Kitchen/Household scraps - seperate or combine?

[NokeStar GreenThumb]

I have been collecting everything possible in and around my house now for a few weeks to compost. I am currently using a 7 gallon rubbermaid tub that stays in the kitchen and has holes drilled all around it to keep it from smelling.

To this point I have been throwing everything in there (brown and green) from vegetable/fruit clippings to coffee grounds and filters, to paper towels and toilet paper rolls. In other words I have about a 4 to one browns over greens inside my house as well as outside. Now when the tub feels up I have been tossing it as an even layer on top of my compost and then burying it with a thick layer of grass clippings and then leaves which I collect from my dads wooded back yard.

Just wanted to find out from the experts here if this is an effective way of building my compost.

Thanks!

[applestar]

I think this sounds pretty good. Be sure to soak the new layer with unchlorinated water before covering with the grass and leaves.

Once you've build up your pile to a certain point, you should stop adding new material and concentrate on turning the pile (I toss the pile into a new pile next to the old pile) so all the material in the pile gets a chance to be on the bottom/in the middle. IF you plant to go with passive composting, you should still stop adding new material to the pile and start a new pile.

Personally, I would turn the pile each time you have sufficient stockpile of new material and put the new stuff in the bottom, then turn the old pile on top. This would give you the chance to re-distribute and water as necessary. Again, after this pile is well underway, stop adding new material and start another.

[rainbowgardener]

Nice answer from Applestar. And no, there's no reason to separate greens /browns as you are collecting things. I throw all that stuff into my kitchen scraps container, the paper towels, coffee filters, etc, along with the kitchen scraps.