Fruit and Veg waste

[stiggs]

Hey, I am very new to gardening and wonder if anyone could give me some advice.

We have a heavy duty, plastic compost bin in the garden for at least a year now. I didnt set it up but I believe there is twigs at the bottom. From the start almost all that went into it has been fruit and vegetable scraps/waste - no layering or anything like that. Also there is no air holes in it to allow circulation and it has never been turned

Just curious is this still usable? I looked in the little door at the bottom and it looks pretty decayed except a few egg shells. It seems a little moist.

I would like to plant some flowers, should I mix in some of this compost with topsoil and then add the flowers?

Thanks for reading

[rainbowgardener]

I'm not sure I have any expert answer to this question. It's certainly less than ideal in terms of mixture of nutrients, carbon-nitrogen balance, fungus/bacterial balance etc. It sounds like it was anerobically composted. I would pull some out and take a look. If it does not look moldy and if it does not smell bad, then it's probably ok, but I'd want to mix in some carbon sources with it-- last year's fallen leaves would be good if you still have some around or finely shredded paper (we keep a shredder for running papers through, the product of the shredder works great for this). Other people's opinions?

[rot]

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If you've got worms in there and it doesn't stink and it doesn't look like anything you put in there outside of the egg shells then it's probably good to go.

The smell will be the thing to tell.

Since I just top dress, I'd probably spread it on top of the beds even it was a little stinky if I really need to do something with it..
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[stiggs]

Thank you rainbowgardener and rot for taking the time to give me some good advice.
Yeah there are definitley worms in there, the last time I added stuff one did a bungee jump in from the top
There was a worm at the bottom too when I opened the little door, maybe this tells its not fully decomposed?
As for the leaves rainbowgardener we have lots of pine trees and a forest close by so I should be able to add some stuff, thanks.

So basically I just get some old leaves and if the compost looks fully broken down I can add some topsoil and plant my flowers?

[rainbowgardener]

Yup! If you are planting into it, not just using it for top dressing, no more than 50% compost and a little bit vermiculite or perlite in there to keep the soil loosened up wouldn't hurt.

[rot]

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>Yeah there are definitley worms in there, the last time I added stuff one did a bungee jump in from the top
There was a worm at the bottom too when I opened the little door, maybe this tells its not fully decomposed?<

This tells me things didn't go completely anaerobic and the worms did some of the decomposing. Worm castings are good for the garden. Worms are good for the garden.

It's a win win.

I'm speculating the stuff on the bottom is done. I'm speculating you accomplished the low labor, slow go compost bio-remediation process. Keep adding on top and taking from the bottom. Try to pace things so they digest at about the rate you need to dispose of things. Then it works for you and with you and not the other way around. When you've got the hang of it, then start thinking about how much you want to produce.

Leaves and pine needles will take longer. Maybe layer your browns, leaves and pine needles, with your greens, fruit and vegetable scraps. Top layer, or cover, should be browns to mitigate odors. Don't let it dry out and it will keep reducing without even taking anything out of the bottom. Keep it covered in the rain while keeping it from drying out will mean worms will go there to escape the deluge and decompose even more for you.

Over time you will find a healthy community of worms, bugs, fungus and bacteria just humming along. That diverse community will return diverse nutrients. It will feed all kinds of soil which will feed all kinds of plants.

Welcome to bioremediation.
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