A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 What did you feed your compost today?

I thought this might be a fun way of sharing our compost additions, and it'll also help newbies to composting learn what the possibilites are for composting

Today, my compost was fed:

coffee grounds
coffee filter
left over coffee
empty toilet paper roll
paper towels
shredded label paper
jalapeno doritos (I didn't like em!)
sugar cookies (chocolate and strawberry)
sugar puffs cereal
cocoa puffs cereal
sour cream & onion chips
shredded cardboard
shredded newspaper (black print only)
shredded bills and other junk mail (no envelope windows though or any colored paper or ink)
dog hair dust bunny (monster)
flat soda
cool aid
finished boquet of cut glads I brought in

So what did you feed YOUR compost today?

Just watch the salty stuff...
*salt and plants don't get along*

But boy, they sure ate good today...


Mine had cucumber peelin's..
Acorn skins,
A bundle of corn husks from my neighbor.

Wow Mary! What a great idea!

After reading your whole list, here's what I HAVEN'T been adding.... up until now that is. lol

cookies <--- like we have leftover cookies. lol
cereal
chips & nachos
shredded cardboard
shredded bills <--- how about the unopened ones?
dust bunnies
dog hair <--- how about the dog? just kidding
flat soda <--- I throw out a ton of that!
toilet paper rolls

Today I did toss in:

uneaten watermelon cut up
moldy strawberries & blueberries <--- they found me actually :rolleyes:
potato and carrot peels
corn cobs cut up small
juice
dryer lint <--- pretty much cotton loads
coffee & grounds <--- daily

Compost No 2.... Here I Come!

Hmm...weezie...never thought about that. Thanks! I don't put much of that stuff in, so I guess it's okay. Not like I would ever, ever have a full bag to put in - they just don't survive that long around here

Suz - the only reason I open some of my bills is to scavenge for compostables Seriously, that's why I open my junk mail and (yeah, some bills too!) - to take out the glossy stuff, colored print, and clear envelope windows.

Don't tempt me!

You're gonna get baby watermelons. I did too. Longy had a great idea though - I picked up the seedlings that were sprouting in the pile, and planted em nearby. Figure if they grow, great, if I can eat em, even better - if I can't do anything but compost em, I'll still be happy! So, keep it in mind for when ya start seeing seedlings sprouting - that's what they'll be more than likely

oh yeah, you'll get everything sprouting in there sometimes..
Corn *uncooked of course*
potato eyes
zuke's, cuke's, and anything with a seed.
pumpkins, watermelons, squash..

but you have to catch them early to replant.
and you have to get them hardened off just like a baby seed you've started..
Remember they were inside that nice warm bed,
with lot's of moisture and good, loose soil to put their roots down into...
and they've had very limited sun too...
and wind, so they don't have their stablizer roots going yet either...

Should i be feeding my compost every day? I thought that i was to stir it up a couple times a week???? Do i just through the scraps in on top?? or do i mix it up? Can you really add cereal and milk to the pile? Is their ever to much of kitchen scraps to give your pile?? Pasta wow can i rinse it if their is butter or sauce on it first be for throwing it in? i can pour in coffee with or with out creamer and sugar??? wow i have so many questions. ok i have to stop i wont remember it all. lol Danielle

It's cool because next to my bin, I have this little area that's shaded by the bin in the morning, and a big tree in the afternoon so it's shaded except for some filtered sun in the afternoon - checked my transplants today and they're lookin good I have some taters that are ready for composting and will watch for some sprouts there too I'm so addicted to this stuff!

Yay! I these questions!

Only if ya have stuff to feed it. I hadn't fed mine in a few days - today was the 'clean out the pantry and get rid of the stale stuff day, which is why I had so much going in.

Yep, you can mix it just a few times a week - you don't have to add to it when you mix...but I usually mix when I add, if that makes sense.

What I usually do is move a bit of the top aside with the pitchfork, and pour my stuff in that area, and then cover it back up with what I moved aside - just to keep the 4 legged critters from coming to get it

Sure! You want to be careful with adding too much oil/fat/dairy though. They will attract flies, 4 legged critters and may also stink. I'm not real fussy about making sure I don't put any oil/fat/dairy in...I just don't go overboard with it. For example, I would have no problem putting in a full bowl of cereal into a my pile that is about 3' high. In relation, it's a small amount of milk to be going into the pile.

Yes and no. Keep your ratio at 75% brown to 25% green (or close to it as ya can) and you're good.

See bowl of milk answer above Also, leave your sauce on - that's ok to add

Yep, again see bowl of milk answer, above. You don't have to be crazy careful about not adding a drop of milk, but you don't want to overdo it either.

Thank you Mary, That was a fast answer lol. i recycle so this is even better.I wont have much trash, yea!!!!! Oh you guy's are great thank you all so much. I know i will have more ??'s soon lol Danielle

Glad I can help Danielle!
You'd be surprised how much trash you cut down on with composting. We cut down a BIG chunk of our trash weekly. So, not only are we helping the environment by composting, and making our plants & flowers happy, but we're saving money, because we have to pay for trash pickup!

We'll be here when you're ready with more questions

Wow, my compost was a very happy pile today. Steaming like fageddaboudit! Think it was the jalapeno nachos? Today my pile got:

watermelon rinds (cut up into about 1" cubes or so)
watermelon juice (with seeds - yes I know I'll get seedlings popping up!)
Paper towels used to wipe up juice from cutting watermelon
Woohoo!
Can't wait to see what yard waste I can put in today ... beautiful day, and I'm headin out!

