Author Topic: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)  (Read 11896 times)

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Offline Dianna

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Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« on: Jun 30, 2012, 01:27:38 PM »
Jim bought me some raw natural peanuts last night at Walmart because I prefer those to roasted or boiled with salt. While eating some today, I started crumbling the shells into little pieces for the compost bin. Is it  considered a green or a brown? :unsure:

I have been hanging on to the paper towels I dry my hands with to shred for the bin. I added some bits and pieces of peels of different veggies when I was making a salad. I probably need to go add it to the bin before it starts attracting gnats into my kitchen now... :BigGrin:
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline Tina

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #1 on: Jun 30, 2012, 02:47:01 PM »
It is a brown. You are not going to add enough peanut shells to worry if they are green or brown unless you add it by full wheelbarrows.  Paper is also a brown.
Don't forget to add the hair you brush out of Angel. (brown too)
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Offline Dianna

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #2 on: Jun 30, 2012, 02:52:08 PM »
Thank you, Tina. I never thought about Angel's hair in the compost. I have plenty of my own to donate, though... :giggle:

Of course, mine might not be good to add. It has tint in it most times... :BigGrin:
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline Tina

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #3 on: Jun 30, 2012, 02:54:49 PM »
Yes, your own works too. Dyed is OK.
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Offline Dianna

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #4 on: Jun 30, 2012, 02:57:06 PM »
Wonder how long does it take for it to break down? Should I cut my hair in little bitty pieces?

I always have a brush full of hair when I brush my hair. I am surprised I have any left on my head at all... :Wacko:
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline Tina

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #5 on: Jun 30, 2012, 03:04:15 PM »
It breaks down pretty quickly because it is so thin already.
Do you run your compost through a screen of any kind? I have a screen with about half inch squares. But I've never really used it. Just run my hands through and removed any larger chunks to put back to finish. If I found clumps of hair unfinished, I might toss those back in too. But it will finish itself in the soil also. Sometimes I just sprinkle our mostly short ones straight around the plants. I do most the hair cutting here.
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Offline Dianna

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #6 on: Jun 30, 2012, 03:09:43 PM »
No screen at all, Tina. I would pick it out like you. :grinnnn: The last full compost bin just got emptied right where it stood and spread around. Fire ants took it over and I was fighting with them... :o
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline Dianna

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #7 on: Jul 08, 2012, 05:30:05 PM »
Another question... :grinnnn:

I have started saving my coffee grounds again and egg shells to add to the compost bin. But first I am getting a little ready to mix in the soil when we plant the tomatoes. I am wondering now if I should have picked the skin out of the egg shells before I added them to my coffee grounds. Will it be okay to leave in? I did wash them out, but didn't try to pick all of the membrane that was left on the inside of the shell... :ScratchHead:
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline Ariel

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #8 on: Jul 08, 2012, 05:32:13 PM »
My mom always just threw them in not washed. It didn't seem to hurt anything. I also throw the eggs right out during fall/winter but i guess they would have time to break down.
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Offline Tina

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #9 on: Jul 08, 2012, 06:22:51 PM »
It does not matter, Dianna. If they have a lot of egg left in  them, they could smell a bit for a little while and could attract other critters. But I have also tossed them straight into the soil with little or no breaking apart and they do beak down on their own. Birds will come along and snack on pieces of shell too. It is good for them.  I have also dumped used coffee grounds out around my plants. It is all good.
Bonus: Snails do not like to crawl over scratchy things.
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Offline Dianna

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #10 on: Jul 08, 2012, 06:25:41 PM »
Thanks, Ariel and Tina. I did remove the membrane from the eggs yesterday after I rinsed the shells, but I just didn't feel like doing it this morning. Now I will just rinse and toss and not worry about it... :grinnnn:
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline Tina

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #11 on: Jul 08, 2012, 06:27:00 PM »
See, I don't even rinse.
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Offline Dianna

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #12 on: Jul 08, 2012, 06:29:35 PM »
I just can't stand the thought of anything slimy in the compost, Tina... :giggle:
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline bayou girl

