compost storage?

TightenUp · September 28, 2012

i have a compost bin filled with finished rabbit manure/hay/grass/kitchen scrap compost and debating if it would be better to store in a shed or just leave on the ground outside.

Redbaron · September 28, 2012

Spread it on the garden and start a new batch. If you are trying to save some up for planting season, or because the ground is frozen outside, then just bag it in those thick black plastic trash bags till you need it.

PS. Remember bagged compost becomes anaerobic. You need to aerate it in spring a day or two before you use it.

kath · September 28, 2012

If you leave it on the ground, I'd cover with a tarp. If you have an empty container to store it in, in or out doesn't matter. We either put it somewhere in the garden or put it in a covered container- just not exposed to the rain or snow unless it's spread in the garden somewhere.

Zana · September 28, 2012

I put some finished compost in a container with a lid in the fall to use when I need some for seedlings in the winter. That container gets stored inside the garage or basement. The rest gets stored in the composter over the winter. I keep adding to it all winter anyway.

So I think you need another category...lol...some in containers some outside. LOL
Zana

TightenUp · September 29, 2012

i think i might just toss it in the wheelbarrow and throw it in the shed. thanks for the replies

dustdevil · September 29, 2012

If you leave finished compost on the ground out in the weather, many of the nutrients will leech out.

habitat_gardener · September 29, 2012

After I sift my compost, I store it in 5-gallon containers -- black pots from nursery plants. I like these because the worms can go in and out through the holes in the bottom. I cover them with plant saucers to keep the elements out (mostly). The compost at the bottom of the container is sometimes a little soggy, but at least most of the container remains aerobic.
Also, it's a good size to carry around to distribute compost through the garden. I use it either to top-dress existing plantings or to add to a planting hole for new plants. I also use my compost as a potting soil for all the cuttings I grow and for potting up, often mixed with other stuff.
All of the containers are outdoors, or if I have a compost bin I'm not using in the winter, sometimes I put the 5g containers in one of those.

maxfromaustralia · September 29, 2012

I'm with Cath I just cover mine with a tarp and go on to the next heap. I usually have 3 heaps at different stages at one time.

Tom C zone 4/5 · September 29, 2012

Some needs to be sifted for use on germinating pans. [iThat[/i] goes into a barrel. The remainder goes to garden.

marc_groleau · September 30, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxfromaustralia

I'm with Cath I just cover mine with a tarp and go on to the next heap. I usually have 3 heaps at different stages at one time.

Ditto

TightenUp · October 13, 2012

im going to throw a tarp on it and leave it outside.

zeroma · December 5, 2012

I've been making compost in rubbermaid storage tubs. Not covered, no holes drilled in the bottoms, stored outside. Until now, it is getting cold now and I've moved 3 of them into the garage. As it breaks down, I take it out in handfuls, add more new stuff to decompose, and repeat this, giving it a good stir between the old/new additions.

I also have a large compost bin in the back yard that I keep going without doing much to all year long. It's too far away from the kitchen and garden areas to be convienient for the everyday stuff or bigger amounts of plant rubbish.

Once in a while, I chop/puree food scrapes in my blender. That adds moisture to the compost along with wt coffee grounds. I pick up coffee grounds from my favorite coffee bar once a week.

Question, since it is cold in the garage, and I will keep making compost all winter long, would adding a nitrogen source to it help it break down? - because it will not by itself heat up during cold weather. Or should I just leave it and continue to mix in new and stir and in the Spring the oldest will be ready, the newest not so much?

dice · December 5, 2012

A rubbermaid storage tub probably does not have enough
volume to heat up much by itself. The compost in there is
probably "cold pile" composting, breaking down slowly without
generating much heat. You could try adding some nitrogen in
one and then compare it with the others after a week or two.

zeroma · December 5, 2012

Now why didn't I just do that as an experiment? Thanks dice : )

Tracydr · December 5, 2012

I have a garden year-round so always a need for as much compost as possible. Although, wish I didn't have to haul the horsepoop from 15 miles away. That gets a bit tiresome at times.

