Compost Sac

I plan on trying out one of these soon...

http://www.smartpots.com/compost-sak

It's basically a tall 100 gallon smartpot designed for backyard composting. I think that the aeration, and possibility for excluding near 100% of light (kills the weeds), it will do quite nicely with added room for human error. (K.I.S.S.=Higher overall success rate)

I'll convert my backyard plastic monstrosities of compost bins to one of these this weekend, and I'll update with photos.

looks nice, but for a cheaper price if not free you can build one. if you would like a few examples let me know and ill post them up. i am gonna start composting soon to but i am moving soon so after i get in the new place its on. and as for light killing weeds well im not sure if this is true or not but in order to kill the weeds and the weed seeds it need to be a hot compost, im not sure how hot though i think i read some where between 100-160

I've created DIY compost bins before, but I thought this looked interesting. And still relatively cheap. I also like the idea that you can easily move the pile.

Weed seeds can be killed in compost by the high heat created in the middle of the pile. But most often, they are killed by being allowed to germinate, then becoming composted after they sprout. Often in other types of compost piles, the weeds germinate, then find the openings in the compost pile and shove their way through towards the light.

cocodreams said:

I've created DIY compost bins before, but I thought this looked interesting. And still relatively cheap. I also like the idea that you can easily move the pile.

Weed seeds can be killed in compost by the high heat created in the middle of the pile. But most often, they are killed by being allowed to germinate, then becoming composted after they sprout. Often in other types of compost piles, the weeds germinate, then find the openings in the compost pile and shove their way through towards the light.

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wel lif its what you really want then yes get it, and no it is not a bad price, i think you could make the same thing though for a few cheaper if you wanted to.

I've heard landscaping fabric makes decent DIY smartpots. But it is quite a bit thinner, I would almost double up if making a composter. I'm excited to see how it turns out.

yeah for $40, that is an amazing buy. I want one now. Thanks man.

wait a second:

compost sac = 30"x38 39.95
100 gallon smart pot = 20"x38 29.95

compost sac is advertized to make up to 12 cubic feet of compost which = 89 gallons
http://www.compostsak.com/

Type into Google...
pi * (30/2)^2 * 38 cubic inches in cubic feet

(Google is great for lots of hydro and gardening calculations and conversions)

The dimensions are for a cylinder with a diameter of 30 inches, and a height of 38 inches. You need to calculate the area of the base (pi * r ^2) and multiply by the height, then convert from cubic inches to yards. That gives you about 15 and a half cubic feet based on their measurements. So their listed dimensions are a bit off. I'll measure it when I get it.

The 100 gallon smartpot is shorter and wider than the compost sak.

cocodreams said:

then convert from cubic inches to yards. That gives you about 15 and a half cubic feet

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Still doesn't make sense.

(pi * (20/2)^2 * 3 cubic inches in gallons
The 100 gallon smart pot can only hold
51.6798793 US gallons

ClosetSafe said:

The 100 gallon smart pot can only hold
51.6798793 US gallons

Click to expand...

Not the compost sac.

And yes, i see your point that the compost sac is advertised as being able to make "up to 12 cubic feet", when the dimensions describe something that can hold 15.5 cubic feet.

pi * ((38 / 2)^2) * (20 (cubic inches)) in gallons



pi * ((38 / 2)^2) * (20 * (cubic inches)) = 98.1917704 US gallons


The base of the #100 smartpot is 38 inches, and it is 20 inches tall, which equals nearly 100 gallons.

well you could build one and make it to your exact needs.

mcpurple said:

well you could build one and make it to your exact needs.

Click to expand...

Absolutely right, I have seen a diy on here.
https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/389656-diy-fabric-pots-jumpman-pipe.html

Also, cocodreams you too were right. Thanks for making that clear.

Never had a compost bin. I did have a leaf pile area that collected leaves from 14 acres of a lot of old Oak trees. The leaf pile was about thirty feet long and twenty feet wide and in Autumn was 6 feet deep. I could stand in the center of the pile and cut through to the bottom revealing leaves in various stages of decay. The bottom of the pile was where the black gold was located. It was beautiful. It smelled sweet. It was teaming with life. But to see them in their various stages was cool. It was like looking at Autumns from the past seven years.

So, I've been using two of these for a few weeks now. Here are my observations thus far...

These suckers are HUGE. Even considering their size, I always have two compost piles going. One is maturing to be used in a few months, while the other has scraps added. (unfinished compost consumes N, and can burn roots)

I haven't yet had any anaerobic spots. Even in a properly maintained compost pile, anaerobic (stinky) spots can develop. For example, if some fruit gets sandwiched between some grass clippings, it will literally smell like poop. This hasn't happened yet at all with my compost sak, even though I'm quite lazy with my composting.

I was a bit concerned that macro-organisms wouldn't be able to find their way up the sides and into the bin. This is not the case-- even my freshly started pile is teeming with millipedes and other creepy crawlies.

The biggest benefit so far is that it minimizes the need for turning. Compost piles and even those black plastic barrel composters allow material on the edges of the pile to dry. Without turning, these particles will decompose very slowly. With the compost sak, I just 'jostle' it a bit once a week to let the materials settle, filling any gaps in the sides. The moisture content is pretty consistent throughout the pile.

I didn't have the patience or materials for a side-by-sied trial. But so far, I'm liking the compost sak.

cant wait to see the finish compost.
ill take that old black plastic one you have in the back ground off your hands for you.

Where I live in AZ, you can call up the local city sanitation department and for $5 added to your next bill they deliver you a old plastic dumpster thats been cleaned out and had the bottom cut off along with a bunch of holes pre drilled in the sides. Mine is about half full right now. It wasnt and still isnt really advertised that I know of, I just found it by accident when I was looking at their site, your cities may offer the same.