Compost Equipment Guide

Bokashi Refill For All Food Compost Kit

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:30:41 +0000

Now it’s easy to discard meat, fish, dairy and even bones right in your kitchen without the requirements of turning it like you do outdoor compost and without creating unpleasant smells. Developed in Japan, the All Food Recycling Compost Kit (sold separately) quickly and odorlessly converts your organic waste into a high-grade soil conditioner through the use of effective microbes or bokashi – a Japanese word meaning “”"”fermented organic matter.”"”" Similar to the process used to make wine, this system relies on fermentation to decompose the matter rather than putrefaction, so no offensive odor is produced. In about 10 days you can bury the nutrient-rich matter in the garden or add it to your compost pile to help improve physical, chemical and biological environments in the dirt. Sprinkle a handful of bokashi onto the waste every time you add to the bucket. One bag of bokashi is good for one bucket full of compost. Japan. One gallon bag of bokashi.

The Blue Barn: None

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:30:37 +0000

A straight forward method on organic gardening. How to prepare your soil, how to build a compost bin, seeding through harvest and preserving your garden bounty. A strategy to incorporate natural concepts, without using any dangerous chemicals. Also choosing the right vegetables and fruit for their nutritional value.

Garden Composter

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:30:33 +0000

Today’s enlightened gardener recognizes composting as a simple, efficient way to reduce waste and create nutrient-rich soil for plants. Made of 100% recycled plastic, our unobtrusive bin traps solar heat to accelerate the production of compost. Includes adjustable air vents, easy-access hinged lid for adding materials, and sliding bottom door for compost removal. Snaps together in minutes without using tools. Includes a guide to successful backyard composting and has a five-year mfg. warranty. USA. Additional shipping charge applies. See “”Shipping Information”" for details.

Compost Activator

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:30:29 +0000

Organicar compost Activator uses natural microbes to safely and naturally speed decomposition of yard waste. Our organic compost decomposer promotes higher temperatures that increase decomposition speed, help reduce odors, deactivate weed seeds and pathogens and help build healthy soil. Because it combines both thermophilic (high temperature) and mesophilic (low temperature) bacteria, it’s effective under a wide range of climatic conditions. 2 lbs. treats up to 4 cubic yards of compost. Not recommended for animal waste. USA. See more composting products from Gaiam

Continuous-Use Composter

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:30:24 +0000

Using a patented, rotating bio-drum, the Continuous-Use composter moves compost material along an outer drum and then back toward a collection chamber as it’s turned. By the time it reaches the output port, it’s a light, fluffy end product. You can load this composter with kitchen scraps continuously, making it unlike typical drum composters, which require you to stop adding material at some point. Made from green polyethylene. Minimal assembly. 50-gal. Capacity 32″” High 33 1/2″” Wide 24″” Diameter 38 lbs. Additional shipping charge applies. See “”Shipping Info”" tab.

Indoor Composter

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:30:20 +0000

The indoor composter that handles it all, including meat, fish and dairy. The NatureMill automatic composter achieves true “”hot composting“” temperatures for odor-, bug- and worm-free composting of up to 120 lbs. of food waste per month. Keep it indoors or out. Nutrient-rich compost is ready for your garden every two weeks. One batch nourishes 40 sq. ft. Uses 5kWh of energy per month (costs about 50). 20″”L x 12″”W x 20″”H. 17 lbs. Three-year mfg. warranty. USA. Additional shipping charge applies. See below for details.

Garden Composter

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:30:14 +0000

Today’s enlightened gardener recognizes composting as a simple, efficient way to reduce waste and create nutrient-rich soil for plants. Made of 100% recycled plastic, our unobtrusive bin traps solar heat to accelerate the production of compost. Includes adjustable air vents, easy-access hinged lid for adding materials, and sliding bottom door for compost removal. Snaps together in minutes without using tools. Includes a guide to successful backyard composting and has a five-year mfg. warranty. USA. Additional shipping charge applies. See “”Shipping Information”" for details.

