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!

In article
,
" wrote:


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?

More air quickens the process as does particle size which is the same
thing. Time.

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.

Nitrogen, Blood, Manures some are expensive some are thrown away
go with the latter. Time again.

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.

You are not composting you are rotting. Still you are not trashing
things that were once alive.

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/bibli...780878579914-0


Thanks for your input!

Bill who thinks improving your soil is good for you and future folks.

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

wrote in message
...
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?

It will eventually rot down but if you want compost, you must turn it.

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.

The most important additive is the introduction of air by turning it. The
other important additive is nitrogen which can come from the grass clippings
but also from such simple things as urine or some form of nitrogenous
fertiliser.

3. Are grass and leaves enough variety to get a good pile going?

Yes, but you must get the carbon/nitrogen ratios right. Most of us don't so
give it a hand or just let things rot as you are doing.

Again, I am lazy, so saving and bringing food scraps out to the back
of the yard is really a bummer.

The easiest thing to do with food scraps to improve your soil is to simply
bury them. this can result in animals digging them up so whether you do so
or not depends on your situation.

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:54:35 -0700 (PDT),
" 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?

It will still decompose, although more slowly and more unevenly. Get
yourself a D-handle fork and use it once a month. It will help get
oxygen into the pile and you won't have the stink.

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.

It is best not to add anything, except water if needed.

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.

The best mix is 50% green and 50% brown. So your mix of grass and
leaves will work fine. It is better to add vegetable scraps, coffee
grounds/tea bags, etc. To get your pile to really cook a 1 cubic yard
of material is minimum.


Thanks for your input!

Phisherman wrote:
On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:54:35 -0700 (PDT),
"
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?

It will still decompose, although more slowly and more unevenly.
Get
yourself a D-handle fork and use it once a month. It will help get
oxygen into the pile and you won't have the stink.

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.

It is best not to add anything, except water if needed.

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.

The best mix is 50% green and 50% brown. So your mix of grass and
leaves will work fine. It is better to add vegetable scraps, coffee
grounds/tea bags, etc. To get your pile to really cook a 1 cubic
yard
of material is minimum.

What I haven't seen anyone list is soil. I add in dirt that contains
earthworms.

Tom J

On 3/17/2008 3:36 PM, Tom J wrote:
Phisherman wrote:
On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:54:35 -0700 (PDT),
"
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?
It will still decompose, although more slowly and more unevenly.
Get
yourself a D-handle fork and use it once a month. It will help get
oxygen into the pile and you won't have the stink.

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.
It is best not to add anything, except water if needed.

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.
The best mix is 50% green and 50% brown. So your mix of grass and
leaves will work fine. It is better to add vegetable scraps, coffee
grounds/tea bags, etc. To get your pile to really cook a 1 cubic
yard
of material is minimum.

What I haven't seen anyone list is soil. I add in dirt that contains
earthworms.

I only added dirt to start the composting process. Dirt adds the
necessary molds, yeasts, and bacteria. A good compost pile might be too
hot in the center for worms. Once the pile is "working", I just leave
some old compost in the pile to "innoculate" new material.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/

"David E. Ross" wrote in message
. ..
On 3/17/2008 3:36 PM, Tom J wrote:
Phisherman wrote:
On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:54:35 -0700 (PDT),
"
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?
It will still decompose, although more slowly and more unevenly.
Get
yourself a D-handle fork and use it once a month. It will help get
oxygen into the pile and you won't have the stink.

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.
It is best not to add anything, except water if needed.

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.
The best mix is 50% green and 50% brown. So your mix of grass and
leaves will work fine. It is better to add vegetable scraps, coffee
grounds/tea bags, etc. To get your pile to really cook a 1 cubic
yard
of material is minimum.

What I haven't seen anyone list is soil. I add in dirt that contains
earthworms.

I only added dirt to start the composting process. Dirt adds the
necessary molds, yeasts, and bacteria. A good compost pile might be too
hot in the center for worms. Once the pile is "working", I just leave
some old compost in the pile to "innoculate" new material.

I also sprinkle each layer of compost with a little dirt to innoculate it. I
find that worms show up after the compost has mostly composted and gone cool
without additional effort.

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, 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.

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.

"Jonathan Ball" wrote in message
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.

I quit getting uncomposted clumps when I started always sprinkling some dirt
over each layer.

In article ,
"Bob F" wrote:

"Jonathan Ball" wrote in message
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.

I quit getting uncomposted clumps when I started always sprinkling some dirt
over each layer.

For what it's worth, a few yarrow leaves are supposed to speed up the
decomposition process.
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/

3. Are grass and leaves enough variety to get a good pile going?

Not really - you've hit the nail on the head, as they say. Grass and
leaves will EVENTUALLY rot up into humus. However, a compost pile works
best if you have lots of active, hungry redworms, and you regularly go back
and put apple cores, banana peels, etc. on it.

We have found a balance by using a 5 gallon bucket for our compost under
the kitchen sink. 5 gallons is enough so that we don't have to make trips
out to the compost pile more than once every 7 to 10 days. The lid fits
tightly, so we rarely get unpleasant odors indoors.

It may help to have an actual enclosure for your compost. I used some
wood pallets that a business had discarded, 4 to be exact. I then bought a
half gallon of copper napthenate at Lowe's, and proceeded to use an old
paint brush to treat all of the wood against rot and fungus. I let the wood
air out in the sun for a week. Treating the wood allows the pallets to last
for about 10 years instead of just 3 or 4.

Then I turned the pallets on their sides to form a simple box. Next I
used wire to bind them together. You can put some chicken wire on the
inside if you want. Today as a big bonus, we have lots of active redworms,
so I can always get some free fishing bait, too.

"OhioGuy" wrote in message ...
3. Are grass and leaves enough variety to get a good pile going?

Not really - you've hit the nail on the head, as they say. Grass and leaves
will EVENTUALLY rot up into humus. However, a compost pile works best if you
have lots of active, hungry redworms, and you regularly go back and put apple
cores, banana peels, etc. on it.

The worms won't survive in mine till it cools off. Then they magically appear.
No effort is needed.

"Bob F" wrote in message
. ..

"OhioGuy" wrote in message ...
3. Are grass and leaves enough variety to get a good pile going?

Not really - you've hit the nail on the head, as they say. Grass and
leaves will EVENTUALLY rot up into humus. However, a compost pile works
best if you have lots of active, hungry redworms, and you regularly go
back and put apple cores, banana peels, etc. on it.

The worms won't survive in mine till it cools off. Then they magically
appear. No effort is needed.

indeed, who needs a worm farm. In a cold compost system the thing will be
teeming with worms. Same as with poop piles, my dung bins are chocka with
worms.

rob

In article , Charlie wrote:

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:54:35 -0700 (PDT),
" 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!


http://journeytoforever.org/compost.html

http://www.howtocompost.org/cat_generalinfo.asp

http://www.compostguide.com/

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/k...omposting.html

http://compost.css.cornell.edu/Composting_homepage.html

http://www.soilfoodweb.com/03_about_us/approach.html

http://www.homestead.org/Gardening/R...ig%20Duchess.h
tm

Should tell ya' what ya' need to know.

Care
Charlie

Your not becoming an arborist, are ya Charlie?;-)

Oh, by the bye, I've heard that gardeners need to avoid getting horse
manure from a horse that has just been wormed because it will also kill
their earth bound cousins. Got an opinion? Actually, this sounds like a
question I should ask Lee.
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/