I just started composting in... Sept?
I know that as far as composting goes, shredding or chopping up materials helps the process go more quickly right? Well I'm afraid I haven't been very good about doing this. When I've added toilet paper rolls or brown paper bags I have hand torn them into smaller pieces, but not terribly tiny bits (not shredded). Left over or spoiled veggies I have tried to cut up a bit... but for instance, with big thick broccoli stems they seem like they would take forever to decompose. What do you with these types of kitchen scraps?
Another problem is yard waste. I threw in a bunch of day lilly leaves and flower stems whole. I also threw a whole mum (dirt and all, but minus the pot) in there. I feel like an idiot asking this question, but is this going to be a problem? Will it take a lifetime to get compost out of my pile now? I try to break things up a bit when I turn the pile (about once a week). If it will be a problem, is there anything I can do to remedy it at this point? What do you do with spent plants etc before throwing them in your pile?
There's a lot of info on balancing browns and greens and the general basics on the internet, but having no experience with composting I'm really just not sure if I'm doing it right and feel a bit stupid asking now.
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ElizabethB
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Hi Pink
With the cooler temperatures composting slows down. Smaller peices do compost easier. IDK about TP and PT rolls. Cardboard is slow to decompose so it needs to be in VERY small pieces. Big stuff like broccoli stems I do chop into pieces 1" or smaller. When I pull spent plants from the garden I always have a pair of shears with me to cut them up before adding to my compost bin. I don't add cooked vegetables unles they are unseasoned and steamed only. Not a hard and fast rule - just me.
If you need to add soil check at one of the big box stores and look for busted bags of soil. Doesn't matter what kind. Super cheap like maybe .50 a bag or a pallet full for $5.
Don't expect too much over winter. You just don't have the heat needed to decompose vegetable matter. Even in south Louisiana my compost bins virtually stop over winter.
LOL
With the cooler temperatures composting slows down. Smaller peices do compost easier. IDK about TP and PT rolls. Cardboard is slow to decompose so it needs to be in VERY small pieces. Big stuff like broccoli stems I do chop into pieces 1" or smaller. When I pull spent plants from the garden I always have a pair of shears with me to cut them up before adding to my compost bin. I don't add cooked vegetables unles they are unseasoned and steamed only. Not a hard and fast rule - just me.
If you need to add soil check at one of the big box stores and look for busted bags of soil. Doesn't matter what kind. Super cheap like maybe .50 a bag or a pallet full for $5.
Don't expect too much over winter. You just don't have the heat needed to decompose vegetable matter. Even in south Louisiana my compost bins virtually stop over winter.
LOL
Thank you for the advice! I'll have to look into getting some cheap soil to add in there. Are the busted bags normally marked down or do I need to haggle with them? Do you think Spring would be a better time to add it?
With all of the Fall yard waste I haven't added any cardboard/paper recently so hopefully I haven't done too much damage. Plus, I started getting nervous that I was "doing it wrong" so I figured I'd finally suck it up and just ask. I didn't turn the pile when I added the daylilly leaves yesterday so maybe I could pull those off the top and cut them up a bit (there are a LOT of them!).
So far I haven't added anything cooked besides rice and quinoa. The veggies I add are ones I forget to use before they expire and just scraps.
I am expecting a dormant period for Winter, but figured I'd try to get a head start this Fall. At this point it's hard to imagine the pile turning into compost. I'm looking forward to it heating up come Spring!
With all of the Fall yard waste I haven't added any cardboard/paper recently so hopefully I haven't done too much damage. Plus, I started getting nervous that I was "doing it wrong" so I figured I'd finally suck it up and just ask. I didn't turn the pile when I added the daylilly leaves yesterday so maybe I could pull those off the top and cut them up a bit (there are a LOT of them!).
So far I haven't added anything cooked besides rice and quinoa. The veggies I add are ones I forget to use before they expire and just scraps.
I am expecting a dormant period for Winter, but figured I'd try to get a head start this Fall. At this point it's hard to imagine the pile turning into compost. I'm looking forward to it heating up come Spring!
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rainbowgardener
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Elizabeth is right, the compost pile will stop working over the winter. Where I am, it freezes solid much of the winter. However, that isn't a problem and I keep on adding stuff all winter. I just throw my kitchen scraps on, cover them with a good layer of leaves for brown and let it freeze too. As soon as it warms up, it starts working again.