Took me a little while to figure that one out, with the help of a little online surfing. lol. I had the accents all in the wrong places! You New Yawkas!

Today's Menu:

A Bucket of apple peels (I baked a bunch of pies)
More corn on the cob
potatoes
Brocolli
Coffee (of course!)
Dryer lint and softeners
Lemons
Parsley
Orange Juice

But I don't think I can add the dog hair. I have a long-haired Schitzu and wet dog hair is a little gross in a clump I think. lol

~Suzy~

Well, mine got:
cut up cannas
about 50 empty Texas Star hibiscus seed pods
a few dead seedlings
rotten tomatoes
coffee filter and grinds
flour
LOTS of angel trumpet (Datura metel) old blooms - this plant is huge and very productive!

I have 2 bins made of chicken wire, both need turning desperately.
Barb

A NY transplant living in S. Illinois - talk about confusing! Faggeddaboudit, y'all!

yesterday I fed it
a ton of shredded paper
a bit o' cardboard

(It had flies/gnats and needed browns badly! I could tell it was a tad bit too wet (and it was a bit stinky!))

Today:

cherry koolaid
potato peels

Oh! and hair - Helen got a haircut It should heat up real good now - you know those redheads. Oy!

As for the dog hair (or people hair for that matter) - I have a 'long term' pile that I put stuff like that in. By long term I mean anything I don't expect to break down for a year or more. If you can make one of those kinds of piles, that'd be a good place for the hair. Eggshells might go here too - they take a longer time to break down especially if they're not crushed real good.

Man the bugs are bad here this year. We've had flies out the yin-yang - and I so hate flies. Anyway, my compost heap was fortunate enough that a dag nab fly got caught inside the box of my favoritist cake in the whole wide world - Course I had only had 2 pieces of it before it got in there. (And we can't get it here - it was Priority Mailed to me by my sister in NY!) So, the rest went to the compost heap. Fooey!

Turned the compost pile today and sifted it. Got 1.6 cubic feet of finished compost that went on the second tier of the garden and then stared mixing in the left over grass clippings from last week. My best guess is that that will finish off most of the left over compost from this week and next week I'll be starting with pretty much all new grass and leaves.

And grass leaves and coffee grounds are all i've been putting in it unless one of the indoor plants loses a leaf due to natural causes lol.

Best layed plans of mice and men. The landlord brought me more fresh green and found space in the compost bin so he dumped it all in there lol. So this morning after watering the new beds and the miniature rose it was time to correct the ratios in my bin. So the reserve pile got a hole in its center and at least half the new load of green got dumped in there. And then half a parking lot fallen leaves got added and then more of the green got spread out over the top of that and then the hole thing got turned. So I guess I can't really call it a reserve pile now. Since it has everything in it to make it a working hot compost pile including almost the optimal demensions lol. The I went to work mixing the rest of the new green into the partially decomposted bin. And when I got near the middle of the bin the heat was very noticable even with it being another hot day outside. So I guess I'm probably going to have some of the compost pellets come sunday to use with the leaves I'll sweep up from the lot this week. Which should make the composting next week go almost as fast as this weeks did. Anyway I just had to share my good news about the compost lol. I love my compost.

Hoops ya got a sifter? I'm mega jealous!
Where ya hiding your not-so-reserve reserve pile?

Today I turned the pile - man it stunk and had flies galore. I know that should mean I needed to add browns - but it was dry and I needed to add water...so Helen watered as I turned (with her nose tucked in her shirt ) I'm wondering why it smells like that now - it definitely had plenty of browns. I know the sassafrass leaves that get chomped up with the grass clippings have a strong smell to them to begin with - and, well, you know how stinky grass can get...so I'm thinking it was the mingling of these smells. hopefully in a few more days it'll start smelling sweet. But I guess I'm getting off topic!

Today my compost bin got fed
EEK Moldy bread
3 cut up rotten potatoes
And a good drink of water!

Mary,
I'd lay off the cereal with milk,
etc..type stuff..and the stuff with the salt..

Get some soil, maybe one you had planted up
this year, and the plants "heading south for the winter" already, dump it in..
Dirt really helps the process...

And find a can of beer..
Gets all that stuff cookin' again....

I don't put very much cereal with milk in at all - I think this heap just got a half cup of milk or so, and just once. And just that one little bit of chips, not even half a bag I don't think. I stick mostly to the grass/leaves/coffee and kool aid

I've got another almost but not quite finished compost pile that I can take to add to this heap with -- I'm just afraid it's getting too packed down. I had a bunch of paper in this heap too - which I'm thinking may be is why it was stinky too - may be the bleach or whatever they use because I put a LOT of it in - may be almost a full garbage bag full of it. It was like 70% or 80% recycled paper - I dunno if that makes it better or worse for having added it? It's definitely hot on the inside - it wasnt steaming that I could see - but the heat was blasting me as I turned it tonight.

May be I oughta split the pile in half and add a little compost to each half so it's not so heavy, but a bit browner? Whaddya think?

