Ultimate composting guide

Do you need to establish a bacterial decomposition before starting the fungal decomp? or could you run a straight fungal compost? What would that look like?

My compost tumbler is literally just a place where I store fresh organic waste from my house before adding it to the main pile so I don’t have to walk all the way down there, and so the odor can dissipate. But it’s useful for that

I compost in one large pile and cover it with a big piece of Astroturf that keeps my wife happy.

Re: in situ worm bins. This works really well in Europe. However, in North America red wigglers are invasive species and might destroy the eco system for your native forrests that are not used to such quick decomposition processes. Don't think, in situ worm bins are an eco friendly idea in Canada.

Pros of bokashi: you can use it to compost meat, eggs, dairy, prepared food; Cons: the end result still needs to be composted using one of the other methods before it can be used.

I really like the idea of a holed, buried bucket for worms. I need to try that out.

Build the shed on skids. That usually sidesteps most construction permit regs because it is then not considered a permanent structure. To be fair, that's in America: no idea if that works in Canada, but worth looking into.

Yea I have 2 tumblers and they are as big as drums. Yes you don't the heat but you do keep the rats and mice away. I'm a baker and put lots of unused bread in it with some scraps I don't give to worms. My heated piles mount which 1 is currently at 150F made up of horse manure and shire jungle mulch and another finished pile of horse manure and wood chips. So no vermin to worry about there.

I do have a tumbler and agree, it’s a pain in the butt to empty. (Probably my biggest complaint) I will say there are a couple pros, biggest one being that in an urban environment it’s nice and compact (fits in our tiny yard) and keeps the critters out. It has lots of holes and flies get in so we do get “life” through it. It also gets very warm (I haven’t taken temp but by feel I’d say well over 100 degrees F) and processes pretty quick. (If I’m turning it often I can get some good compost inside of a couple/few months) I do also agree though that the “hot zone” is small so often seeds make it though and volunteer in the garden—not always a bad thing but slightly annoying at times. If/when we have more space I’ll definitely be building a different system like you’ve described.

I'm a senior and can't really contemplate the work involved in a hot compost system. But I've purchased and set up a SubPod vermicompost system that is working great. It gets partially buried in the garden or in a raised bed so the worms can go back and forth through the holes in the sides of the SubPod. Being buried regulates the temperature for the worms as well. I highly recommend it.

I just want to say your video description is amazing. Thanks for taking the time for us readers! Oh, and by the way, your channel is awesome. Thanks for the valuable content. Greetings from Argentina! 🙋🏾‍♂️🌱

Thank you so much for this info, I’ve used the compost tumblers before and wondered what I was doing wrong since I just seemed to be spinning rotting food endlessly. This video has been super helpful.

Challenge-Suggestion: Grow a pretty hedge around your compost area Grow a guild of plants.. Blocking view from house, dedicate it to birds. Create a mini park/utility area by working with the appropriate plants to accomplish your goal

I find that my tumbler is useful as a primary stage composter, but you do need to compost it further to finish it as outlined below. I am in the City of Winnipeg, so it keeps the kitchen scraps locked up and keeps critters out. I keep it close to the house, so it is easy to get the kitchen scraps to the bin. I spin it every time I add, and it has two sides, to age one half. This helps to break down the kitchen scraps with paper, garden waste that is not chop and dropped, and shredded paper added as appropriate. Then I either take the partially composted matter to the vermicimpost bin in the basement, or I bury it in the front yard garden with wood branch trimmings as hugokultur hills. But the tumbler is useful as a primary to store extra compost over a long cold Winnipeg winter, and also with lots of extra garden cuttings in summer. But you are correct that it is hard to get it to finish well.

What a great video. I love my compost. I get excited when bears pooped in my yard I can add it to my compost. I have a open box like your pallet bin….except made out of regular wood. I have only had a bear rummage thru it once, then another time a small bear use to sleep in it. But on the whole it it never bothered by animals. Next year we are adding on another section cause it is only 4x6’…hahahaha thank you so much, this is such a great channel. 🇨🇦🐝

I have a Box of Life vermicomposting box - made in Ottawa and perfect for indoor composing of food waste. I love you videos, thank you so much for the content

Oh, this explains why my compost bins have a dormant for nine months. I’ve probably been created methane. I’ll start turning it and adding more browns. See what happens.

My rhubarb leaves are huge this year - been putting them around my newly planted dwarf cherry seedlings.

Your thought process Jenga about the compost bin sounded so familiar I had to laugh 😂 I guess you could call it Adults 1st law: For every solution there's an opposite and larger problem haha

In California it's illegal to even flush cat poop. The litter is terrible for the sewage pipe system and some diseases like toxoplasmosis survive all the way to the ocean where they infect wildlife. The sea otters suffered some pretty severe population setbacks due to cat-feces–born disease. So imagine what it's like raw for our garden life and ourselves.