Compost

[Teotzlcoatl]

Is there anything I SHOULD NOT put in my compost pile?

As far as "organic" or "natural" things...

I've heard you shouldn't put citrus peels in a compost pile....

Any tips?

Anybody have any good ideas about where to get large amounts of quailty soil?

Cow feilds are nice...

[Teotzlcoatl]

Anybody?

[Jesus On Peyote]

http://www.garden-services.com/composting_waste.htm

Check that out

[Conan Troutman]

worms dont like citrus or onion..

avoid non-veg scraps as it attracts vermin and gets stinky...

and a good compost heap always enjoys are frequent dose of N some use Seasol other are fans of the ol golden shower or even a couple of Comfrey leaves..

also any diseased material should be burnt or disposed of in another way to avoid contaminating your soil

Edited March 16, 2008 by Conan Troutman

[Lachy]

I know that conventional wisdom suggests that worms don't like citrus and onion... however, I can say from personal experience that low levels of these types of waste don't seem to do any harm. In fact, the worms seem to be thriving in my compost bin which regularly cops both onion and citrus along with other fruit and vegies.

As to avoiding non-vegie scraps... fair call. Definitely don't add meat, but I've found that small amounts of shredded newspaper, eggshells and ash from the fireplace all seem to be beneficial to the compost. Just don't overdo it, I guess, is the best rule to follow.

As a general rule, I'd say that 80-90% of your compost should primarily be vegetable matter in origin. However, that's just my opinion.

Edited March 16, 2008 by Lachy

[Teotzlcoatl]

I used plenty of meat scraps, as well as dead fish and rodents.

[Lachy]

I used plenty of meat scraps, as well as dead fish and rodents.

Yeah? I would have thought the smell might be bit... pungent. Although you'd probably add a fair chunk of nitrogen to the mix by doing so...

May be worth pondering.

[Teotzlcoatl]

I was pretty much thinking anything "organic" could go into a compost pile....

Smell or animals are not a problem for me...

So I put lots of things in my compost pile...like- Leafs, manure, urine, dead bodies, all "organic" kitchen scraps, deceased pets, toe-nail clippings, lake silt, etc.

[mark80]

Smell or animals are not a problem for me...

mostly becuase he doesn't shower and runs around like tarzan/

[cycle]

There is a difference between a compost heap/bin and a worm farm. I know you are asking about compost though. Here's the what is as I understand it:

There are two kinds of compost, aerobic and anaerobic worms are similar in what you can feed them but different in function.

Those (black) plastic bins with the open base and sealing lid form anaerobic compost. That is there is little to no air so the it attracts micro-organisms that can survive in that environment. It's slow, basically rot and it tends to smell no matter what you feed it.

Aerobic compost piles need balance, air flow, a good solid cuboid form, nutrients; manure, sea weed (or broth), herbs, dry waste, green waste, etc. If you get the mix right the thing will "go off" or cook in pretty much a few days. You can then spread this "cooked compost" over a potential garden bed, field, etc and it will form a mulch/ nutrient layer which will eventually become soil.

Worm farming is what I know most about. I use and old bath, plenty of room, well draining. You can feed them anything other than onions or citrus (as was mentioned) this is because they prefer it a bit alkaline - a handful of lime or dolomite in with a feed every couple of weeks or so is a good thing. That said My worms definately have taste. For example it doesn't matter how many tea bags I throw in I'd never find one if I went looking (although I tend to have better things to do). But they don't really like lettuce or bread that much. Again its about balance. When the moisture and food levels etc are just right they can scarf down a hellavalot of waste but if something is out of whack then they slow right down. I don't tend to put any meat in though because it attracts rats and mice. Although I found a dead possum the other day so I gave the worms a treat. Surprisingly I havn't seen it since - I was a bit worried about how fast they'd be able to digest it.

Anyway I highly recommend worm farming because it's very hard to go wrong they just need a little water and we produce more than enough waste to keep them going. Actually I'm thinking of putting another farm in. Aerobic compost is brilliant if you can get it right but it can be tricky. I wouldn't bother with anaerobic worms just do a better job

edit: To answer your soil question the answer is feed it. Worm castings, compost, organic matter, mycelium all build soil but it does take time.

Edited March 18, 2008 by cycle

[kadakuda]

So I put lots of things in my compost pile...like...urine, dead bodies... deceased pets, toe-nail clippings...

Teo, i am sorry but i think you are now certifiably fucked up!

[Teotzlcoatl]

Haha! It was a joke...sort of...

No dead (human) bodies...

[Teotzlcoatl]

How about newspaper? It has to be black and white only right?