You know where the nasty neighbor was growing the berry cane and strawberries? In amongst the poison oak, mimosa and other weeds and agressive plants, well there was this accident with the brush killer stuff. The mimosa survived unfortunately but every thing else pretty much bit the dust so I just kind of put it over there.

No I'm still sifting the hard way. Kind of raking the compost back and forth until the finished stuff crumbles and the bigger bits and pieces get scraped to the sides. Then I shovel the center part into the pail and it heads for the garden. And the unfinished compost gets mixed in with the new stuff and then dumped back into the bin. Sticks first so that I have air comming up from the bottom.

I wonder why yours is that smelly. That sounds odd. I get the grass amonia smell when the landlord brings the grass clippings and I don't have enough brown in reserve to mix with it but I haven't gotten anything worse. And the newspaper experiment didn't decompose very fast but it didn't produce any smell at all. Acting pretty much the way leaves do except for the amount of time and a tendency to clump which was unfortunate.

From what I think I saw today I should pull 3 to 4 cubic feet out of the bin on sunday. And I am having such a hard time waiting. Which is really silly because the bulbs and seeds haven't even arrived yet. And I still have to mix the compost that I put on the bulb bed in with the existing clay. But that's off topic.

So I'll move over to another room for that stuff.

Woohoo it is a sauna in there. Have I mentioned that I am having a hard time waiting until Sunday to turn the compost again? I am. I saw this little clump of grass by the bin so I just had to open it up to put the grass in there and it was like a sauna. The lid of the bin was completely covered in condensation. That is so cool. Just thought I would share that.

Yaknow, when you compost right on the ground, it's kinda hard to know when you've gotten to the bottom. When I was scooping my first pile...I finally stopped to take a breather, and saw that I was digging a hole!

I added a bit of spoiled mushy salad in a bag today. Hey, next year I wont have to buy salad in a bag -- I'll have salad in my yard 'least I hope so.

Turned my pile today too, and it was steamin like blazes. Helped that it was a bit on the cooler side - probably in the 80s so it was really steaming good

As hard as that clay/hardpack is I think I'll probably know when I hit bottom. But I'll keep your caution in mind. That would be so funny. I can picture it as a future Lady Huh episode. Can you see it as she breaks through in China lol. Sorry my mind keeps going in the strangest directionns.

Hey guys! My compost is all done & "I'm lovin' it" as Kramer says! Was it you, Weezie, who said how much you love compost? I admit that I thought it was a little over the top, but I wouldn't go any other way. When you think about it, it's just such a natural progression. I'm going to copy some of your lists because there are a few things I didn't think about.

Just started fall planting today. I think my bones are lookin forward to winter!

<b>MEEEEEEEEEEEE , A LITTLE OVER And Longy is the best too.. Don't get any better info on composting.....

Very glad you had great results, and hope you keep on posting and helping others with their new adventures in gardening too!!!

Well the roommate has alergies and they were getting worse while he was in the apartment and guess what. The Coleus was busy blooming again. That Fack Coleus wants to produce flower spikes much more often than any other coleus I've ever had. It has huge leaves too. Frequently as big as 1/3 the size of the whole plant. Well anyway the flower spikes and the leaves that had some brown on them went in the compost pail along with the tossed salad fixin's waste. Oh, did I mention the very large contribution coffee grounds? And then there is the wad of hair. Better that the compost bin gets it and not the vacumn cleaner. It can break the belt on my vacumn cleaner without a problem. And I shed as badly as any dog I've ever known lol. Ok that's it for the compost pail. Tomorrow I finally get to dump it out and play in it and I can't wait. Whoopie!!!!!

Thanks Weezie & everyone! I doubt that I'll be able to add much to all this expertise but am always willing to help. I do have a question: Is it a bad idea to put your weeds into the compost? Wouldn't the seeds be a problem when you use it or do they die off in the "cooking"?

Weezie: Tell us more about the "can of beer" getting things cooking. I've never heard of that. Does it matter if it's flat or not? If I give it too much will it start doin a dance out there & burping the top off?

TK: I brought my Coleus all inside for the winter & some of the leaves are dropping off. Is it too warm or what?? (I'll have to remember to put them in the compost.)

Have a happy weekend everybody

leaf drop probably has to do with the change in the amount of light they are getting. If you baby them for a week or two they will probably come back as strong as ever. I pinch mine back very very often and also take the large leaves out when a branch starts on the stem in a place that will help me look bushier. Although with the size of my current apartment that may not be the best idea I've every had lol.

I put weeds in my compost but I usually pull them set them on the concrete for a few days until they are totally brown and dry looking and then remove the root and seed head before I put the stems in the compost heap. I'm not confident enough to put live weeds in my compost bin yet. Although I do know it gets hot enough to cook them. I did put some tomato stocks in the compost bin though and they did have some small green tomatoes still on the vine. I guess maybe that's the same thing. I just have a hard time seeing the tomatoes as a weed. I guess that's because I'm so new to gardening.

Do you think i can starve my compost pile??? lol Sorry, but I've been really busy and haven't fed it in a while. lol So I was getting worried. Dee

lol, from what I've been reading what you really want to do is make the pile all at one time and then let it cook turning it when it cools down. And it should make finished compost in anywhere from 10 to 45 days.


But I haven't been at it long enough to know.

Ladybug,
I can't stress enough that each pile can be different.... Mine in the fall are the quickest for me, cause there's a perfect ratio of brown chopped leaves and grass, I can dump it in and
can have it rendered down very quickly...
Depending on how much I have or how many of my bins are open and ready for loading, is depending
on how fast I feed them...

