Old gardener but very new composter. Just built my first compost bins, 2 side by side, each 4'x4'x4'. Its been going a little over a week now. Turned it into the other bin tonight, lots of steem and a lot of the material was the color of wood ash. This color started about 2 to3 inches in from all sides to about a foot or so inward. Hit and miss tward the center. Is this normal? Or should I change something?
In the mix I put mostly leaves, leaf mold and grass clippings. Blood meal and bone meal, about a quarter of a spade of garden soil and a few items from the garden. Also green corn stalks, about 75 of them through the shredder twice, some with corn.
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engineeredgarden
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gixxerific
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I find that grass clippings are prone to get that white color (wood ash look) when they compact down and start to become anaerobic... that might explain why that coloring started a few inches into the pile (where there was less air).cga wrote:... Its been going a little over a week now. Turned it into the other bin tonight, lots of steem and a lot of the material was the color of wood ash. This color started about 2 to3 inches in from all sides to about a foot or so inward. ...
Turning the pile like you did will introduce more air to the mix, for better aerobic decompostion.