New Gardener – Composting for Two
The Jora composter works fine with a few caveats. It takes a man or a very strong and handy woman to put it together. Be sure to fill with equal parts carbonaceous and nitrogenous waste and chop up all materials prior to filling. Keep slightly damp and rotate daily. Can cover air holes with fly screen if desired, and cover with plastic in case of rain or keep under overhang of house.
You mention grass clippings. Grass clippings are categorized as nitrogenous waste, not carbonaceous waste. Grass clippings are good at heating up a compost pile but they rot so quickly they form a layer unless well mixed with dry carbonaceous materials such as chipped woody plant stems or dry leaves.
Regarding the worms. This is a whole different process, called vermicomposting, separate from ordinary composting. Please refer to pages 410 and 411 on vermicomposting in my new organic book . And please refer also to pages 97 to 99 on composting. These pages will clear up all the confusions for you. Yes, you need a different set-up for the worms and some of my friends are highly successful at it using boxes that come with various layers in it. When you purchase one of these boxes they come with full instructions. I used to do vermicomposting myself but had to give it up since the weight of the components was too much for me to lift with my replaced knees. Most people don’t have the problem I have. The parts are really not that heavy but for me they are too much. Vermicomposting is a good way to dispose of kitchen waste.
Recently I wrote an article on composting and all my adventures with it here in Southern California. We will post it soon on this blog.
Hello Pat,
I live in Orange County, Calif.
Is it overkill to buy a Jora 70gal compost tumbler? My concern was that it might get too hot in there in the summer months because it is insulated.
I would like to buy it because it seems so clean and critter-free from the reviews I’ve read. Also, it seems to hold up and not bow and bend and fall apart like other turning tumblers.
What do you think? I would not want a composter get too hot from our heat and because an explosive danger or anything else I can’t think of.
Sincerely, Elinor Silverstein
I doubt that the Jura composter would explode. Heat actually kills plant diseases and makes compost cook more quickly, so that’s good. However, I have now found out that Jura composters don’t last forever. We have three of them in my family and one has broken. The easiest system of composting that does not attract animals is to cut the bottom off a plastic trash can, dig a hole the same size as the trash can but 1 foot shorter. Place the can in the hole and stick all household garbage in the can. Attach lid tightly with a bungee cord across the top so raccoons cannot invade. Only problem is you need a gas mask if you ever want to dig out and use the compost.