I also have one, that isn't always so fast, because I have kitchen scrap's in and browns from the garden and I don't need grass in cause of the scrap's... so I keep browns such as chopped leaves, saw dust or wood chips *home made from a chipper* etc, type stuff right next to my bin..
then I add kitchen scrap's and load some browns..
some times I might not do anything to them..

It's really a personal preference... how you do you compost piles..
While Tammy and Mary like to get compost reasonably quickly they are willing to do the work for it, by adding and turning and chopping things up finely or thinly or with the most exposed edges on the item to be decomposed cause they decompose faster..
While someone like my self, who has several to work with *8* and may not need to work them all fast...
(cause I'm slow sifting and getting it out* )

but if you don't feed it, don't worry.. it should be okay..

The only one bit of advice I can say is, not to let them sit around tooooooooooooo long.. especially if there is a big plant or tree near it, cause those plants tend to send roots to the pile and filter up thru it and use your compost
and if it gets rained on, after a while, say the full year and them some, the nutrition leaches out of it thru the rain water washing thru it..

Oh really so i should keep my piles away from and trees. thanks Dee

Oh yeah......the roots will be in seventh
heaven, finding a stock pile of good eats
right there...

And sometimes, if you plant something that
is too close to the compost pile or in it or around a compost pile, depending on the plant,
it can kill them believe it or not...
**Well, for people/places that there's a winter
and cold, freezing temps..**


It will keep the plant will stay too green too long and won't prepare it's self for winter in time and have too much new green growth on it
and the winter weather, winter freezes.. will
more than likely kill it or weaken it badly....

Well I couldn't quite believe it but the compost compacted really badly this time. I must have had way to much green in there I guess. I've put at least half a bin of new stuff in there the last two days and it's plenty hot so it's working good. But I can't believe it shrunk that much.

Why is it that one should not start a compost pile near a building??? I read that somewhere on the internet.

As I have mine near my LARGE storage shed.

By the By last night, a Bear moved my whole compost bin...lifted it right up..pulling the pegs right out of the ground.

Nothing in there..food like..other than potato peelings, and tomatoes.

What I put in today (please let me know if anything is wrong)

Dryer lint
cardboard box (ripped up)
potato skins
cucumber skins
coffee grounds x3
paper towel
small handfull of crushed chips
2 crushed up egg shells

Hi Noxema. Sounds like your compost got a tasty meal today. Everything sounds right on! )

That's crazy about the Bear! Just ask Mary & TK & Longy & Weezie.

My 'Special Of The Day': I always threw leftover buns (hamburger/hotdog/rolls/etc) into the freezer until they got burned, and then I would finally toss them out. Not anymore! I just mixed a whole bunch of those in my compost today instead of the garbage for a change. lol. I've never even considered bread before. It's amazing what you can find to compost.

Hope you all have a great night,
~SuzyQ~

You have learned well, grasshopper.

They say you should build it away from your house because of spontaneous combustion...but the chances of that happening in a compost pile are slim to none, though I guess the heat/moisture/insects that thrive in a compost heap might not be good for your foundation/siding/etc. either

Sounds like everything you added is right on noxzema (and welcome to composting and the forum while I'm at it!) the only thing you might want to be careful about is the chips - as weezie pointed out to me, the salt on the chips isn't really good for your plants - a little bit won't hurt, but you dont want to go crazy adding lots of chips or that could be bad. Otherwise, great job!

As for the bear, well, I know they're super sensitive about sniffing out food. Whenever I dump food in the heap, I take a pitchfork full of compost and cover it up - though Im not sure that's quite enough to keep the bears at bay, it might help

I think there was something on CSI about use having so many odor sensors in our noses and animals have many many more of them. So even though we can't smell a thing the compost bin is hollering dinner time to the local animal population lol. Or something like that.

The bear was back again last night. She is a Mama with 2 cubs. Guess the babies were hungry!

I know I wont be bothering her LOL. Dont want a swipe across the head. Mother bears are very dangerous when they have thier young with them.

And I guess I am going to have to move the composter anyway...way to close to the shed. Thank you for letting me know that.

Hot or Cold...ummm...I am clueless as to what exactly that means? Could someone help a fool out with that???

Oh and another question.

I dont have leaves here..but I have pine needles out the wazzoo. Can I put pine needles in the pile? Or would they have too much acid?

Hope you all dont get sick of all of my questions

I've heard that compost is normally pH neutral but I've never heard about composting pine needles so I don't know what to tell you.

I put them in, do you have a lawn mower
or something you can run over them a few
times/??
That's what I do...
and sprinkle in in layers as needed..

And Tammy's right, most compost piles,
no matter what you put in them,
end up closer to the Neutral side.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="COMIC SANS MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="3" face="COMIC SANS MS, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> You have learned well, grasshopper. )

The microbe action started to work and heat up for me when I finally got the ratios closer to 3-parts browns (carbons) to 1-part greens (nitrogen). This is by mass and not weight though. Plus air and moisture.

I don't know if you've looked through this thread yet, How To Make A Compost Bin , but there's a wealth of information in there if you've got some time to read through. Lots of great questions and answers to get you going. It eventually became long enough that it's now continued here --> How To Make A Compost Bin II , and is another great place to ask your questions. I know I still refer to these threads often.