You are right that smaller is quicker. But if you aren't in too much hurry, it doesn't matter if stuff is a little bigger. My leaves I collect come in brown paper yard waste bags. When the bag is empty, I tear it in to about notebook sized pieces and add them a bit at a time. They disappear just fine.
I don't add soil to compost pile, except maybe a handful of garden dirt here and there, to be sure the pile is inoculated with soil bacteria.
You do need a balance of brown and green, but it isn't rocket science. My pile tends to be heavier on browns in the winter when there are no pulled weeds, etc and heavier on greens in the summer when the fall leaves from the previous year are running out. It all composts just fine! I try to do about half and half by volume or maybe a little bit more of browns.
One other thing about compost piles - they need to be kept dampish. It doesn't matter in winter when it is too cold for the pile to be working. During the growing season, if it is dry enough to water your plants, water you compost pile as well.
You are right that smaller is quicker. But if you aren't in too much hurry, it doesn't matter if stuff is a little bigger. My leaves I collect come in brown paper yard waste bags. When the bag is empty, I tear it in to about notebook sized pieces and add them a bit at a time. They disappear just fine.
I don't add soil to compost pile, except maybe a handful of garden dirt here and there, to be sure the pile is inoculated with soil bacteria.
You do need a balance of brown and green, but it isn't rocket science. My pile tends to be heavier on browns in the winter when there are no pulled weeds, etc and heavier on greens in the summer when the fall leaves from the previous year are running out. It all composts just fine! I try to do about half and half by volume or maybe a little bit more of browns.
One other thing about compost piles - they need to be kept dampish. It doesn't matter in winter when it is too cold for the pile to be working. During the growing season, if it is dry enough to water your plants, water you compost pile as well.
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ElizabethB
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Good point about the water. Summer and winter. As for the soil - big box stores usually have what they call "cull packages" several bags shrink wrapped together for quick sale. Of course haggle. That is a given. I have gotten 3 cubic foot bags of premium miracle grow soil for .50. I have some large wheeled garbage cans that I use to store soil. If I find a deal on potting soil it goes in one can for use when planting herbs and ornamental plants in pots in the spring. There are 2 others that I dump lesser quality soil into for use in my compost pile. I can not rememmber the last time I paid anything close to full price for bagged soil. Same thing with bagged gravel that I use for paths and busted bags of mulch.
Shop, shop, shop.
I love getting a deal.
Shop, shop, shop.
I love getting a deal.
Pink, your in MD (zone 6-ish). Your compost is going to slow down till March or so.
The only way you can try to side-step that slow-down is to add manure (hot) on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. And even then its going to slow some.
Your compost is going to rot, its going to become soil (over time). Your hardest part is with a three-bin pallet system is, its going to take a few years till your finished compost catches up to your need.
No matter how finely you chop stuff up or how dilligently you turn your compost.
Take a deep breath and fill your bins the best you can, you'll get there.
The only way you can try to side-step that slow-down is to add manure (hot) on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. And even then its going to slow some.
Your compost is going to rot, its going to become soil (over time). Your hardest part is with a three-bin pallet system is, its going to take a few years till your finished compost catches up to your need.
No matter how finely you chop stuff up or how dilligently you turn your compost.
Take a deep breath and fill your bins the best you can, you'll get there.
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rot
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I concur with tomc and leave the day lilies as they are.
How much to chop is a constant question. How much time and energy do you want to spend chopping and breaking down things when the compost bin or pile is going to do it for you anyways. There's a balance there somewhere and I expect it's different for each individual.
If you are turning your bin or pile once a week or even once a month, you will see what really needs to be chopped up and what doesn't. Sometimes it's surprising what rapidly breaks down and what doesn't. I'm betting those broccoli stems break down quickly and should require a whole lot of work.
Observe what's going on in there and adapt along the way.
You'll see over time. No reason to stress over it. Would it really be a major disaster if a compost bin took a little longer? The time and energy spent chopping things up might be better spent tending the garden after all.
I don't really add soil to my compost bins. Compost happens without it. I don't believe adding soil speeds up the process. The point is to add compost to soil anyways. Not the other way around.
to sense
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I concur with tomc and leave the day lilies as they are.
