Produced by
Patti Moreno
Contributor to:
Composting and Vermiculture
The compost bin I use in my video is the easiest and inexpensive type to make. Just purchase galvanized metal 4 feet tall by 5 feet long. I’m using a ½ inch mesh 19mm galvanized wire. I make a cylinder with it and attach the ends with the wire that is used and comes with the roll. It’s light weight so I can place it any where I need it on my lawn. I start filling the compost bin with all of the leaves that are around it on my lawn. What a great workout! I want to make sure that I include only leaves, pine needles, and small twigs. Large branches won’t compost as fast as the leaves and weeds may contain seeds that are not wanted in my compost... Kitchen scraps may attract unwanted pests. As the winter goes by the leaves will begin to decompose and turn into compost. As that happens you can continue adding more leaves. In a few months I can pop off the wire and spread out the compost on my lawn. It’s the perfect addition to kick start my lawn or garden in early spring. There are different types of compost bins you can make. Check out 2 other types I have around my house.
The problems I encountered when I first started out in gardening, in retrospect, can all be traced back to my lack of understanding of the soil and the biological processes going on inside. Rodale said it best in the 1930’s, healthy soil=health plants=healthy people. Controlling and understanding these processes which happen at a microscopic level doesn’t require a degree in bio chemistry. The process are totally natural and to some degree spontaneous. What it requires is lots of organic material, leaves, manure, anything. The easiest thing to do is to create you own home compost system. An easy simple thing is to use the 4’ x 4’ construction model. Make a simple compost bin, add some redwiggler's and the bin can serve the land in at least two ways. One, make compost so that I can fertilize and enhance the soil throughout the farm. The other is to create worms as supplementary feed for my poultry and fish.
Worms are the true engine of my farm. You can buy red wigglers from my farm by via paypal (It is best to send an email inquirery first for availability), by sending $15 to this email address rps@filmshack.com. Make sure you write in the subject red wigglers.