So keep posting, Noxzema, and let us know how it's going! It really is a fun and interesting project, with many wonderful benefits. Looking forward to reading about your successes, too.

~SuzyQ~

Also one of the reasons' is, that compost piles
invite and need some buggies.... to them..
One of your best visitors' are worms..
EARTH MOVING CREATURES!!!!
Who, love to eat dirt.. and that means near
foundations...and regular area's don't mean
any difference to them, if there's something
for them to eat, tunnel thru, ooooooooooooh, they're in 7th heaven..
and other one's that would eat decaying browns,
which can be wood structures next to your house,
they'd be like "Hey, I can't tell the difference..
it's dark down here..."

Always best to keep it a distance from your abode.

The only one that I would suggest is those tumblers maybe..and some of those aren't air tight, and when it rains, it drips in, and when you add anything with a liquid it drips...
so, hence there in lies the same problem, maybe just smaller amounts..

I will definately be moving it this weekend. Thank you all.

I will also add some of my pine needles. There is no way I could add them all. We hauled them away when we first came here..and it took 18 1/2ton loads.

Dats a whole lot of pine needles..lots and lots and lots of trees here.

SuzieQ I will definately read those 2 links! Thank you.

Cardboard (I always have alot) is that considered a "brown"?

Yet another question LOL LOL. I am full of them, seems like as soon as I read on here..questions are just popping out of my head LOL.

You are all so great.

And I know now that I am going to be addicted to composting. I am making steak and potatoes tonight. The boys wanted baked potatoes...I said "Well I will bake them..but they will be peeled..my composter needs those peelings"

IMAGINE...addicted or what.

What I fed the composter today:

Banana peels
egg shells crushed
leaves that fell off my colius (SP?) plant
Ripped up pizza box
Brown paper bag (lunch bag)
cucumber peelings
Tomato
paper
coffee grinds
coffee (is this aloud?)
dryer lint
dried up weeds that I pulled from the garden and let bake in the sun (is this aloud?)
Grass clipping from weed eating around the shed

Yep, cardboard is definitely a brown. Good that you're ripping it up too so it has more exposed edges to break down quicker. Same with paper. But don't use the glossy stuff.
I Know! I'm a crazy woman standing guard over the trash when the kids help tidy up the supper mess. lol. "HEY! Get that outta there! That goes in the COMPOST!!" lol. They're catching on.

Coffee is definitely allowed. Mine gets a daily slurp right after I've had my fill. Pop and beer is also good. I'd watch out for the weeds though. Even sun-baked those seeds can rise up again in your flowerbed if your compost doesn't get hot enough to cook the bejeebers out of them. Luckily I don't know that by experience... I read it here though and that's good enough for me.

I smiled at TK saying she had to force herself to leave the compost alone last week. lol. I find I'm doing the same thing. I want to keep digging into the centre because that heat action in there is sooo cool to see. lol. But I know I'll slow the process down by doing that. Oh well, I'll just go find something else to do then.

~Suze~

Go pee-pee on your compost heap. The nitrogen helps the heap warm up and rot down faster. This is probably easier for the guys to carry out logistically, but if you can get some on there no matter how, try it.

Well then, that would certainly help deter me from wanting to reach in and feel the heat now, wouldn't it! Hmmmm.... Perhaps down the road once the novelty wears off. lol.

Oh my...I seriously could not see myself doing that. Hee Hee that is wild! I could just see my husbands face if I asked him to relieve himself out in the composter LMAO.

Yet another question...sick of me yet LOL.

What about when you sweep the floor and the sand and such you get off the floor..can that be put into the compost?

I know..weird question. This is such an obsession.

Our other more knowledgable friends will be popping in here and answering some questions soon I think. lol. I just happen to be working on the computer all day today and see the posts as they show up. But in the meantime, Noxzema.... Not even a little bit! Absolutely!

Even less garbage for our landfills! Wonderful. Thank you so much.

I am getting another composter this weekend. So now I only have to build one. YAY!

I have my mother and sister in law saving potato peelings and such. Since we dont eat all that many veggies here.

And I think I will ask others to save thier leaves for me...instead of transporting them in bags to the dump...will just keep them in the back 40 for when I need them. Since I have no leaves here.

Obsession I tell ya!

What about flyers..I know you can put newspaper which they are...but it has colored ink..is that allowed? I am thinking yes..but thought it would be best to ask.

My garbage has cut down so much just in the last few days...I think everyone should get on the composting bandwagon. We would not have such a problem when it comes to landfills.

Wow, this is so exciting! Noxzema, great questions - and SuzyQ you're already a pro

I can't believe how many pine needles you have! wow! If you have a back 40, can you put what you don't use in compost there? Pine needles will work - but like straw/hay they'll take longer to break down. Not that thats a bad thing. You can mulch with it, but you would probably want to just mulch that stuff that likes acidic soil, like rhododendrons, azaleas, roses, etc.

Be careful about flyers. Don't use glossy/slick paper. Colored ink can contain toxic chemicals, so I generally dump them too (even newsprint in red, which they're really excited about doing here :p ) If there's just a tad bit of colored ink, I'll put it in, but a die-hard organic composter would probably disagree with doing that...

