What do you think of my garden layout and some gardening questions I have

[Chickies11]

@Chickies11, I would NOT (REALLY NOT) recommend that kind of composter. It looks like a great idea, looks neat and clean and compact. Once I got mine even 1/4 full, it was too heavy to turn. Now it is stuck with the opening in about the position you see in your picture. I can't get anything out of it, unless I reach in.

Because I couldn't turn it, the contents didn't get mixed up, no air got mixed in, and it is a cold, slimy, icky mess. It is totally useless to me now, and it was about $175, IIRC.

Maybe someone else here has had better results with what you have pictured, and can tell me what I did wrong. But for me, a "pile style" works much better for composting.

Wow, I did not think of that. Thanks for warning me! I probably won't use that composter now, I would not want that to happen!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would love to try composting at some point! I can't do a pile since I don't want to attract any kind of pests, as I only have my backyard to put it in. I would probably do something like the picture below.

If you're worried about critters getting into a standing compost bin you can secure hardware cloth around the bottom and base, which will let worms in and excess water out, but exclude mice/rats from chewing their way in.

A little hard to see, but there's hardware cloth sticking up around the corners of the black compost bins in front:

 

[Chickies11]

If you're worried about critters getting into a standing compost bin you can secure hardware cloth around the bottom and base, which will let worms in and excess water out, but exclude mice/rats from chewing their way in.

A little hard to see, but there's hardware cloth sticking up around the corners of the black compost bins in front:
View attachment 2589393

Thanks for the idea! I like it! But even if pests can't get in, do you know if it will it still attract animals around my house\backyard?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks for the idea! I like it! But even if pests can't get in, do you know if it will it still attract animals around my house\backyard?

I suppose if it smells enough it might, though my dogs have shown zero interest in the bins and I've not seen coon or coyote tracks nearby.

 

[Chickies11]

I suppose if it smells enough it might, though my dogs have shown zero interest in the bins and I've not seen coon or coyote tracks nearby.

Okay, thank you! Hopefully it won't smell too bad, then.

 

[Sally PB]

Okay, thank you! Hopefully it won't smell too bad, then.

If your compost starts to smell, it's "out of balance." (Don't let that phrase scare you.)

Compost needs carbon and nitrogen "stuff" to do its composting thing.

Nitrogen = green stuff: green chlorophyll things like grass clippings and green leaves, and manure. Manure is not green in color, but is full of nitrogen. Especially chicken poop!

Carbon = brown stuff: brown leaves, dead grass, wood chips.

If compost get smelly, it needs more carbon. Think of lettuce sitting in the fridge for too long; it gets slimy. So does compost with too much nitrogen. If that happens, rake up some dead grass or last year's fall leaves, and throw it on the pile.

When compost doesn't have enough nitrogen, it sits there and takes a loooong time to break down. Think about how long leaves on the forest floor take to break down and become part of the soil.

How much carbon vs nitrogen? Actually, you can have a LOT more carbon, like 25-30 times more than nitrogen. How do I measure that? Eh, I don't. I just pile stuff up.

Used chicken bedding is FANTASTIC for compost, by the way, if you use wood shavings, hemp, straw, or other dead plant matter. It's just about the right mix of carbon and nitrogen.

The plastic bins that @rosemarythyme has in her picture are great for making compost. Everything is contained, and it looks neat and tidy.

 

[Chickies11]

If your compost starts to smell, it's "out of balance." (Don't let that phrase scare you.)

Compost needs carbon and nitrogen "stuff" to do its composting thing.

Nitrogen = green stuff: green chlorophyll things like grass clippings and green leaves, and manure. Manure is not green in color, but is full of nitrogen. Especially chicken poop!

Carbon = brown stuff: brown leaves, dead grass, wood chips.

If compost get smelly, it needs more carbon. Think of lettuce sitting in the fridge for too long; it gets slimy. So does compost with too much nitrogen. If that happens, rake up some dead grass or last year's fall leaves, and throw it on the pile.

When compost doesn't have enough nitrogen, it sits there and takes a loooong time to break down. Think about how long leaves on the forest floor take to break down and become part of the soil.

How much carbon vs nitrogen? Actually, you can have a LOT more carbon, like 25-30 times more than nitrogen. How do I measure that? Eh, I don't. I just pile stuff up.

