Bears do eat vegetable matter. > On Aug 12, 2024, at 1:08 PM, Jai Kaur <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks for this feedback ! I just ordered one of those two options on Amazon > and thanks, Paul, for your endorsement on that. > > It's our responsibility to steward and preserve our lands and I’m glad I live > in a town where many residents understand the common sense importance of - > and are dedicated to - composting. > Since I believe composting is a very interesting and worthwhile topic, I’ll > add more context and share my composting story - for what it’s worth, and for > those who give a heap - read on! > > Composting food waste just has seemed like normal practice to me since > childhood when I remember the huge composting piles that my Nonni kept at > their small family farm in Pleasant Valley Methuen. > > But, it does require effort to set up properly and maintain a composting > system, and it’s unfortunate when people who have the option, choose not to > make the effort. But when you are a tenant and not a landowner, you might > not be permitted to have a compost pile. That was the case for me for > several years before moving to Lincoln in 1991. > > But, soon after I moved here, I discovered the Down to Earth Organic farm run > by Keith Shields on the Umbrello parcel that is now home to Hannan Healthy > Foods Farm. > I was one of many volunteers at that farm and we used a large three bin > system with pallets. > That really works best when you have a very large amount of composting > material and people who are willing to turn it. I am not able or willing to > do that and as I am still a tenant, I opt for much smaller set ups. > I had a really cool heavy duty, octagonal metal thing about 3 feet high that > I used for a composter, but I left at a previous residence. That was very > effective and I’ve lamented not still having that. But, I can’t put in > fencing or anything like that and it has to be portable. > > Happy composting ! > Ciao! > Jai > > On Mon, Aug 12, 2024 at 9:16 AM Paul Shorb <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> Jai - >> Those Amazon items probably would work. My guess is that a bear wouldn't >> bother them if you put only vegetable matter in. >> >> What you choose and how you use it depends on what your goals are. One good >> reason to compost your kitchen scraps is to avoid adding them to the trash >> stream at our Transfer Station, which then gets incinerated. (The less stuff >> we burn, the better for the climate.) For that purpose, Sara M's method is >> fine. If one of your goals is to make compost for gardening, those Amazon >> items with a door at the bottom make it somewhat easier to get the older, >> readier stuff out from the bottom. >> >> Whether you want usable compost or just want to warm the planet a little >> less, my impression is that you should (A) add enough "brown" (e.g., dry >> leaves) to mix with the "green" (e.g., just about all your kitchen scraps) >> and (B) allow enough aeration that it doesn't get stinky and start >> generating methane gas. Those Amazon items have vents that are intended to >> let some air in - but it helps to also stir the stuff up with a pitchfork or >> whatever now and then. An open bin made of chicken wire or whatever has more >> room to add brown leaves and is easier to stir than those Amazon items. >> >> How big you need your compost bin is affected by (A) how quickly you >> generate kitchen scraps, (B) whether you plan to add brown leaves, and (C) >> how often you are willing to have to empty it. >> >> My problem for a while was not adding enough "brown" to my black plastic >> tumbling compost bin (it spun on an axle, to facilitate mixing and >> aeration). So I replaced that system with the following, which I have found >> to be easy to use and to make great compost for gardening. I set up a large >> chicken-wire enclosure near my composting bin, to store leaves raked up in >> the fall. That way, it's easy enough every now and then to pitchfork some >> more brown leaves onto the kitchen scraps in the adjacent composting bin. >> The composting bin is a 4-foot cube made of 2-by-4s and hardware cloth (my >> original version, built like Sara's, turned out to be insufficient to keep >> our highly food-motivated dog). But one of those Amazon items could also >> work, if they are big enough for your output rate. >> >> Photos available on request! >> >> - Paul Shorb >> >> On Mon, Aug 12, 2024 at 12:07 AM Sara Mattes <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> We have been composting for 40 years, in the same spot. >>> Metal fence posts in the ground, wrapped in heavy chicken wire >>> As it gets high, we dig a deep hole and throw kitchen scraps/ compost in >>> there. >>> We have never turned, or rotated, just let things take their course. >>> No animal / dairy products ever. >>> No problem with anything being dismantled. >>> Compost abounds. >>> Good luck! >>> Sent from my iPad >>> >>>> On Aug 11, 2024, at 7:59 PM, Jai Kaur <[email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> There has not been any news lately about Lincoln bear sightings. Does >>>> anyone know if it is still around ? >>>> >>>> I wonder because some animal completely dismantled my composter. It is >>>> one of the composters sold by DPW so obviously, not the highest end. But, >>>> it has been secure for 3 years. >>>> >>>> So, now I am seeking recommendations for a new, sturdier, composting >>>> system. >>>> >>>> Here are a couple links to ones on Amazon that I like and I'd love to hear >>>> from anyone who has recommendations on this type of composter. >>>> Otherwise, I would very much appreciate hearing other opinions / >>>> suggestions. >>>> >>>> I would also very much like to know if anyone has a composter they are not >>>> using and would like to unload, or sell. >>>> >>>> Garden Compost Bin >>>> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BWH7Z9HF/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3LRDQCJ73A2H4&psc=1 >>>> >>>> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092DN9WD6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A1DWKI6UPOP9K9&th=1 >>>> >>>> Thanks heaps ! >>>> ~Jai 781-738-1920 >>>> -- >>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>> To post, send mail to [email protected] >>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>> >>> -- >>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>> To post, send mail to [email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>> Change your subscription settings at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>> >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >> > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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