Coir Starter Plugs and Compost

As you know I like to compost and grow outdoors as well as indoors. There reason is that I just don’t have the room to grow everything I want indoors, and who can beat the cost of sunlight and rain?

I like to use the starter plugs for seedlings and cuttings.  Sometimes, the cuttings die, or I have plants that I harvest and still have the starter plug around the stem.  Last year I put several of the coir starter plugs in my compost pile. Several months later, they are still intact, but are very easy to break apart. I think in a couple more months they will continue to break down, and even if they do not break down on a molecular level, the plant roots, water and nutrients will still pass through the starter plugs. So, if you have some used starter plugs you have used a few times or some plant roots/ stem that still have the plug after you harvest, just throw them in the compost bin.

Click here for more information and how to order starter plugs

Good Growing,
Dr. E.R. Myers

E-mail - Composting Questions

I just finished reading your first article about compost/composting, where you explain how to do it. I gladly inform you that after doing more than a little reading on the subject, your article has helped me achieve a higher, more comfortable level of understanding

As far as manipulating the compost pile goes, I would like your opinion of how much wood ash I maybe should add to counter act a 5 gallon bucket of coffee grounds (and a much lesser amount of vegetable scraps and egg shells) per month - into the compost pile. my pile is 4' x 4' x 4', contained by pine boards (they may not last a decade, but by the time I need to rebuild it maybe i can afford to use cedar). i do add all my grass clippings, fallen leaves and garden wastes - and i mix it up every 3 - 4 weeks. I wet it down with rain water collected in a barrel (which brings up another question I would like to add: could I use the waste water from my RO filter to water the pile occasionally since the chlorine has been removed?) every 2 weeks, as it doesn't get much rainfall. I purchased a product from my local feed store called "compost maker," but have not yet used it because I cannot find anyone else I trust to offer me an opinion.

To further complicate my question, I would like to pick your brain (if I may) about adding my poultry's manure to the pile (duck and chicken). The manure easily available to me is usually dry, but not rotted. I will have the 4 inch thick layer of pine/cedar shavings mixed with the manure (which supposedly has already rotted somewhat because I employ a "deep litter" system in the coop, and will need to change it this fall. The bedding/manure has been on the floor of the coop for 2 years. What might be the best way to incorporate this bedding into the pile (other than mixing it in) - the coop floor is 8' x 8' and 4" thick.

Thanks, you have some great questions. Wood ash is basic, and coffee grounds are acidic, but it would be hard for me to give an exact measurement. I know adding too much wood ash can kill a compost pile. (. By kill I mean it will kill off the beneficial organisms that grow in the compost. Yes, not only does compost reduce environmental waste, increase nutrients, especially micronutrients, it also adds beneficial organisms to the grow medium. What more could you want?) I don’t think I’d add more than a 5 gallon bucket of wood ash to your size pile over a year. You want the pile to be slightly acidic so coffee grounds are not too much of a problem.

Adding your water is fine, so long as you don’t make the compost pile too moist. I tend to build bins, just like you have done.  I tend to make a lot of compost, and most containers are too small, and if you look at my post on composting, you can see they are probably cheaper than one’s you buy.

I think you are going to have to mix in the bird manure. If it is over 2 years old, it should be composted a bit already. This is going to be a nitrogen source, so you will want to have equal parts of brown material like dried plants/leaves or soil. You could try to add a gallon bucket of the manure every time you mix the pile. If you don’t notice any smell or anything funny with the compost, you can add more than that. I have not used chicken or duck manure, so I can’t talk from personal experience here.

Thanks, and keep up the great work!
Good Growing,
Dr. E.R. Myers

Fall Composting

   If you have some trees near your home, a lawn and a mower with a bag, fall can be a great time to build up your compost pile. The green grass and fallen leaves make a great mix. I put this mix on top of my compost pile and most of the material will be ready to use next spring.

When my compost bin is almost full I then spread this green grass/leaf mix on my outdoor garden after I've harvested my tomato's and peppers; sort of like a mulch to protect the soil over the winter. Much of this mix will breakdown by spring, what doesn't I work into the soil in the spring. I do not use herbicide's, weed be gone etc. in my lawn. If you do DON"T DO THIS! You could be adding these chemicals to your garden plants i.e. the food you eat.

Please see my first article about composting if you want to learn more.  I have also answered some E-mail questions about composting that good growers might want to read.

Yes, that is a renegade tomato plant I let grow from my compost pile this year. I did not mix the pile around the tomato plant's roots and it seems to be happy, even though it does not get a lot of light. The fruits are free and delicious

Good Growing,
 Dr. E.R. Myers