Used chicken bedding is FANTASTIC for compost, by the way, if you use wood shavings, hemp, straw, or other dead plant matter. It's just about the right mix of carbon and nitrogen.

The plastic bins that @rosemarythyme has in her picture are great for making compost. Everything is contained, and it looks neat and tidy.

Thank you so much! This was very helpful! I didn't know that it means the balance is off if it's smelly. I'm excited to start composting!

 

[writerskramp]

Hi, I was wondering what are people's opinions on my gardening plan/layout. I'm fairly new to gardening and have done research and planning for my garden that will probably be planted in April/May. I'm thinking of planting them when they have already grown a little and are young (not sure what the term is for it), not from seeds. I only can have one 4ft 8in by 4ft raised bed that is still in the process of being made. I'm thinking of having three rows along the 4ft 8 in side of the bed.

The row furthest in the back will have three tomato plants. Because it's a smaller space, I want two of the tomato's to be a determinate variety and one to be indeterminate. The first determinate variety will be 6 inches in from the side of the raised bed. The second tomato plant which is indeterminate will be will be 2.5 feet away from the first plant and the last tomato plant will be determinate and a foot away from the indeterminate. It will be 8in from the wall of the bed.

The second row will have 3 pepper plants. The first one and last one will be 6 inches in from the sides of the raised bed. They will all be 1 1/2 ft from each other. I'm thinking of having a Golden California Wonder variety and two different colored bell peppers.

The last row will be lettuce. I will have 7 lettuce plants and the first one will be 6 inches in from the wall and the last inches will be 4 inches in from the wall. 4 of the lettuce plants will be romaine and 3 will be butterhead.

That's my garden plan so far. I drew a lay out for my garden below. Sorry that it's kind of hard to read. In the plan I also included some possible varieties, but I don't if those will be the ones I use since I'm not sure what the store I will buy the plants form will sell.View attachment 2564185
Anyways, some last questions I have are:
What are some types of tomato/pepper/lettuce plants you would recommend?
What's the difference between fertilizer and compost?
Is April/May a good time to plant my plants?
How often should I water my plants?
Are my plants going to have enough space? I basically looked up the spacing for each type of plant and used that to space out the plants in my raised bed.
The walls of my bed will be 18 inches high, because I had a big issue with animals eating my plants last year. Do you think in addition to that I should add chicken wire around the top of my bed?

Thanks in advance for any advise. Sorry for the long post.

Used to do the garden layout thing.. Now have planted as many perennials as I can, from strawberry too asparagus.. Less time planting with more time harvesting. but you go ahead. You'll tire out eventually. As for animals.. I've used those kids whirly gig, pinwheels. To dog poo near by.. get a cat. And or a dog that stomps chipmunks.. Moles and ground squirrels you can use those spikey traps.. not very efficient, but sometimes successful. Deer to rabbits seem the number one foe.. Dogs can help.. Cats generally won't wrestle a full grown rabbit, unless you have one that stalk's deer, mine did. Don't know what she'd do if she caught one, but did see her catch a full grown squirrel once. She had em' but got away. WWE entertainment.

 

[akroberts1085]

Thank you so much! This was very helpful! I didn't know that it means the balance is off if it's smelly. I'm excited to start composting!

Last year I planted lettuce under my tomatoes and they were in the green house. I also planted spinach under my peppers. I'm also using cilantro to keep the critters off of my strawberry plants.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I have been composting for 6 decades and worked as a pest specialist for a large city and county health department. Proper compost piles do not attract pest in most situations. No meat, animal products, (dairy/eggs/ fat) and do not add lots of cooked foods without plenty of fresh carbonaceous materials. A well done compost pile should not have any strong odors, no molds, and if turned occasionally will smell like autumn leaves and fresh garden soils. A composting worm system is best for lots of cooked foods or wet kitchen food waste(still no dairy/eggs or meat/fat products) , if you can't work a large compost system with large quantities off carbon additions. They consume the fast rotting wet food waste before odors develop if worked properly. Good compost does not have strong odor or attract flies or rodents, though any animal may burrow under a pile of leaves or a building for that matter. If you have odors or flies you need some lessons or to work it properly.