Compost from kitchen to pile~what's YOUR system?

[tamlynn]

We use a plastic one-gallon ice cream bucket with a lid. We take it out every day or every other day.

 

[savingdogs]

I've tried putting them in a gallon ziplock that I keep in the freezer. Then taking it outside when it gets close to full. No smell.

I LOVE this idea. Thanks! I'm gonna do that! I love this forum, you can get so many great ideas. We don't have any counter or under counter space but I have TWO freezers steps from the sink. I love it.

 

[Augustmomx2]

I keep 3 containers. One is for anything that the chickens will eat. This goes to them for treats once a day. The second is for anything they don't eat like coffee grounds. This gets brought to the compost pile when full every few days. Because most things that will smell usually go into the chicken container I don't have problems with odors. The third one is for egg shells drying which I then crush and they either go to the chickens or compost pile.

I'm stealing this idea

 

[freemotion]

Between chickens, goats, and dogs, I have only a few spoonfuls of coffee grounds and 2-4 tea bags a day....too little to bother with, so I admit that I don't add anything from my kitchen to my huge compost pile. Except about 3-4 gallons of whey a week in the summer and fall from cheesemaking.

 

[SKR8PN]

Since we drink LOTS of coffee...we save the plastic "cans" and use them for our compostables....chicken snacks...and feed scoops.

THAT is a great idea!! We use a small Tupperware container with a lid that snaps on tightly for compost stuff. Anything the hens will eat I just put in the fridge until the next morning when I feed them. Egg shells i keep in a 2 gallon Ziplock bag in the fridge till it gets full.

 

[Farmfresh]

Between chickens, goats, and dogs, I have only a few spoonfuls of coffee grounds and 2-4 tea bags a day....too little to bother with, so I admit that I don't add anything from my kitchen to my huge compost pile. Except about 3-4 gallons of whey a week in the summer and fall from cheesemaking.

With the chickens, goats and dogs WHY are you dumping the whey?

I would feed it to them. My hennies LOVE whey. The calcium is great for them. My dogs would eat it until they were sick, if I could let them and even the goats would benefit from the protein it provides! I would stir it into their grain ration.

As far as my compost. I feed the dogs what they will eat first, as it saves me dog food money. I have two BIG dogs and they eat a lot. Then I feed the chickens what they will eat. Most of the year I only have around three or four chickens, so I can only feed what they can clean up. I break any tea bags open and sprinkle the contents directly on my house plants. Then I usually have a big old plastic bowl with tight lid for the extras which usually aren't too stinky. I keep it in the mudroom just beyond the kitchen, by the back door. They go directly into the garden and are simply covered with a bit of soil or mulch. Nothing hangs around more that a couple of days.

And to think a friend of mine from work couldn't understand why I don't have a garbage disposal!

 

[SKR8PN]

I compost two ways. One is to just toss it on the leaf mold pile and let it rot. If I want a finer, quicker, more composted compost, I toss it in my home made compost barrel. In the summer heat it doesn't take very long to break down in this.

 

[gettinaclue]

tamlynn
We use a plastic one-gallon ice cream bucket with a lid. We take it out every day or every other day.

We also use a one gallon ice cream bucket with a lid. Currently we empty it once a week, more frequently in warmer weather. The lids fit quite tight so I don't worry about smell...until I open it LOL

 

[freemotion]

Between chickens, goats, and dogs, I have only a few spoonfuls of coffee grounds and 2-4 tea bags a day....too little to bother with, so I admit that I don't add anything from my kitchen to my huge compost pile. Except about 3-4 gallons of whey a week in the summer and fall from cheesemaking.

With the chickens, goats and dogs WHY are you dumping the whey?

I would feed it to them. My hennies LOVE whey. The calcium is great for them. My dogs would eat it until they were sick, if I could let them and even the goats would benefit from the protein it provides! I would stir it into their grain ration.

I tried that...they drank about a gallon, total, and now they turn their little beaks and noses up and say, "Oh, whey, AGAIN? Sheesh! Why do you think we'll drink whey when we know you will be giving us cheese, kefir, sour milk, forgotten yogurt, and other delicacies?" I try to re-introduce it on occasion, to no avail. I have lots of whey during the best free-ranging weather. The little aristocrats have snooty taste. This summer, though, we will have three pigs, so no more composting the whey!!! Yay!

 

[sylvie]

I use the plastic grocery bags, too.
I bought the pedal can with the removable bucket liner and handle, but the plastic bags are simpler.
Water is at a premium here, especially during drought months of summer and winter, so washing the bucket as often as it requires hadn't been happening. Thus the bags, esp at 5:30am as I am rushing to leave for work.

I eat a lot of citrus fruit and nuts in shell, which go to the compost pile. Pretty much everything else goes to the chickens.
Dh's meat bones go into the wood stove, then the resultant ash is added directly to the garden. That works best because of our dog with the world's best nose, as we found out the hard way.