Compost

I think we should begin working on our compost. I am inserting some excerpts from the instruction manual below. Anyone who wants to read the manual in its entirety (:-)) can find it online at: http://www.planetnatural.com/planetnatural/images/superior-compost.pdf

I began loading the CompostTumbler today and gave it 5 long turns. We can choose to do fast (14-day) or slow composting. Right now, we don't have a sufficiently large load of mixed materials to do fast composting. Please place materials for composting in the wheelbarrow by the composter. For the time being, the compost committee will manage loading and turning the composter to monitor its progress. When we get a good system going, we'll post instructions, so everyone can take part:-)

Good materials for the composter (materials from home are welcome!):

NITROGEN

fresh grass clippings

(cut within 24 hours)

green yard & garden waste*

coffee grounds & tea bags

egg shells (rinsed & crushed)

uncooked fruit & vegetable

waste*

farm manure

hair trimmings

CARBON

dead leaves*

sawdust & wood shavings

straw or hay*

wood ash

black & white newsprint

(shredded, premeasured &

soaked in water)

dead garden waste*

* Remember to chop or shred these materials before loading if you

are using the 14-day hot composting method.

Do not use branches, twigs, pine needles, redwood, cedar, walnut or

treated wood. Do not use any cooked foods, dairy products, meat or

bones. Do not use pet waste or untreated human waste. Do not use

anything you know or suspect to be poisonous or diseased.

At least four times each week go out to your ComposTumbler,

check the moisture and smell the materials. Make any needed

adjustments (see Adjustments for these two categories under

14-Day Hot Composting) and then rotate the drum five full

revolutions. Rotating the drum every day will speed up your

process even more.