Compost Activator

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:30:05 +0000

How do you make Compost worm Extract?

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:50:28 +0000

I have been making worm tea and I am interested in doing a worm Extract.

"Compost extract is produced by purposely adding water to compost and collecting the water that passes through the pile. This water contains soluble nutrients but often times very few organisms. Cycling this water through the compost a number of times will increase the resource concentration so as to allow organisms to increase in numbers adequate to protect leaf and root surfaces when applied to plants. However, this is not always the case."

http://www.fullcirclecompost.com/compostTea.cfm

"To make a simple compost extract, add 1 gallon of finished compost to a 5-gallon bucket. Fill the bucket to within 6 inches of the rim with water and stir it occasionally. After 3 to 7 days, strain the liquid through cheesecloth into another bucket, and use straight or diluted when to water your plants."
http://www.garden.org/subchannels/care/tools?q=show&id=1962&page=1

Good Luck! Hope this is helpful.

how to grow a potato in bags of compost?

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:50:10 +0000

i would like to grow potatoes on the allotment next year and would just like to know the best way of planting potatoes in compost bags.

i would like to grow some earlies and some maincrop – does anybody know the most heavy yielding?

where is the best place to get a few seed potatoes from?

i am situated in Suffolk, UK.

POTATOES ARE EASY TO GROW VEGETABLES
One of the easiest root crops to grow is potatoes. Plus, they’re fun to grow and a small area can provide a nice yield of this tasty vegetable. Early spring is the best time to plant them. So here are a few hints on how to grow potatoes in the garden:

One of the bonuses of growing potatoes is that you can eat them at various stages of growth. The young ‘new potatoes’ are often harvested and cooked with peas and gravy, while most are allowed to reach maturity and are eaten or stored for use throughout the winter.

VARIETIES – choose the varieties that fit your cooking needs and taste preferences. Keep in mind some varieties have special attributes such as being particularly suited for baking; French fries; boiling or for making hashbrowns. Here are just a few of the most popular ones:

WHITE ROSE – probably the best known variety. This early white potato is nice for boiling; potato salad but is only fair for baking. It is only considered fair for storing purposes.

NETTED GEM – another popular variety. Considered one of the best for baking. This late russet Burbank variety stores well.

KENNEBEC – another late maturing white potato variety. An excellent one for fries; chips; baking or hashbrowns.

NORGOLD RUSSET – excellent early variety for baking or boiling. Does not store too well.

YELLOW FINNISH – this is one of the favorites at our home. It is a smaller sized potato with a yellow interior of excellent flavor. My wife likes to bake it in the microwave oven. It is a versatile potato and stores moderately well.

RED PONTIAC – is a popular red skinned variety of average quality. It stores quite well.

RED NORLAND – this is a well-rounded red variety that has good qualities for baking or boiling.

Needless to say, there are many other varieties that merit use in the home garden.

SELECTING POTATOES – make certain that you choose only certified seed potatoes for planting in the garden. Certification means the potatoes are free of insect or disease problems and that they have not been treated with a growth retardant. Garden centers; nurseries; garden outlets and hardware stores generally feature certified seed potatoes during the spring planting season.

SOIL PREPARATION – potatoes grow in just average soil, so a great deal of soil preparation is not really needed. However the addition of some compost or a little peat moss is beneficial. Avoid using fresh manure or lime in the soil where potatoes are to be grown, as it tends to cause scab on the potatoes. The addition of either 5-10-10 or 10-20-20 fertilizer is beneficial. Mix the fertilizer into the planting soil, prior to planting. Till or spade the soil to a depth of ten or twelve inches.

CUTTING POTATOES – if the seed potatoes are small to medium sized, plant the whole potato. If they are large sized, you can cut them in half, or quarter them. Each section should have two or three ‘growth eyes’. After cutting, let the cut surface callus-over before planting them.

