Another random question, I seem to have read different answers to the question, Am I supposed to add some soil to my compost? Thanks again! Ally

You can compost the coffee filters. They break down pretty quickly.

You can compost bread products, just don't advertise it. There is a folk or two on this forum that has a strong aversion to the concept of soggy bread.

I can't answer the water question because I've never used a tumbler. In times of low rainfall, I do add water to my big open piles.

I usually leave the lids off of my Earth Machines to catch rain. If it doesnt rain over the week I hit those with the hose. But I'm not sure how much moisture a tumbler holds, so I don't have a recommendation there.

I have a twin tumbler and pretty much never add water. I do wet the browns realy good before adding them.I take a bucket and fill it with browns and then add some water from the rain barrel. Let it sit for anywhere from an hour to over night. The greens are very wet so I don't really add to much more.I am going to add some coffee grounds/filters from Starbucks today to the one side but will put some rain water in there first. Let it get good and soggy first.
The motto in this house is if it came from the earth it goes back to the earth, well the tumbler.

Sandy

Ah Ally, you have toucherd the raw nerve of this forum: to compost bread or not to compost bread.

There are two schools of thought. Well, really two schools and one offshoot.

1. The annpat school of composting which says never compost bread. This is not so much because bread is bad in the compost but because annpat has a very active imagination and can't stand the thought of soggy bread. Her one exception is noodles. The logic behind this is because "it is the noodle's nature" to be wet and soggy.

2. The berryman school of composting which says compost every type of bread you can find. Even donuts and brownies with frosting. And taunt annpat at every opportunity. Brag about the rich, black, bread enriched compost you are getting and even arrange bread crust greetings to annpat on top of said compost.

3. The final school is the one I follow. (annpat, stop reading now) Compost it, but don't taunt annpat about it.

ok guys.ya'll r gonna make me choke from laughing while eating my wet noodles.lol. and who has leftover brownies?????????

Bootscootengal - don't forget that after someone has done the Heimlich manoeuvre on you what comes up is a green, if you were eating noodles when you choked. On the other hand, if you were eating cardboard at the time it's a brown.

Ally, you're all up in it now, look what you stepped in. :-]

Your compost should be moist like a wrung-out sponge. Too dry, it will stop cooking. Too wet, it will drain nutrients away and possibly develop bad odors. Water tends to channel through chunky stuff, so when you water, close immediately and turn a few times to distribute the water so it doesn't run right through. You shouldn't need to water frequently with a tumbler.

Your question about when to stop adding stuff is the classic problem of having only one bin or pile! If you have two, you can stop at some point, let that pile finish, and start a new one.

Of course, when you have two, you'll start thinking about a third, and then you're on a slippery slope to compost madness. :-D

Cool! Yeah, I had read the recent "bread" posts on here and got a good laugh out of them, but I was still confused on the "right" way. :) I have read that bread should not be composted, but in other places I've read that it's ok. For those of you who DO use it, does it attract unwanted pests?
Also, should I add soil to my compost? Thank you all so much for the warm welcome! :-) I'm so excited about having a MUCH improved veggie garden next year since I've started composting! :)

Ally, you don't need to add soil to your compost, and I'd generally recommend against it. It used to be thought that you needed to inoculate the pile with appropriate bacteria and fungi, but enough of these will be already present - they start reproducing and grow to larger population sizes when you give them the right environment.

Why recommend against it? I guess you'd only have trouble if you added a lot. It's heavy to turn. And, being largely mineral, it isn't going to be eaten by compost beasties. And it might get in the way of air circulation.

On the other hand, if you're pulling weeds and there are clumps of soil on the roots, don't worry about it, small amounts aren't going to make trouble.

lcpw (lisa)

toxcrusadr said "Of course, when you have two, you'll start thinking about a third, and then you're on a slippery slope to compost madness. :-D "

LOL

Once you have 2 piles you'll need the 3rd to turn the 2nd one into.