"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
hello,
the first batch of compost i made in my new! tumbling! composter!! was
absolutely tops. this second batch is not going well at all - would anyone
have any thoughts?

at first, it dripped profusely out the holes. then, it heated up. my
goodness!! i had inadvertantly made an incendiary device (don't tell john
howard) and it was actually smoking. i cooled it by turning it often &
leaving the lid off for 4-5 days until it cooled. after it cooled, it
recommenced to drip profusely. now, several weeks later, it's too cold &
the
composting stuff has merged into big wet gobs about the size of two fists,
i
can't get it heated & the gobs won't break up naturally & to do so with my
hands is extraordinarily unpleasant (whereas i don't normally mind _what_
i
put my hands in, so it's really not nice at all). i added some lime to no
effect. it doesn't smell bad - it just doesn't smell like anything at all
(certainly not that lovely composty smell).

my idea was that tomorrow i'll empty it out & break up the lumps with a
spade, & then put it back in for a while with some more lime & some
partly-decomposed chicken-pooey straw (for carbon with a poo-boost) & see
what it's like after a week. if still no good i might just dump it out to
break down on its own & start again.

does anyone have a better idea?

if you have some a spare corner in the garden and time on your side bung it
there (or even use as mulch in a fallow garden) and let the worms go to work
on it for 2-3 months. Concentrate on brewing up a better batch of compost
and let your volunteer helpers do their stuff.

rob

I agree with "george"- give it to our good friends the worms to fix for
you - they love the slimy smelly stuff. Help them out with a bit of lime or
shredded paper.
Geoff



"George.com" wrote in message
...

"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
hello,
the first batch of compost i made in my new! tumbling! composter!! was
absolutely tops. this second batch is not going well at all - would
anyone
have any thoughts?

at first, it dripped profusely out the holes. then, it heated up. my
goodness!! i had inadvertantly made an incendiary device (don't tell john
howard) and it was actually smoking. i cooled it by turning it often &
leaving the lid off for 4-5 days until it cooled. after it cooled, it
recommenced to drip profusely. now, several weeks later, it's too cold &
the
composting stuff has merged into big wet gobs about the size of two
fists,
i
can't get it heated & the gobs won't break up naturally & to do so with
my
hands is extraordinarily unpleasant (whereas i don't normally mind _what_
i
put my hands in, so it's really not nice at all). i added some lime to no
effect. it doesn't smell bad - it just doesn't smell like anything at all
(certainly not that lovely composty smell).

my idea was that tomorrow i'll empty it out & break up the lumps with a
spade, & then put it back in for a while with some more lime & some
partly-decomposed chicken-pooey straw (for carbon with a poo-boost) & see
what it's like after a week. if still no good i might just dump it out to
break down on its own & start again.

does anyone have a better idea?

if you have some a spare corner in the garden and time on your side bung
it
there (or even use as mulch in a fallow garden) and let the worms go to
work
on it for 2-3 months. Concentrate on brewing up a better batch of compost
and let your volunteer helpers do their stuff.

rob

I agree but she will not find out what was missing in the second instance.
Always add the shovel full of soil to introduce the proper bacterial
ingredients to the compost, but so not to kill them, add it after the
heap has cooled down. This is what may have happened initially.

Geoff & Heather wrote:
I agree with "george"- give it to our good friends the worms to fix for
you - they love the slimy smelly stuff. Help them out with a bit of lime or
shredded paper.
Geoff



"George.com" wrote in message
...
"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
hello,
the first batch of compost i made in my new! tumbling! composter!! was
absolutely tops. this second batch is not going well at all - would
anyone
have any thoughts?

at first, it dripped profusely out the holes. then, it heated up. my
goodness!! i had inadvertantly made an incendiary device (don't tell john
howard) and it was actually smoking. i cooled it by turning it often &
leaving the lid off for 4-5 days until it cooled. after it cooled, it
recommenced to drip profusely. now, several weeks later, it's too cold &
the
composting stuff has merged into big wet gobs about the size of two
fists,
i
can't get it heated & the gobs won't break up naturally & to do so with
my
hands is extraordinarily unpleasant (whereas i don't normally mind _what_
i
put my hands in, so it's really not nice at all). i added some lime to no
effect. it doesn't smell bad - it just doesn't smell like anything at all
(certainly not that lovely composty smell).

my idea was that tomorrow i'll empty it out & break up the lumps with a
spade, & then put it back in for a while with some more lime & some
partly-decomposed chicken-pooey straw (for carbon with a poo-boost) & see
what it's like after a week. if still no good i might just dump it out to
break down on its own & start again.

does anyone have a better idea?
if you have some a spare corner in the garden and time on your side bung
it
there (or even use as mulch in a fallow garden) and let the worms go to
work
on it for 2-3 months. Concentrate on brewing up a better batch of compost
and let your volunteer helpers do their stuff.

rob

"Jack" wrote in message
u...
I agree but she will not find out what was missing in the second instance.

i still think it was probably not enough carbon, but just not sure.

Always add the shovel full of soil to introduce the proper bacterial
ingredients to the compost, but so not to kill them, add it after the heap
has cooled down. This is what may have happened initially.

but i shouldn't "need" soil for it (although it might be helpful - i might
pop some into the new lot to see what difference there is), should i? there
was a bit of old compost left behind from the last lot (which was great,
without any soil) & that should have been bacteria a-plenty, logically
thinking.
thanks!
kylie