SPACING – potatoes can be grown in many different ways. If you have lots of room the cut pieces can be spaced about a foot apart in rows which are spaced two to three feet apart. Then cover with about an inch of soil. Pull in additional soil as the plants develop. Always be certain the surface tubers are covered with soil.

Hilling or mounding is another method of growing potatoes. Three or four pieces of potatoes are planted on a mound of soil, pulling in additional soil as the potatoes develop.

You can grow potatoes in the ground, in stacks of straw or mulch, in black plastic bags, in garbage cans or to stacks of tires. Potatoes can be a fun and easy crop to grow.

Field growing: This is the conventional way most potatoes are grown. Generally, the seed potatoes are planted about 12 inches apart in rows that are spaced 2 to 3 feet apart. The seed pieces’ are planted about 1 inch deep, then covered with additional soil as the sprouts develop.

Straw: For centuries, Scandinavians have grown potatoes in stacks of straw or other mulching material. Potatoes are planted above ground in the straw, and as the vines begin to grow, additional straw` or mulch is mounded up around the base of the plants. This results in a yield of very clean potatoes. New potatoes can be harvested easily even before the potato vines mature completely.

Under plastic or in plastic garbage bags: Garden soil or a commercial potting soil can be used to grow the potatoes in the bags, Fold over the top half of the bag, fill with soil, and plant a certified seed potato that has been cut in half. The plastic bag can be set above ground wherever it’s convenient. Punch holes in the bottom of the bag for drainage.

You also can plant potatoes under black plastic. Cut open a piece of the black plastic, and plant a potato piece. The potato tubers will develop as they would in the open ground. However, the tubers that develop close to the surface of the soil are shaded by the black plastic and should not develop the green inedible portions that often are found on other tubers. The black plastic also will aid in controlling weeds.

Garbage cans or containers: Old garbage cans, or wooden or fiberboard-type containers are suitable for growing potatoes, if they have adequate drainage. You can conserve space by growing them in this manner. A word of caution, though: The plants tend to dry out more rapidly when grown in containers, so additional watering will be needed. Otherwise, you’re likely to end up with misshapen tubers.

Tires: There are two different methods of growing potatoes in tires. One way is to stack three or four tires, fill them with soil and plant two to three seed pieces about 1 or 2 inches deep in the top tire. The black of the tire absorbs and radiates heat, and there usually is a heavy yield.

Another method is to put a tire on the ground, fill it with soil and plant the potatoes within the tire. Plant two seed potatoes, whole or halved, about 2 inches deep. Once the potatoes have developed 3 or 4 inches of foliage growth, a second tire can be put on top of the first, Fill in with more soil, always leaving at least 2 inches of leaf growth above the soil level. Continue to fill as the plants grow. Once you’ve filled in the center of the second tire, continue the stack to a height of three or four tires. Keep in mind you must always leave about 2 inches of foliage showing.

Last year, we grew potatoes in eight stacks of tires, using eight: different potato varieties. Each tire stack averaged 11 pounds of potatoes: Some readers have reported yields of up to 38 pounds per stack. Others have reported poor results, averaging as few as one or two potatoes per stack. Over-watering or the use of too much high nitrogen fertilizer could be the reason for poor yields.

The reason you can grow potatoes successfully in this manner is that potatoes develop on stems above the roots. Of course, it’s for this reason that mounding or mulching potatoes is recommended so highly.

Some of the potatoes that we grew in tire stacks were: not harvested until January of this year. So the tire stacks also provided an ideal place to store them throughout fall and winter.

WATERING – Black or hollow centers on potatoes is often caused by over-watering. Irregular watering causes irregular shaped or knobby potatoes. As a guideline, water potatoes (thoroughly) weekly during warmer summer weather.

HARVESTING – New young potatoes are harvested when peas are ripe or as the potato plants begin to flower. For storage of full sized potatoes harvest them when the vines turn yellow or have died-back.

STORAGE – Keep them in the dark, in a spot where temperatures are about 40 degrees.