got lazy, compost has gone anaerobic
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:49 pm
I started a compose bin last May, due to a lack of any real amount of yard waste, it ended up getting filled with more food scraps then anything else. Now, it seems that after the winter (adding more food scrapes) and my, ahem, lack of turning the compost has gone anaerobic....
I knew I was in for trouble when I was putting way more wet "green" matter then "brown".
Now I'm the guy with the stinky yard.
My plan:
- mix in a bunch of old (brown) grass clippings a friend of mine piles up behind his garage
- mix in some of the compost I bought when I realized that this years batch was not in fact ready
- turn, turn, turn
- divert all future waste to the second composter I just bought (and yes, I will stay on top of this one)
I've got a couple of questions
- what ratio's should I mix this? lets assume that my current bin is 80-90% food scraps, but I only have access to brown grass, no leaves/straw/etc right now, so 1-1 or 2-1 grass-mess? plus whatever finished compost I have left over (wont be much)?
- should I try to jump start this with some worms? or some of that compost starter enzymes?
- I really need to secure some sort of diverse supply of brown matter (I only have one small maple tree in my yard) would the spent grains I end up with after I brew beer be good enough? I just started doing this and I've but some in the composter but would the grain hulls (or is it husks?) take too long to break down? I suppose it could be a continued source of nutrients...
thanks!
I knew I was in for trouble when I was putting way more wet "green" matter then "brown".
Now I'm the guy with the stinky yard.
My plan:
- mix in a bunch of old (brown) grass clippings a friend of mine piles up behind his garage
- mix in some of the compost I bought when I realized that this years batch was not in fact ready
- turn, turn, turn
- divert all future waste to the second composter I just bought (and yes, I will stay on top of this one)
I've got a couple of questions
- what ratio's should I mix this? lets assume that my current bin is 80-90% food scraps, but I only have access to brown grass, no leaves/straw/etc right now, so 1-1 or 2-1 grass-mess? plus whatever finished compost I have left over (wont be much)?
- should I try to jump start this with some worms? or some of that compost starter enzymes?
- I really need to secure some sort of diverse supply of brown matter (I only have one small maple tree in my yard) would the spent grains I end up with after I brew beer be good enough? I just started doing this and I've but some in the composter but would the grain hulls (or is it husks?) take too long to break down? I suppose it could be a continued source of nutrients...
thanks!