loving it.

Interesting thread.

Sirscrapalot - 3

I use Copper Sulphate mixed with white latex paint on raised garden beds made out of wood. This seems to keep the raised beds slug and snail free! DE (Diatomaceous Earth) also works as a natural barrier. They can't cross over the sharp and jagged surface. Have also used old aquarium charcoal, with the DE and charcoal just make a 2 - 3 inch circle around each plant, this has worked very good for peppers and tomatoes! On the DE don't use the type meant for pools (chemicals ??? ). On the Copper Sulphate, there's lots of applications for garden use (Fungus control) but be cautious, use protective eye wear, mask, gloves and long sleeve shirt. This is not really organic gardening, but in my opinion better than a lot of other chemicals used in the garden. Plants and humans need copper its a matter of how much!

I have a pile of fallen sticks and empty cigarette packs...

[IMG]http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9d682d28.jpg[/IMG]

COMPOST!!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by NatBrnCO

Check the laws on that one before you get to involved. I know Colorado is pretty well regulated. Agriculture product across state lines, spread of noxious weeds and pathogens, etc. Now you can give it away without any concerns.

I personally run 3 bins and don't actually grow anything, I just can't bring myself to put bio-degradable stuff into the dumpster.

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Um, why not? Doesn't it biodegrade just as well in the landfill as it does elsewhere? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I have no farmer in me and my plants die within days.

You are right burly in our area landfills make compost. The problems with this are 1 it is full of trash material like plastic 2 it is not created properly and by putting it on top of gardens will fill your garden with weeds. 3 well lets say not everybody gardens organically and some chemicals will make it through into your garden. Our company will use it in a pinch and only put it in the bottom of a perennial/tree hole and definitely not in something someone will eat. But it is there and it's free and it makes some pretty good starter in a pinch.

Don't feel bad Burly, I have your same luck with plants. I go to water the wife's an it cowers from me. lol.

Really interesting thread, we don't farm on my sandbar, that's a mainland thing.

Sirscrapalot - People teach their dogs to sit; it's a trick. I've been sitting my whole life, and a dog has never looked at me as though he thought I was tricky. - Mitch Hedberg

Horse manure is about as good for composting as anything, and you might find your best source is close as some local stables.
I knew a guy on the mounted patrol in Nashville and went out to the barns with him one Sunday to help feed the horses and clean out the stalls.(they ate very well, only the best in alfalfa, wheat, oats, etc) We'd fill up a big wheelbarrel and push it across the road to where they'd been dumping it for years. I saw as rich looking soil over there as I'd ever seen anywhere. Got to asking around if I could get a load of it and finally found the answer, "YES!, get all ya want, and tell all your friends"
I began hauling it over to my garden a small pickup load at a time, taking two buckets and digging the old stuff from back of the pile, and filling up the bed of my little Ranger. I'd haul several loads each spring to mix into the garden, and soon there began to be other people around, getting them loads of it too.
As several years went by there would be more and more people there, sometimes waiting in line to back in there and fill up. I'd even show the ones behind me where I'd found the best looking stuff that day.
Funny thing is that was all taking place at a major agricultural center, and I'd see their grounds crews hauling little trailer loads of bagged compost to put in their gardens ; )

I have a compost tumbler with worms I built out of 4 large diameter wheels, a plastic 55g drum, and half a pallet. I also have 2 stacking worm composting bins which are awesome! Worm tea for bugs and fertilizer, worm castings for fertilizer. Then there is a large compost pile I use for yard waste.

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Originally Posted by ScrapYaHerd

I have a compost tumbler with worms I built out of 4 large diameter wheels, a plastic 55g drum, and half a pallet. I also have 2 stacking worm composting bins which are awesome! Worm tea for bugs and fertilizer, worm castings for fertilizer. Then there is a large compost pile I use for yard waste.

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have you got a photo?