Yes! You would think I was the new compost spokesperson. I have told everyone and anyone that will give me the time of day how amazingly beneficial composting is. I've been able to get 2 local people composting - I've adopted a personal slogan 'changing the world, one compost heap at a time' Anyone wanna buy a t-shirt?

Oh, and btw, I haven't peed or asked anyone to pee in my heap either. Though I completely understand the benefit of it, it's too freaky for me personally. Imagine that!

Keep the great questions coming, we love em!

Thank you Mary. I think I am driving friends and family insane...I want them all to compost..and if not..give all that great stuff to me.

I have ALOT of land..so I can have compost heaps too. That is what I will do with all of my needles. Even if I take them back to the bush and put them there. Mother Nature will take care of them for me.

What I have put in so far today:

Dryer Lint (big family..lots of laundry)
Cucumber peelings
banana peeling
2 egg shells (crushed)
Ripped up Pizza box
Part of the newspaper (ripped up pretty small)
2 stale english muffins
2 stale bagels (flax seed)
empty packets of Sweet n Low
Paper Towel (2)
coffee
coffee grounds

NO pee though not yet anyway Hee Hee

Todays additions...

Dryer Lint (yet again)
Cardboard box (ripped up small)
potato peelings
coffee
coffee grounds
Sweet and Low empty packets
Zest soap (hope this is ok)
paper towel roll
toiler paper roll (both ripped up)
paper towel
corn (leftover)
egg shells (crushed)

What's with the soap??
I haven't ever heard of that being
put in???

Did you read it somewhere's??

I wouldn't use zest soap because of the perfumes used in it. I'm an ivory girl myself (remember the 99.99% pure commercials?) and will put that in -- soap is made from oil/fat and can be natural and/or organic - but most of the soaps we use are full of junk these days.

Better use for zest IMHO - if ya have any stocking wearing family members who gets a run, instead of throwing em out, cut the legs at the knee, and you've made yourself a garden hand washer. Put your little soap pieces in the foot, tie the top somewhere near your spiggot, and voila!

Thanks all...

I had read somewhere that it was ok, I was wondering, as it did not sound like a good thing to me........mmm it is already in there..so I guess I will leave it..LOL dont know if I would be able to find it. Maybe the bear will wash his ears with it. Hee Hee

My husband threw coffee grounds in the garbage this morning. I almost fainted!!! I was like "WHAT R U DOING??"

I can relate!!!!

It's suprising how much more fresh fruit I fix now that I have a compost bin to feed lol. It's freaky alright but I love it.

Hopefully I'll start having leaves to go with all that great grass clippings soon and that will make loads and loads of compost.

Don't forget the potato water too...
*If you have on the drier side of a compost*

OOOO potato water...never thought of that...Thank you!

Well Mrs. Bear got at my composter AGAIN!!

What am I going to do..this time she threw it way over to the side...

Yikes Noxema!!

Sounds like the bear may become a problem! When I had my bear, the conservation officers had to trap it, because it was hanging around and coming back sniffing at doors and such. My friend had one come into her home, looking for treats, so be careful!

I went looking about, and found this for you to have a looksie at.

http://www.bearsmart.com/bearsBackyard/Deterrents.html

Shirl

Thank you Shirl...I will go and check that out ASAP. As she was here with her 2 cubs again last night.

When I was young, a bear got into my Grandparents summer kitchen....it was scarey, as it was scared and started to smash things.

Definately DONT want that happening here

I was going to come here and post something on this and your bear, please be careful.....

I looked at that link that ShirlS posted,
definately do something to at least protect
yourself...
*When bears are hungry, and it's been a bad
year in the woods/forrest, they'll definately
find food where ever they can...*

I'd look into only composting leaves, grass,
branches, etc from outdoorsy stuff and maybe
look into learning more about VERMICULTURE
*Worm composting* that can be done inside your home or basement or backroom etc..*
and you could put your food scrap's into there.

Oh Boy!!

Right now they ( bears) are trying to fatten up because they will soon go into their den for winter. If not mistaken,it is usually early in Oct. Could go much later than that, I suppose. Because this bear has cubs she will be much more agressive, so please take Weezie's advice and protect yourself. If you are worried about her, call the conservation officers and ask them what they suggest at this point. Hopefully she will quietly go into her den and leave you be! The bad thing about bears and garbage is once they know where food is, they will keep coming back. if relocated they have been known to walk miles and miles to get back to the source! Good luck with her!

Guess you and I may just be going into worms lol!!

Shirl

I'm lucky I don't have to deal with bears here. I wonder if any of those contraptions you posted might work out, Shirl. Or you and Noxzema might just have to get your husbands and sons to, well.. ummm, relieve themselves around your bins. lol. That sounds a lot quieter, safer and easier than some of the other methods they showed, and may actually even work long enough until the bears leave to hibernate. I'd be tempted to try it.

Noxzema, with that bear tossing your compost bin all around, is it staying sealed shut? Must be awfully frustrating for her. I wonder if they're bright enough to eventually give up when they can't get at the goodies.

I think I have critters too, but I'm guessing it's mice, or my constant companion, Merle the Squirrel, helping themselves to the heat and free food. When I pull the straw bales off my compost heap, I see these ruts running across the top of it and some shallow holes. I notice a lot of the bread and buns I threw in seem to be gone too, but that may be a good thing. What's left is all gummy and doughy anyway, and doesn't seem like it's breaking down at all. I think I'll pass on the soft bread from now on and just toss in the stale stuff.