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #13 on: Jul 09, 2012, 07:27:55 PM »
and i walk outside and throw old/bad eggs as hard as i can into the over grown yard in front.  i usually clear the actual "yard" and get them into the woods.  i figure that either a hungry critter will eat them, or they will compost naturally.  now, saying that, i won't be able to do that after tomorrow, someone is cutting the front and turning it into yard also.
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Offline Tina

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #14 on: Jul 09, 2012, 07:39:26 PM »
I also toss old eggs (floaters) out into the shrubs.
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Offline Dianna

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #15 on: Jul 09, 2012, 08:42:09 PM »
Jennifer, who is turning the front into a yard? Scott? Matthew? :ScratchHead:

I was going to ask how to tell if an egg is bad, but when Tina said "floaters", I remembered. But what makes you check to see if it floats in the first place? Time it has been in the fridge? :unsure:
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline Tina

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #16 on: Jul 09, 2012, 09:24:39 PM »
Yes, time it has hung around. But checking for a float is very simple and not time consuming.
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Offline duh

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #17 on: Dec 26, 2012, 04:41:19 PM »
We all know I am detail oriented beyond permission.  Because I make some calcium powder for the tomatoes I rinse take out the membrane (because of smell), dry and then run through the spice grinder until the egg shells are a powder.  For slug repellent I want large pieces of shell so I don't take the membrane out of those or break them into small pieces. 

Easy way I determine what is green and what is brown is the green will get warm and smell up the place and the brown won't. 

Offline Tina

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #18 on: Dec 26, 2012, 04:54:19 PM »
I guess I am just a lazy composter. I really don't so any of the above grinding, chopping, rinsing, breaking up of anything tossed into a compost pile. I let mother nature handle most things. I've never noticed a big odor problem. If it attracts gnats and fruit flies, I dampen sheets of newspaper and lay it over it all. They tend not to like that much. I've never had a big ant problem but think I would surround it with orange and/or lemon peels. Or something like that. Maybe mint planted right in it.
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Offline bestofour

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #19 on: Dec 27, 2012, 12:35:40 PM »
I was going to be the kind of composter that took it directly to the garden and worked it in.  That's been done twice now.  It's a lot of trouble so I'm changing my plans.  Andy tore down the fence I had around the original compost pile and I imagine he'll do it again if I put it in the same place.  The new plan is to buy a big dog pen and sit it right beside the garden spot.  Johnny figures he can buy one of those for close to the same price of buying stuff to build another one plus it will be half the aggravation.

Offline bestofour

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #20 on: Dec 27, 2012, 12:37:44 PM »
I tried the lasagna gardening one time, putting down cardboard, and ended up with a bunch of rolly polly bugs (don't know their real name), which are earth movers but they also eat the roots or tender stalks of new vege plants.  When I got rid of the cardboard they went away too - for the most part.

Offline bayou girl

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #21 on: Dec 27, 2012, 10:51:04 PM »
i've always called them roly poly bugs too!  i think they are also called pill bugs.  i haven't done lasagna composting, most of my composting is just to toss it in the pile and let it go from there.  but i haven't done a lot of gardening lately either.
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Offline bestofour

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #22 on: Dec 28, 2012, 09:42:10 AM »
sometimes I wonder if it's really worth it but then I get a bite of a fresh tomato and ah ah

Offline duh

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #23 on: Jan 31, 2013, 01:24:34 PM »
I'm with Jenn I haven't done much gardening lately either.

Peanut shells are brown. 

My leaves are all over from the wind storms so they have to be raked up again.  I won't mention everything else that needs doing around here but it's going to be busy.   

Offline bestofour

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Re: Let's Talk Compost Again...:)
« Reply #24 on: Jan 31, 2013, 02:21:53 PM »
It's too windy to do anything outside here today.  We have so many leaves I can't put them all in the compost pile.   Since I'm a retired person I want to get a better handle on this and grow lots of stuff using compost and being wise about it.  Wish me luck on that. :BigGrin:  I'll say again I wish I had a Robert.

 

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