Tag Archives


Quicker Compost

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Christy

Here’s a question that came in last week:

“How can I speed up composting without spending a lot of money. Cover it with a tarp?  Helga”

Hi Helga,

There are a few things you can do to try and speed up your compost production, and none of them cost money: 

The first is to build a bigger pile – at least 3 x …
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Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Composting, Worms and Shade Gardening

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Christy

Another great question came in this week:

“Hello, I have a worm bin that I use to throw all my compostable items in such as veggies,eggshells, paper etc. I also have a big compost bin next to my worm bin, it is about a quarter full. I
throw junk mail and grass clippings, tree clippings, whatever is too big for my worm bin goes in this big bin. Could I add worms to this big bin as well to aid in the speed of the …
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Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Rat-Proof Compost Bin

Posted on December 26, 2008 by Christy

A new gardenerd wrote in recently:

“Any suggestions [for a rat-proof compost bin]?  We do trap and try to control the rats but they just exist and like to
come around compost in our neighborhood.”

There must be a global increase in rats this year.  We’ve been seeing an increase in these critters around our community garden as well.  I had them nibbling away at my tomatoes all summer.   Here are a couple suggestions I can across in my research:

First of all, you will want to make sure that you aren’t composting any animal fats, bones or flesh.  Rats are …
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Posted in Sage Advice | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Building a Compost Sifter

Posted on July 5, 2008 by Christy

Back in the middle of winter, we purchased a subsidized compost bin from the City of Los Angeles.  Our Bio Stack has been hard at work in the back yard, thanks to my husband’s new fascination with composting.  When I say fascination, I mean obsession.  He’s become obsessed with adding kitchen waste and yard trimmings to the compost bin at any opportunity.  Forget about waiting until there’s enough for a layer of green or brown.  Anytime the kitchen waste bucket is half-full, it’s “time to feed the compost bin”.  It’s cute actually.  My husband has never really been …
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Posted in Blog, What's Growin' On | Tagged , , | 3 Comments