4 ms·

The whole compost thing can be a lot of hassle for people. For a simpler option, if you are lucky enough to have a decent garden area, find somewhere away from

The whole compost thing can be a lot of hassle for people. For a simpler option, if you are lucky enough to have a decent garden area, find somewhere away from your house and just throw biomass there regularly. Coffee grinds, spent tea, leftover veg, etc. and watch what happens! Sometimes simple is best.

ssl-3 7mo ago
Indeed. I've been doing that for a quite a number of years now. I just put food waste and some other compostable stuff outside -- in a pile, on the ground. Currently, that pile is in a place where autumn leaves tend to gather naturally. And in that pile, it all composts. It turns last week's bean soup into next year's hot pepper harvest. It's not zero-effort but it's very close. I'll have spent more time writing this comment than I have on any aspect of composting over the last several months. Later on, to use it in the garden, I just... use it in the garden. I scoop aside the top layer with a shovel and take whatever is beneath it. The plants don't seem to care that the composting method is slow and lazy, or that a portion of it might be somewhat unfinished. (Now, to be sure: Home-scale composting can have a great deal of optimization applied. Bins, aeration, deliberate introduction of red worms, careful management of moisture, temperature monitoring, whatever -- the sky's the limit. But I have enough hobbies, and I'm not trying to market it as a product or win a race here. This method keeps up with my household's output just fine and doesn't take up much room at all in my tiny-ass yard.)
mikkupikku 7mo ago
Ngl I didn't know there was another way to compost. The whole idea is to just throw vegetable waste into a pile and let it turn into dirt, isn't it?
hermitcrab 7mo ago
Rats and other undesirables can be attracted to compost. So it is probably best to use a composting bin, if you can. Also try to mix in some brown/carbon (leaves, shredded paper, cardboard etc) with your green/nitrogen (food scraps, grass cuttings etc), otherwise it can become a stinky swamp (anerobic).
- contingencies 7mo ago
  It's possible to approach composting form a more simplistic standpoint. The listed issues are mostly specific to high density (eg. in a fixed bin) composting. If you spread it out these problems basically go away, and so do the stinky compost labor and purchasing requirements.
  - hermitcrab 7mo ago
    Do you not have problems with rats and other vermin?
    - contingencies 7mo ago
      No. What's 'other vermin'? We have plenty of native animals. I see a few of them feeding in the area I distribute organic matter, including (non-snake) reptiles, turkeys, possums, butterflies, native bees, spiders, etc. Lots of fungi too.
      - hermitcrab 7mo ago
        >What's 'other vermin'? Badgers, foxes, racoons etc. Depends where you live. Probably should have used a better word than 'vermin'. It sounds overly judgemental.

ssl-3 7mo ago

Indeed. I've been doing that for a quite a number of years now. I just put food waste and some other compostable stuff outside -- in a pile, on the ground. Currently, that pile is in a place where autumn leaves tend to gather naturally. And in that pile, it all composts. It turns last week's bean soup into next year's hot pepper harvest. It's not zero-effort but it's very close. I'll have spent more time writing this comment than I have on any aspect of composting over the last several months. Later on, to use it in the garden, I just... use it in the garden. I scoop aside the top layer with a shovel and take whatever is beneath it. The plants don't seem to care that the composting method is slow and lazy, or that a portion of it might be somewhat unfinished. (Now, to be sure: Home-scale composting can have a great deal of optimization applied. Bins, aeration, deliberate introduction of red worms, careful management of moisture, temperature monitoring, whatever -- the sky's the limit. But I have enough hobbies, and I'm not trying to market it as a product or win a race here. This method keeps up with my household's output just fine and doesn't take up much room at all in my tiny-ass yard.)

mikkupikku 7mo ago

Ngl I didn't know there was another way to compost. The whole idea is to just throw vegetable waste into a pile and let it turn into dirt, isn't it?

hermitcrab 7mo ago

Rats and other undesirables can be attracted to compost. So it is probably best to use a composting bin, if you can. Also try to mix in some brown/carbon (leaves, shredded paper, cardboard etc) with your green/nitrogen (food scraps, grass cuttings etc), otherwise it can become a stinky swamp (anerobic).

contingencies 7mo ago
It's possible to approach composting form a more simplistic standpoint. The listed issues are mostly specific to high density (eg. in a fixed bin) composting. If you spread it out these problems basically go away, and so do the stinky compost labor and purchasing requirements.
- hermitcrab 7mo ago
  Do you not have problems with rats and other vermin?
  - contingencies 7mo ago
    No. What's 'other vermin'? We have plenty of native animals. I see a few of them feeding in the area I distribute organic matter, including (non-snake) reptiles, turkeys, possums, butterflies, native bees, spiders, etc. Lots of fungi too.
    - hermitcrab 7mo ago
      >What's 'other vermin'? Badgers, foxes, racoons etc. Depends where you live. Probably should have used a better word than 'vermin'. It sounds overly judgemental.