In my yard I'm sure the compost will be attracting Deer, but unless they're really aggressive I can't see them getting into it. I'm going to put out lots of Hay for them anyway so hopefully they'll be satisfied with the easier to get at nummies.

Hope you're all having a great day.
~Suzy~

Becareful of deer in rut (mating season) because they do get aggressive during that time and can do damage to a human. I think your compost is safe from them but your flowers may not be. It's my understanding that they like a lot of ornamental flowers especially roses and can do a lot of damage in one night.

LOL Suz~~

I have never heard of such a thing ( using the compost bin as an outhouse)!!! Then again, strange things do have a way of working! I sure do have alot to learn! I lived in Kimberly B.C when I had my bear experience 2 yrs ago. Kimberly has a huge bear problem. Which is why I was inquiring about the composting in bear country. I did not compost while there. After reading poor Noxema's dilemma I think maybe I will investigate vermicomposting ( worms). We are not building until the new yr so I have time to get my ducks in a row. I sure am looking forward to gardening again!


Shirl

I know, Shirl! Peeing on (or around) the compost never occurred to me either. But DBB from Southern England mentioned it on the previous page of this thread, (good source of nitrogen apparently) and then if bears don't like it, it's a double bonus! lol

After I read DBB's post, I jokingly said to my family that if they're outside and have to go, to head straight over to the compost. lol. A few days later my stepson was stepping out, and with one hand sliding the door open and the other sliding his zipper down, he says, 'Hey Suzy! I'm going to go feed the compost now.' lol. Four of us yelled out, "NO!!!" in unison. I guess I'm just not that desperate for nitrogen yet. lol

TK, we're pretty careful about the deer here but I do love to see them through the windows. They actually bolt pretty quick when they see us so I'm not terribly concerned. You're right though... they do a wicked job of pruning some of my shrubs! Apparently my Dogwoods are a real gourmet treat. I heard a rumour that soap-on-a-rope keeps them away, so I'm going to give that whirl. My neighbours and I will be putting out a bunch of hay this year too, so I hope they'll go for that instead.

Thank you all for your concern and advice. She is still coming around. And you are so right, even next year if they think it is a food source they will come back. We do know alot about bears, as my father is a bear guide. And they can be VERY AGGRESSIVE especially with young.

I was also told to try moth balls around the edge of our property...so I am also going to try that.

And yes, she is getting into the composter..picked the whole thing right up and threw it..and it has been all over everyday. So it is quite the clean up daily.

I might have to give the others ways a thought.

Usually the bears here dont den until there is so much snow..usually December.

What I added today:

12 Egg shells crushed
coffee
coffee grinds
cardboard box
sweet n Low empty packets
toilet paper roll
Paper towels & roll
Toast
Stale bread and buns
6 tomatoes that just dont want to ripen
potatoes

Well I just had to turn the compost bin today. I couldn't resist. I had some leaves I had gathered on top not doing anything so I had a good excuse lol. Ok, maybe not a good excuse but it was close enough. I was suprised that when I sifted it I got about a bucket of finished fine compost/black gold out of it. I'm thinking by the look of it that if I turn and sift on Sunday I may well get another bucket out of it then. A lot of it was looking mighty close to done. So of course after I got it all turned I just had to add some of the new grass clippings that the landlord brought to me the other day. And then I noticed that they were awful brown so I guess I have a premade reason for turning the compost bin on Sunday.

And I've been thinking with the reserve pile and the grass clippings pile I could actually rotate and do one a day and get my compost addiction taken care of first thing each day lol. Wouldn't that be great.

hi all,

can i compost apples,seems to me i recall reading somewhere we could not that it was bad but me and my ggoooddd memory cant recall why.

oh ya, go see my message on the banter hall it s call warning : if y....

have a good one.

Noxema,

did you receive my seeds,aand how is it going with the garden.

Hey Francine I can't think of any reason why you couldn't compost apples - except you might get some apple tree seedlings if you put the seeds in the heap

Me either...

I know you can even compost rhubarb leaves
and nothing will happen either...

Well this morning I turned the compost bin and added about half a load of grass clippings. No suprise there I'm sure. My trees still aren't letting go of their leaves in any great numbers but I'm sure it isn't going to be to long now before they do. I'm taking a break after that chore. That's always such heavy work. Nice thing about it is that by next Sunday everything that was partially decomposed this time should be fully composed and I can add it all to the garden. What I gleaned today will fill the pots for the rest of the tomato cuttings.

Francine

Thank you so much, I did get the seeds. I was so excited, my sister in law was laughing at me. I had to even phone my Mother to tell her what I got LOL LOL. Thank you Thank you.

My compost got a good feed yesterday. There was a big meal served here...and it got all the cabbage leaves, onion peelings and such...celery and carrots too.

And coffee grounds GALORE!

Is too many coffee grounds good for it..as my parents own a small coffee shop...so I can get LOTS of grounds.

and we drink WAY too much coffee here too.

I think you can add as much as you like. I would probably drink to much coffee too if I had a close relative in the business. That's super cool.

