OK i just went out to see if my compost pile was salvagable

[NMDemDist2]

i did pretty good getting my kitchen scraps out there for a year, threw some woody stuff and newspaper strips in there and forgot about it

it's been sitting for about a year, the woody stuff is barely broken down, I added some more kitchen stuff (mostly coffee grounds and egg shells) watered it, turned it and watered it again

think I can get it 'cooking'????

I have very little green stuff, no lawn clippings or anything like that

suggestions?

[wildeyed]

1. I dunno.

Never been one for hot compost piles, soooo much work. I cold compost my yard trimmings and use an indoor worm farm for kitchen scraps. People cringe when I tell them about the worm farm, but once you get it going, it is odorless and very low maintenance. Makes incredible fertilizer.

Good luck!

[NMDemDist2]

3. i was hoping it would do it's magic if I just left it alone for a year

but it got anaerobic I think

there's some good stuff in there but lots of bad stuff left too (weed seeds for example)

I don't mind working it every couple days for a couple months since it's almost there, I just need to get it hot enough to kill the weeds out.....

[Kolesar]

2. If you started with the 12:1 Carbon:Nitrogen Browns:Greens you would be ok

From what I have read! The last compost I made I used to fertilize new grass I put in the lawn after a plumbing project. It was great. I wished I'd had a sieve, though.

There is no way a compost would "cook" in Ohio except from May to October. I don't know about your climate. I am not real strong in this subject. I have read that food scraps compost can be used to grow low to medium demand produce, but not high demand produce like broccoli and cauliflower.

[NMDemDist2]

4. ii have no freaking idea what the ratios were

:rofl:

and are coffee grinds brown or green?? they are about 40% of the pile at this point

:shrug:

[Kolesar]

5. coffee grounds are nitrogen/green according to the bags I get at Starbucks

Since you used wood and paper that are wayyy into the carbon/browns with a ratio of 100:1 C:N, you may be closer than you think. Coffee grounds outgas their N quickly in the first weeks. I really don't know the length of this..

[NMDemDist2]

6. it wasn't 'wood' it was tumbleweeds

:rofl:

I kid you not. they are pretty tough but have hollow stems.......

they are almost impossible to break up the first year, I was able to chop them up with the shovel today...

[plantwomyn]

7. Add beer or yeast.

Stir that puppy up and make sure it isn't too wet or dry and that air can circulate. Add yeast between layers as you stir.

[NMDemDist2]

8. i have yeast (don't drink so beer isn't an option, unless I buy a 44 just for that reason)

how much yeast??

i stirred it up today and got it wet, the wind is blowing pretty good today so I'm gonna go check it again tomorrow and stick a piece of pipe I found in it to get some air down about half way

[plantwomyn]

9. Yeah, I've used perforated 4" drain pipe.

Just sprinkle a package per layer when you mix. Or you can start some in the house and let it get nice and foamy and then pore it on.

[NMDemDist2]

10. i buy it in bags and keep it in the freezer

it's cheaper when you make bread once a week at least

I may make up a bowl of froth tomorrow, that's a good idea

[midnight armadillo]

11. If you need nitrogen add the "Golden Elixir"

i.e. human urine.

It's sterile and urea is a great nitrogen source. Just don't let the neighbors see, they'll think you're weird.

I have a blueberry growing mound at my mother-in-law's which broke down 5" thick cedar logs to compost in 12-16 months. The right carbon/nitrogen ratio will do great things. In this case it was a huge quantity of wood (thick brances, logs) mixed with 150 lbs of ripe turkey poop. My memory's a little foggy as to what went in there.

You can also keep the pile covered with straw or something to keep temperatures up and encourage thermophilic activity. You could also "prime" it by adding microbes. Try some muck from a local, non-polluted swamp. I think you can also mail order compost microbes. You can also try encouraging habitat for other animals that will help you out like beetles etc.

[NMDemDist2]

12. i have plenty of nitrogen

coffee grounds are full of it

I need more ....

chit, I don't know what I need, probably just water and a touch of yeast....

[jillan]

13. I just read to sprinkle alfafa meal to your compost bin everytime

you add something to your bin.

The article also said that Litte Green kitty litter is also 100% alfalfa meal.

[NMDemDist2]

14. well, it appears to be working :woohoo: now I can set up a new one

for the rest of the spring

:woohoo:

[CrispyQ]

15. About the newspaper strips,

Is the ink safe for a compost?

[NMDemDist2]

16. black and white pages only

they don't recommend using the color glossy stuff

[Pathwalker]

17. Do NOT put beer on your compost! Modern beers have

chemicals which can KILL your compost. This is the advice given by Paul James, from Gardening By The Yard on HGTV. He said he had received many, many letters from gardeners who had followed the tip to use beer, only to discover that their compost had died - lost all its beneficial organisms. Paul James researched the issue and found that the cause was the chemicals now used in making beer. So, his advice is NOT to use beer - unless you make your own beer and don't use chemicals.

[NMDemDist2]

18. i just sprinkled it with yeast instead

but a good warning never the less

[Gold Metal Flake]

19. Green stuff will really help.

Can you get some grass clippings from a neighbor? can you chase down a greenskeeping truck? I let mine get dry in the middle of last summer (temps over 100 every day, low humidity) and got it to come back by watering it real well, adding cuttings and mixing it up. In a couple of days it was back to 160 degrees. We mow every two weeks, so we did have a steady supply of grass, plus I occasionally borrowed the neighbors clippings. Kitchen veg cuttings, peels, eggshells, pinapple cuttings and leaves, watermelon rinds etc and coffee grounds were saved and mixed in every few days just by lifting up some stuff and pitching it in. I used a pitch fork to mix it up every once in a while because the stuff at the edges would dry out quickly. Remembering to water it was the biggest difficulty.

add some green stuff, mix it all up and water and I'll bet it will cook up real nice.

[trashcanistanista]

20. My recipe is by volume, 50/50 greens to browns.

Water it to a consistency of a wrungout sponge. It has to be a minimum 3ft x 3ft x 3ft to work. If you need greens, buy one alfalfa square (the kind they feed for horses) and break it up and mix it in. It will begin to heat up, you can place your hand over the pile and feel the heat. When it cools down, you turn it and it heats up again. Then it cools, turn it, and so forth. It will take about 3 months for it all to compost down if you do it this way. You may get usable compost on the bottom sooner, but add to the pile when you take out to keep the size up. Coffee grounds are also considered greens. Leaves are browns. Most weed seeds will get cooked in the process, but not all. Also, make sure the wood or paper are in small pieces or chips. The smaller the pieces, the faster it composts. I live in the woods, so I have to buy alfalfa for my greens. Horse manure also works but make sure they have not recently dewormed the horses because you don't want worm killing medicine in your garden. I hope this is helpful.

[NMDemDist2]

21. i have plenty of green, just not much brown but it's looking beautiful

now that I've been taking care of it

in fact, I'm planning on putting it through a sieve this week and getting a new one started and spreading the stuff I've got now when I re-till the garden next week before the big planting

[lazer47]

22. The most important thing is to turn it.