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Jonathan Ball · 18-03-2008, 06:04 PM posted to rec.gardens

Jonathan Ball wrote:
wrote:
Hi everyone. I am a novice gardener and first time homeowner who has
a question about composting. I have a corner in my backyard that I
have used to dump grass clipping, leaves, and small twigs for the
better part of the year. Now that spring has sprung, I walked to that
corner of the yard expecting to find some black gold that I can use on
my rose and vegetable garden. But what I found instead, was a bunch
of stinky wet leaves that were blackened, but not fully decomposed.
Now I figure that everything is in the process of decomposing, but I
thought that I would have had more by now. So here are my questions:

1. I am generally lazy, so will the compost pile still decompose if I
don't go out and turn it? Or is turning it a must?
2. Are there any additives I can add that will naturally speed the
decomposition process? I remember hearing on TV that bone meal can be
sprinkled on the pile in between layers, but I wasn't sure if that did
anything.
3. Are grass and leaves enough variety to get a good pile going?
Again, I am lazy, so saving and bringing food scraps out to the back
of the yard is really a bummer.

Thanks for your input!

I think too many people want to fetishize composting. I like doing it,

Composting, I mean; not fetishizing it.

and I don't mind working at it some, but I don't figure I need to learn
all that much about it.

If you don't like turning the whole pile, and I agree that can be a lot
of work, you should at least get a fork and mix up the new material and
a little bit of the top layer when you put new stuff in the pile. That's
sufficient to keep leaves and grass from clumping; when the stuff clumps
together, it really slows down the decomposition. After adding a lot of
new material, sprinkle a couple of shovelsful of soil over it, and stir
that up a little with your fork; lots of bacteria in soil to help with
the decomposition. Keep the stuff reasonably moist, and that should be
all you need to do.