Compost is apparently very good to put around your bamboo, and to mix in the soil. Im assuming that this should be done in spring?? or after the new shoots have grown in a bit.

But, im more interested in composting myself. Making the compost pile is easy. But I just have a few questions

1)Does it matter if the heap is in sun or shade?
2)what is the minumum temp that composting takes place?
3)I know the top should be covered, and it needs air. So there should be some air holes on the bottom or top?

Thanks

I have mine in the sun, as the heat helps...especially in winter.

The minimum heat would depend on what you are trying to break down, and at what speed, ie: Food waste is faster than sticks regardless of the temperature.
Many people keep the kitchen waste seperate from the garden stuff because of this.
Also do you have rats in the area, as plastic containers are nothing to them when it comes to breaking in. Then making homes in your house.

I have mine built with holes throughout,, but I haven't always had that. I used to make bins from Straw bales, with a plywood top, and the stuff broke down really fast.
The school kids used to take temperatures in winter, and the middle of the pile was often steaming.

Carol! you used to be at UBC right? You had the sago palms growing outside? And had the huge pond with the cyperus??

Thats good. I just want to start one ASAP, as im getting some bamboo, and banana here and I want some good soil fer them in their new homes. I have a few things to use actualy, im just not sure of the location ATM...

I live on Salt Spring, which is just across the water from where UBC is in Vancouver ( been there many times). I had the rest though.

Where are you now exactly?

I meant as in "UBC botanical gardens forum"

Im the same user name there, and youve helped me out a few tmes with houseplants. I was in calgary, now in in NW ontario.

lol...yes thats me. Been awhile since I was on there.

LOL glad to see ya... and once again thanks for the help LOL

Im just really wondering on location. And when to start it all up. We always have tons of fresh veggie scarps from salad, and egg shells n what not. No to mention the garden waste from last year i need to clean up..

Compost is good fopr virtually everything, virtually all the time.



1. Not really. Mine is in shade.

2. Composting will take place at any reasonable temperature, but the hotter it is, the faster it decomposes. The key is to get enough volume so the heat generated by the bacterial decomposition gets trapped in the heap. Then the ambient temperature is less relevant. My bin is about 1.2m x 1.2m x 0.8m and, when it's more than half full, it gets warm enough to speed things up.

3. No, don't cover the top. The best container is slatted timber with no top and no base. Then you get air into the sides, but you still get heat retention. It's more helpful to make sure that the bottom is sitting on the soil, because then the micro-organisms from the soil can get into the compost. Solid sides with holes drilled in them won't really do it. Use slats.

The other main thing is to turn it over every few months. The problem with compost bins is that the good stuff is at the bottom. By turning it over, you can dig out the finished compost and incorporate air into the mix. The death of compost heaps is anaerobic decomposition. If you get a good mix of green material and woody material and turn over the heap every few months, you'll get aerobic decomposition and a healthy heap, plus you'll be able to dig out the finished compost from the bottom a couple of times a year.

My view is that any garden with no compost heap is not being managed properly. Others may differ, but I can see no excuse for not having a compost heap. I'm sure someone will come up with a patio that has no room for a heap, but that would be the exception that proves the rule.

To which I would only add two heaps are better than one! once a heap is full and being turned as described above you switch to filling the second heap allowing the first to become all compost when it can be emptied and you can switch back.

The black plastic bins with no holes are also good but work in a completely different way as they act as wormeries the worms eat all the veg waste, and you dont have to turn them

I would put food scraps further from the house purely cause i don't like the critters who get into compost.

nothing more to add, except that compost applying times for bamboo does make some difference. If you're going after big culms, spreading the compost/ferts around in the autumn is more productive. Spreading it around in the spring tends to encourage more but thinner growth. Bamboos love the moisture and conditions that compost brings, so spreading it around when ever will always make for a healthy plant.

I forgot to say that adding something high in Nitrogen helps to get the compost cooking. That can be a few handfuls of a manure-based fertiliser or grass clippings - or you can pee on your compost heap, which has the additional merit of outraging the bourgeoisie.

I would add that plastic bins are extremely useful if you need a very contained, tidy heap for a small space. Even a small one will make good compost, given time. Mine are not wormeries, they are the standard Dalek bins sold cheap by the local council.

I place mine on the soil rather than on a hard surface. The length of time to complete the compost seems to vary considerably and seems to depend on the conditions within the bin rather than exposure to sunlight. Some bins are unaccountably slow-moving - perhaps I should investigate anaerobic conditions? I keep my bins covered to preserve warmth and moisture - dry conditions prevent composting - and also to look tidier. If they have dried out I water them copiously and leave the lid off in wet weather. The most long-standing bins now seem to be the fastest, probably due to having a good range of organisms and worm eggs concentrated within, even after emptying. I would like to stir the contents about a bit to incorporate more air, but this is impractical with a plastic bin. My bins all have holes / doors/apertures near ground level. When the are emptied some of the old compsot always gets reincorporated. Occasionally I lob on a bit of horse manure just to liven things up.

Despite putting raw food scraps on I have had no problems, so far, with rats. I live in a big town, so the Urban Myth "You are never more than * feet away from a rat," should apply!

Well the good thing is, there aren rats in my city ( as far as I know, besides muskrats). We do have some mice... but who doesnt.

I have all of last years dead plants to throw in, as well as a good large mixing bowl full of veggie scraps from salad. Not to mention the DAILY coffe fix LOL. ITs gonna be a while before I can throw in some grass clippings, but MOST of them are gonna be fer multching my bamboo ( that is if we dont get over runn with that ground creeping, purple flower ivey thing......

We always wait till srping to rake up leaves as well, so we have TONS of dried leaves. And peeing int he pile... well... thats news to me, but hey.... a pot of coffe does wonders for that LOL.

I was going to put in in the ground, cause we tend to have tons of worms in our ground here ( im less then 1/2 mile from lake supirior), not to mention other bugs.......

THanks for the help ill keep you guys comPOSTED ( LOl sry had to)

Peace

Don't mulch anything with raw grass clippings, especially not Bamboo. As they rot down, they absorb Nitrogen rapidly, which is exactly the opposite of what you want - Bamboos are very Nitrogen-hungry plants.

Put the grass clippings in the compost heap, mixed into all your other stuff, and wait for the whole mixture to rot down thoroughly. The grass clippings will help it rot swiftly and will generate quite a bit of heat, which you want.

As I said, it will absorb Nitrogen as it rots and then, when you apply it as a mulch, all of the Nitrogen will become available to the plants.

Slower-rotting material, such as wood chips, doesn't do any measurable damage, as far as I can tell - I've been using it as Winter mulch for years. But soft green stuff rots way too fast and can even damage exposed plant roots, as well as hoovering up all the available Nitrogen from the top layer of soil.