View Poll Results: what do you do with finished compost
Leave it outside	31	59.62%
store it out of the elements	10	19.23%
if its finished its in the garden already	11	21.15%
Voters: 52. You may not vote on this poll

September 28, 2012	#1
TightenUp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Jersey Posts: 1,183	compost storage? i have a compost bin filled with finished rabbit manure/hay/grass/kitchen scrap compost and debating if it would be better to store in a shed or just leave on the ground outside. __________________

September 28, 2012	#2
Redbaron Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 4,488	Spread it on the garden and start a new batch. If you are trying to save some up for planting season, or because the ground is frozen outside, then just bag it in those thick black plastic trash bags till you need it. PS. Remember bagged compost becomes anaerobic. You need to aerate it in spring a day or two before you use it. __________________ Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture

September 29, 2012	#5
TightenUp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Jersey Posts: 1,183	i think i might just toss it in the wheelbarrow and throw it in the shed. thanks for the replies __________________

September 29, 2012	#9
Tom C zone 4/5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: SE Ohio Posts: 253	Some needs to be sifted for use on germinating pans. [iThat[/i] goes into a barrel. The remainder goes to garden. __________________ Beyond the mountains, there are more mountains.

September 28, 2012	#3
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	If you leave it on the ground, I'd cover with a tarp. If you have an empty container to store it in, in or out doesn't matter. We either put it somewhere in the garden or put it in a covered container- just not exposed to the rain or snow unless it's spread in the garden somewhere.

September 28, 2012	#4
Zana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,521	I put some finished compost in a container with a lid in the fall to use when I need some for seedlings in the winter. That container gets stored inside the garage or basement. The rest gets stored in the composter over the winter. I keep adding to it all winter anyway. So I think you need another category...lol...some in containers some outside. LOL Zana

September 29, 2012	#6
dustdevil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: WI, USA Zone4 Posts: 1,887	If you leave finished compost on the ground out in the weather, many of the nutrients will leech out.

September 29, 2012	#7
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	After I sift my compost, I store it in 5-gallon containers -- black pots from nursery plants. I like these because the worms can go in and out through the holes in the bottom. I cover them with plant saucers to keep the elements out (mostly). The compost at the bottom of the container is sometimes a little soggy, but at least most of the container remains aerobic. Also, it's a good size to carry around to distribute compost through the garden. I use it either to top-dress existing plantings or to add to a planting hole for new plants. I also use my compost as a potting soil for all the cuttings I grow and for potting up, often mixed with other stuff. All of the containers are outdoors, or if I have a compost bin I'm not using in the winter, sometimes I put the 5g containers in one of those.

September 29, 2012	#8
maxfromaustralia Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Australia Posts: 50	I'm with Cath I just cover mine with a tarp and go on to the next heap. I usually have 3 heaps at different stages at one time.

October 13, 2012	#11
TightenUp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Jersey Posts: 1,183	im going to throw a tarp on it and leave it outside. __________________

December 5, 2012	#12
zeroma Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 637	I've been making compost in rubbermaid storage tubs. Not covered, no holes drilled in the bottoms, stored outside. Until now, it is getting cold now and I've moved 3 of them into the garage. As it breaks down, I take it out in handfuls, add more new stuff to decompose, and repeat this, giving it a good stir between the old/new additions. I also have a large compost bin in the back yard that I keep going without doing much to all year long. It's too far away from the kitchen and garden areas to be convienient for the everyday stuff or bigger amounts of plant rubbish. Once in a while, I chop/puree food scrapes in my blender. That adds moisture to the compost along with wt coffee grounds. I pick up coffee grounds from my favorite coffee bar once a week. Question, since it is cold in the garage, and I will keep making compost all winter long, would adding a nitrogen source to it help it break down? - because it will not by itself heat up during cold weather. Or should I just leave it and continue to mix in new and stir and in the Spring the oldest will be ready, the newest not so much?

December 5, 2012	#13
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	A rubbermaid storage tub probably does not have enough volume to heat up much by itself. The compost in there is probably "cold pile" composting, breaking down slowly without generating much heat. You could try adding some nitrogen in one and then compare it with the others after a week or two. __________________ -- alias

December 5, 2012	#15
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I have a garden year-round so always a need for as much compost as possible. Although, wish I didn't have to haul the horsepoop from 15 miles away. That gets a bit tiresome at times.