Well yesterday I ran out of energy before I ran out of things to do. So I just finished sweeping up the area around the compost bin that I turned yesterday so it didn't look like a mess lol. And then I sweep half of the leaves that had fallen into the small compost pile. After this cup of coffee I'll go back out and sweep up the other half and put them in the big reserve pile and they see about getting those two piles mixed up. Neither are on palets so I don't expect much of them as far as decomposing. My thinking is that if they haven't decomposed by the time the bin is ready for another load of raw material then in it goes lol.

I love-a-love-a-love my garden.

My composter....got a big treat yesterday.

potato peelings
cauliflower (and leaves from)
carrot peelings
onion peelings
egg shells
coffee grounds
cardboard
some ripped up paper
leftover black coffee


I love this.

My composter is stinking though...and has alot of flies in there...is this normal??

smell and flies are a sign that you don't have enough brown in there. Weezie suggests 75% brown and 25% green and that is a really good mix in my limited experience. But I have stopped the stink with as little as 50% brown and 50% green.

Good luck with your composting.

dear sir
wht is the solution fr the wealy?

any body from gujarat ?

Woohoo almost the entire compost bin was finished or almost finished compost today. I couldn't put it all out today my elbow is still being a pain. But I got out about half of it and added some new from the reserve pile. Come Sunday or Monday depending again on the elbow I'll get the rest out and into the garden and add a complete load of leaves and grass. It sure is nice to have good weather for this and gardening so far into the fall. It was hard being stuck inside in the excessive heat this summer. I hope all the seeds I chose for next year will survive the heat and lack of water. I'm alittle concerned about all of that.

I fed my compost coffee, and the grounds, potatoes with the peels they were going bad, salad mix, beet peels and tops, carrots raw and with the greens, soda flat,grapes, rice, leaves brown plants and grass, cherry tomatoes that went bad, and more......... It's really getting clumpy and need to find a screen soon!!!!!

I think I finally have my mixture right...seems to be working ...YEAH!!!

tea bags
coffe grounds and filter
egg shells
banana peel
garlic paper
shredded junk mail
bread
vegtbles peelings
dry leaves
garden clippings

Well I've finally kicked the caffiene habit with help. So the compost bin got a big dollop of coffee lol. It also got a large dose of spinach, celery tops and other assorted things to help the dry grass clippings get going. I don't think I'm going to get out there to turn it today. I could suprise myself but I'm kind of tired already so I don't think so.

Hope you all have a great day.

Can I put the entire tomato plant in the compost pile or just the yucky, left over tomatoes?

Also, do you guys cover your garden areas (flower and vege) with compost for the winter? If you do what do you do in the spring when things start sprouting? How do you know it's not weeds or things you don't want?

"shredded bills and other junk "

Is there more than 1 Bill? Were they hurt in the process? Is it nice to refer to someone as "junk"

Sheri,
I don't put any tomato plants in mine,
but I have that disease in my soil....
So, I don't, cause it would keep it coming
back and be a really vicious cycle...

I do leave some tomatoes on the sides of
my beds... I like to get some volunteers and
give some plants away...

You can put your compost on your soil now, if
you have all of your plants out and can do that..
And/or have lot's to do that with...

How do you tell the stuff that's sprouting....
For me.... it's letting it go long enough to
learn and remember what the stuff is... as it
sprouts....I remember what the first leaves look like, and then what the first TRUE leaves look like, and soon, you'll reconize it right off....
Time and Patiences and willing to keep looking
at the seedlings...

And posting a picture here for fun of it, just
to make sure what it is...
YOU KNOW HOW WE LOVE GOOD MYSTERIES HERE!!!!!!!!

Ok..I am new to composting (never had a real place to actually do much until now), and after reading everything that can go into the compost bin...I have been throwing away ALOT of useful "stuff" that the compost bin should be getting. But I do have a question...We have wood heat, can I use "some" of the wood ashes in the compost bin????

YES, it is very good for your compost pile....
AS LONG AS IT'S JUST WOOD!!!

But don't put tooooooo much in...
It can be over done if you do....

*as when composts' are done, it is very
close to alkaline... and putting in the
wood ash would put it way over the end of
alkaline... like too much...

A good sprinklin' in between layers when
you do your green/browns.. you should be good to go...

****We used to use some of our wood ashes,
on our driveway in the winter time, so we wouldn't slip on it when the driveway would ice over..*we lived on a hill, so we needed something
to ruff up the slippery driveway!!!****

And another foot note, no coal ashes either....
Those are very icky for composts...

Ok..Thanks for the advice, I had planned to just sprinkle a little on the pile...I will have toooo much ash to use for anything, I do always save some for the ice storms we get...I sprinkle it on the gravel road in front of our house to remove the ice.

Ok here's a laugh for all of you composters...I am now going gung ho with composting, I was digging through the trash can today, I already separate all of my trash, so it wasn't too yucky...recycling everything useable for the compost bin. And I have already informed hubby that certain items goes into a different trash can for the compost pile. I do have another question: I have a 5 pound bag of flour that has weevils in it...can this be put in the pile???

I cant see why not...I know I would throw it in...but you may want to wait for someone else to answer your question. As I am new to this composting this too.

It is addicting I tell you! I LOVE it!

Good Luck with your new found hobby.

I will be sprinking in some ashes today too...and maybe turning it...dont know if I should be yet, but I just cant wait any longer..I have to see what is going on in there LMAO

I've been known to throw bad flour and cornmeal on the compost pile.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You...I am sure I will have more questions later on.