How much to chop is a constant question. How much time and energy do you want to spend chopping and breaking down things when the compost bin or pile is going to do it for you anyways. There's a balance there somewhere and I expect it's different for each individual.
If you are turning your bin or pile once a week or even once a month, you will see what really needs to be chopped up and what doesn't. Sometimes it's surprising what rapidly breaks down and what doesn't. I'm betting those broccoli stems break down quickly and should require a whole lot of work.
Observe what's going on in there and adapt along the way.
You'll see over time. No reason to stress over it. Would it really be a major disaster if a compost bin took a little longer? The time and energy spent chopping things up might be better spent tending the garden after all.
I don't really add soil to my compost bins. Compost happens without it. I don't believe adding soil speeds up the process. The point is to add compost to soil anyways. Not the other way around.
to sense
..
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toxcrusadr
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I'm with rot: observe what your compost looks like, and adjust from there. If there are too many big chunks, you can pull them out and use them to inoculate the next batch, and if you don't want to see them, observe what they were and chop up that stuff better next time. 
As for plants with potting soil/root balls, they'll come out pretty much unscathed. You can grab the top and bang the root ball on the bin or a shovel to break up the ball.
As for plants with potting soil/root balls, they'll come out pretty much unscathed. You can grab the top and bang the root ball on the bin or a shovel to break up the ball.
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ElizabethB
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toxcrusadr
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Things that come out still relatively intact get sorted out and tossed into the next pile to inoculate it with microbes. Over time you can observe what needs to be chopped better and what doesn't.
Elizabeth's method of adding soil is great if you are trying to increase the height of raised beds. One could also till in compost and soil in fall or spring. Nothing wrong with it at all, as long as everyone understands that adding soil is not essential to making compost.
Elizabeth's method of adding soil is great if you are trying to increase the height of raised beds. One could also till in compost and soil in fall or spring. Nothing wrong with it at all, as long as everyone understands that adding soil is not essential to making compost.
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Betsy Muse
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This is one of the most informative threads I've ever read on composting. I've probably been too careful about what I put in my compost bin because I have read more often long lists of rules about what can and cannot go into the bin.
I had too much green this summer, but once leaves feel I was able to right that imbalance. Good to know I probably didn't ruin my compost. I just made sure to mix it up and turn it. I can't wait to put it on my garden next year.
I had too much green this summer, but once leaves feel I was able to right that imbalance. Good to know I probably didn't ruin my compost. I just made sure to mix it up and turn it. I can't wait to put it on my garden next year.
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ElizabethB
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Composting is always a discussion with the most diverse and sometimes most hotly debated opinions. There are many excellent sites with all of the scientific recommendation. If any of you are interested let me know because I have an excellent one on my faves. The bottom line is that it is trial and error, available resources and basically what works for you. I like things chopped small, I add manure and soil. I don't ever add meat by-products, cooked foods or cat litter. Since my bins are relatively small I add very little paper products and that is finely shredded. I always carry shears to the garden and chop up spent plants before tossing in the compost bin. I knock the soil off of the roots and put them in the yard waste bin for city pick-up. For me they take too long to decompose.
I do have access to aged horse manure but prefer my fresh rabbit maure. I can pick that up in 5 gallon buckets but have to shovel the horse manure into the trailer. Too much work and too small bins.
Bottom line - whatever works for you is good. If your compost doesn't cook try something else. Composting - and gardening is a never ending learning process.
Thank you all for being here and sharing your knowledge and experience.
Happy New Year One and All
I do have access to aged horse manure but prefer my fresh rabbit maure. I can pick that up in 5 gallon buckets but have to shovel the horse manure into the trailer. Too much work and too small bins.
Bottom line - whatever works for you is good. If your compost doesn't cook try something else. Composting - and gardening is a never ending learning process.
Thank you all for being here and sharing your knowledge and experience.
Happy New Year One and All
I've forked brushy *goo* from the compost bin to the garden. Spaded some garden dirt on top of the mess and in three weeks there was just about none left to find.
Yes ideally you want nice dark loamy compost, and then the real world pokes its nose in your garden. The good outcome justafies the means.
Large or small, time rots it all...
Yes ideally you want nice dark loamy compost, and then the real world pokes its nose in your garden. The good outcome justafies the means.
Large or small, time rots it all...