quadracer
Active member
There are definitely a lot of resources available locally, virtually everywhere, if you know where to look and who to ask. I am spoiled, and a lot of places around here are certified organic, which means the byproducts they offer are Organic-Organic-Material, ha.
At any rate, here are a few places around me that offer a lot of material for composting a worm and chicken feeding. Think outside the box (in your area). Make some calls, meet some people. I guarantee there are places where you can get a good amount of material.
Coffee Shops - There is a Starbucks on every corner, and it is their policy to offer coffee grounds to anyone who asks. My coffee shop only offers organic coffee, so I gave them two big bins (think 15 gal) for them to store my grounds. They filled up a bin every couple of days, and I had more grounds than to know what to do with. I composted the grounds, fed them to the worms, added them to the top soil, mulched fruit trees, tried to start an Oyster Mushroom bed, and I still had too much on my hands.
Check other coffee shops besides Starbucks in your area. I became good friends with the people who worked there, they gave me free coffee whenever I came in, and I gave them all tomato plants at the beginning of the season.
Grocery Stores - Like the coffee shops, some will be organic and some won't. They both have plenty of expired produce and vegetable scraps from the deli that you could be collecting. Luckily, my grocery store is organic AND leaves all of the expired produce in trashcans behind the store SPECIFICALLY for composting. They leave a bucket or two out a day, too. I feed these to my chickens, before reaching the compost pile (there's a great diversity of vegetables). If your grocery store doesn't do this, talk to them about it, supply them with a trash can, and ask them to start saving.
Farms - Farms are a good source of material too. And sometimes the farm will have compost already made for you. Depending on the farm, they may have a variety of manures, or a variety of vegetable byproducts. Vineyards will have a lot of grape skins around harvest time in large quantities, which are great for composting or mulching your soil.
Breweries - Breweries use a lot of barley, grains, and hops to produce their beer. The end byproduct is completely useless to them, and hopefully they aren't throwing it away. My local brewery also leaves out trashcans FULL of grains, which the chickens absolutely love. It also makes for good composting material.
YOU! - If you aren't collecting food scraps from your kitchen, start now. It has helped me become more aware of not only what I am putting into my body, but what I am feeding my plants (which I then put into my body).
Those are my big ones. There are plenty of more, I'm just drawing a blank right now. The important thing is to be creative when it comes to local resources, there are plenty available for those willing to look. Feel free to add your own too.
At any rate, here are a few places around me that offer a lot of material for composting a worm and chicken feeding. Think outside the box (in your area). Make some calls, meet some people. I guarantee there are places where you can get a good amount of material.
Coffee Shops - There is a Starbucks on every corner, and it is their policy to offer coffee grounds to anyone who asks. My coffee shop only offers organic coffee, so I gave them two big bins (think 15 gal) for them to store my grounds. They filled up a bin every couple of days, and I had more grounds than to know what to do with. I composted the grounds, fed them to the worms, added them to the top soil, mulched fruit trees, tried to start an Oyster Mushroom bed, and I still had too much on my hands.
Check other coffee shops besides Starbucks in your area. I became good friends with the people who worked there, they gave me free coffee whenever I came in, and I gave them all tomato plants at the beginning of the season.
Grocery Stores - Like the coffee shops, some will be organic and some won't. They both have plenty of expired produce and vegetable scraps from the deli that you could be collecting. Luckily, my grocery store is organic AND leaves all of the expired produce in trashcans behind the store SPECIFICALLY for composting. They leave a bucket or two out a day, too. I feed these to my chickens, before reaching the compost pile (there's a great diversity of vegetables). If your grocery store doesn't do this, talk to them about it, supply them with a trash can, and ask them to start saving.
Farms - Farms are a good source of material too. And sometimes the farm will have compost already made for you. Depending on the farm, they may have a variety of manures, or a variety of vegetable byproducts. Vineyards will have a lot of grape skins around harvest time in large quantities, which are great for composting or mulching your soil.
Breweries - Breweries use a lot of barley, grains, and hops to produce their beer. The end byproduct is completely useless to them, and hopefully they aren't throwing it away. My local brewery also leaves out trashcans FULL of grains, which the chickens absolutely love. It also makes for good composting material.
YOU! - If you aren't collecting food scraps from your kitchen, start now. It has helped me become more aware of not only what I am putting into my body, but what I am feeding my plants (which I then put into my body).
Those are my big ones. There are plenty of more, I'm just drawing a blank right now. The important thing is to be creative when it comes to local resources, there are plenty available for those willing to look. Feel free to add your own too.