[ThunderIdeal]

why? throwing in a glossy magazine just means you are adding inorganic dyes, glues whatever, it won't kill your pile.

i guess the drawback of vermicompost (worm farm) is that there is no pasteurisation. a proper compost has two main kinds of microorganisms whose populations always flux. with the correct C:N (carbon and nitrogen) ratio, right amount of air and water, these microorganisms thrive and generate so much heat in the middle of the pile that most weed seeds and diseases will be fried. this sort of compost will contain mainly beneficial microorganisms and not pathogens. it will not contain macro-fauna because it is too hot for that sort of life. these piles need turning, so that all of the matter gets the fast decomposition and heat treatment in the centre of the pile, and to keep it from becoming anaerobic.

your dead animals can be sealed in a barrel of water, which is diluted into liquid fert, they shouldn't go into the heap i just described. so long as they rot into the soil, you get the benefit so i don't see the point in trying to compost them. i wouldn't be concerned by small amounts of onion or citrus.

[planthelper]

some of the print dye's can be or used to be quite toxic, and plants very well might take up those chemicals into there tissue, so they saying was, never use colored paper for your compost or mulching...

probably a good option is to have two or more different compost operations going, and if you have a lot of colored prints you would use this compost once it's ready only for your ornamentals.

one compost material which hasn't been mentioned yet are aquatic plants! in another thread teotz mentioned he lives close to some waterways, maybe you can pick up aquatic plant there...

many aquatic plants are pests so collecting is encoraged and in your garden they will produce a sheer magic.

seeweed and kelp are extreemly good aswell.

my personell favorites when it comes to special composts are fish poo / aquarium cleaning, leftovers and sting nettle compost.

stinging nettle can be collected in large ammounts and once composted on it's own, is the best magic additative in hemp culture!

and what can be said about worm farming? if you don't have a worm farm start one. producing worm compost is a much faster process than composting, and the worm compost is said to be more available to the plants aswell.

the thing is, that allthough your compost is very rich, only a fraction of the nutrients will be available to the plants.

the older the compost, the more the nutes will be available to the roots. but if you employ worms, it seems to speed up this process.

[ThunderIdeal]

interesting

the unavailability of nutrients from compost is party of the magic. a slow release of nutrients is what plants are evolved to deal with (even so called slow release fertilisers, in climates like queensland, can be exhausted very quickly, flooding the soil with nutes which either washes away or is uptaken by the plant in excess) (apparently nitrogen will be stored in the stems as toxic nitrites)

don't get me wrong, vermicompost gets a really good rap and sounds very worthwhile.

your idea of harvesting aquatic weeds is excellent. they are grown from nutes that are otherwise washed downstream, so it's almost like importing organic matter from somewhere else entirely.

[Teotzlcoatl]

some of the print dye's can be or used to be quite toxic, and plants very well might take up those chemicals into there tissue, so they saying was, never use colored paper for your compost or mulching...

Ok so black and white print only, right.

many aquatic plants are pests so collecting is encoraged and in your garden they will produce a sheer magic.

seeweed and kelp are extreemly good aswell.

Damn good idea! I could use mud from the bottom of the river too!

[Freaky Chicken]

What kind of compost heap do you have??

Is it the kind that you mix all the ingredients together and then sit and let compost or is it one that you are gradually adding indredients like a worm farm??

Either way if you add large amounts of one ingredient it is a good idea to mix it through as not doing so can form a layer that is slower to break down and can form dry patches this is particularly the case with ingredients with low nitrogen to carbon ratios such as leaves, weeds and newspaper.

If your going to add meat and animals to the heap I find that it is good idea to do a hot compost, it breaks things down really quickly and if done right it doesn't smell to bad.

I have in the past composted of ton of atlantic salmon in a compost heap mainly made of horse manure and comfrey nicely mixed together then turned over in a few weeks. The fish were kept away from the sides to avoid them being to smelly.

The heap managed to get to 60C/140F in just one day.

This was a large heap and we put polly pipe in the core then ran piping from it through our hothouse beds, then by pumped water through the system it heated the ground.

This was done in Tasmania in the middle of winter and allowed me to keep alot of my warmer climate plants alive through the winter frosts and snow.

Good luck with your compost, It can be lots of fun.

[ThunderIdeal]

fucking brilliant

[Teotzlcoatl]

Strange question... I guess I'll ask it here.

Could propane or natural gas used in cooking be a problem for cacti? Could hair spray or cleaning products?

Edited April 11, 2009 by Teotz'

[Freaky Chicken]

In what way is it interacting with your cacti??

[Teotzlcoatl]

It hasn't yet I'm just worried!

[FancyPants]

Would leftover tea or coffee be of any use to bulk up soil or would it just be totally useless? I drink a fair bit and hate throwing stuff out. However I don't have a compost pile and won't have one because it's just too much work for me.

[ThunderIdeal]

this attitude bugs me, but it's everwhere a compost pile doesn't have to be anything more than the name suggests.

you place organic matter outside where it rots down. nothing about it has to be ideal. as tea and coffee are organic matter, they will improve the soil along with any other kitchen waste.

[FancyPants]

^^^ Never underestimate the power of my laziness, TI It may one day but probably when I'm not living on my own.