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spillenger
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# Posted: 18 Sep 2014 03:45pm
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I stay at my Nova Scotia cabin from June to October. I have a vegetable garden. I would like to start composting for the garden. I know that managing the moisture level and regular turning are important, but I won't be here to do these things during the winter and spring. Is it possible to set up a compost pile before I leave so that it does at least some composting while I'm not here? If so, are there any special tips for doing this?
Thanks,
Paul
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papawawesome
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# Posted: 18 Sep 2014 05:26pm
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In that scenario, I would make a tall skinny circle out of fence and steak it into the ground well so it doesn't fall over. I'd fill it all summer, and just let it go till next season. The other layers may not be done, but the inside will. Leave the outer layers in the bin, fill on top of that, that's what would be used when you come back the next season. And so on.
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spillenger
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# Posted: 18 Sep 2014 05:39pm
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Thanks!
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hattie
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# Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:37pm
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Composters don't do anything in the winter because they need heat. We have two composters (the black plastic type). One is our active composter (that we add to daily) and the other is from the previous year that is "cooking" (ie: the items are breaking down without anything new added). We will fill our composter for a year and let it sit a year, so this means it takes 2 years to get good compost.
We start our composter in the fall with a layer of leaves. We add kitchen waste all winter and it freezes. By spring, the composter is 3/4 full of frozen material. When the weather warms up, it quickly starts to break down. We add leaves and stir it with a "garden claw" which twists the material. We continue adding layers of kitchen waste and leaves and stir it all summer. In the fall we switch over to the other composter and start again. The first composter will be stirred before the winter and then stirred as early as possible in the spring, adding water. By then it will be mostly decomposed. During that year we continue to add water and stir it monthly. In the fall (this is the second fall for this composter) we strain out the compost (we use a large screen with 1/2 inch holes in it) and remove any large lumps. We use this compost in our gardens and now the empty composter is ready to start again.
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Mainiac
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2014 07:35am
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We just pile our barn bedding and turn it once in a while with a tractor.If you just leave wastes in a pile it will compost some,after a year.
Cheer up.My wifes Aunt landscaped her whole lot in Key West with homemade compost and a little bought soil.Before that it was COral ROck.
Where are U in NS?.I have been there several times
.Up around CAPe BReton and around down to Chester.
I found the people to be very nice.
Its very scenic.
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Wilbour
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2014 07:44am
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We compost all year in Ontario. In the winter it just freezes and piles up but come spring it starts to break down. The freezing also helps break down the cells. We do like Haitte and just keep two piles. After a year most of the waste will break down. What hasn't is removed, stirred and set aside for another year.
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