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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Our Very First Composter

14 years ago

I've been wanting to do this for years. Our Brooklyn backyard now sports a Gardener's Supply Deluxe Pyramid Composter, with rodent screen, in the back where nothing grows under the deep shade of an oak tree. We started the pile by dumping soil from a couple of old, de-weeded containers -- filled with earthworms -- into the bottom of the composter and then started adding our veggie scraps. I know the basics of composting but could use a good reference to brush up. We're mixing our greens (vegetable trimmings, eggshells, bread crusts, teabags) with a pretty limited supply of browns (torn up paper from old leaf collection bags, torn up pieces of paper egg cartons and berry containers), so we got a leaf shredder and reduced eight bags of last year's oak leaves into three bags of coarse pieces.

I think the old potting soil at the base of the composter will provide a nice filter as juices from the new compostables succumb to gravity, plus such waterings will encourage the worms to climb up and sample the good stuff.

We'll have a meeting for everyone in the building sometime this week to decide on protocols for using/maintaining the composter. My cousin thinks we need to "inoculate" the pile with some finished compost from the community garden or some compost starter. I'm not convinced that's necessary. Isn't the point of such a system that you throw things in, balancing your greens and browns of course, and then let the whole mess sit and think about it for a few months? We have an aerator tool and a compost thermometer so we can vent the pile if it needs it. I'm taking a laid-back approach, thinking we can just let this composter sit and then scoop out some nice finished compost from the bottom of the pile sometime in the mid-fall, when we're dividing perennials and such.

Any advice, warnings, and encouragement are welcome.

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Comments (5)

sara_the_brit_z6_ct
14 years ago
M!!!

Welcome to the wonderful world of composting. Just remember, it isn't that technical - in the words of the Great Professor Dirt "It All Leads Back To Compost".

I've never inoculated a pile in my life. Nor have I ever produced a hot pile. But I get great compost, slowly. Compost Will Happen. If it smells, throw more leaves or shredded paper (junk mail!) on top. Laid back is good.
Mrobbins
Original Author
14 years ago
Sara! So nice to see you (virtually, that is) again! Thanks. I wish we had a heavy-duty shredder for all our junk mail. How small do you shred yours before committing it to the compost pile?
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I can help with that. I used pure sand to cover my washed out limestone soil when we moved in in 1992. After many years of being on an organic program my sand has enough dark matter in it to trick you into thinking it is dark soil. I know the sand is still pure white because I tested it during a remodeling job a couple years ago. The contractor dug up an old walk way through the back yard and I was surprised to see the very dark brown color of the soil under the St Augustine. I scooped some up and dropped it into a glass of water. The white sand dropped to the bottom of the glass immediately. Most of the brown stuff floated and there was some brown discoloration of the water. I used compost once on this yard in the late 90s. The sand came to me originally as a 50:50 mix with "compost" which was extremely hot at the time. It was basically sand and horse manure. Since 2002 I've used corn meal, alfalfa pellets, and corn gluten meal. That's all. The soil looks pretty rich but it really is only sand and the composted remains of roots, leaves, grass clippings, and whatever I've applied. Does that help?
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sara_the_brit_z6_ct
14 years ago
Oops, sorry, didn't see this until now. I have one of those shredders that cuts into strips and also crosswise. So, those are very small. But, if you don't have a shredder, don't worry: just tear the stuff into strips a couple of inches wide. Whatever the size, compost will eventually happen. It just depends on how quick you want it to be :)
Today I ripped three egg cartons into smallish bits and added them to the pile, because I'm short of browns. Cereal boxes, brown paper bags - whatever you've got. If it's paper/cardboard, then it was once a tree.
Composting doesn't have to be precise. Compost will happen.
toxcrusadr
14 years ago
I've been making compost for many years and have never inoculated a pile. Oh, I guess a lot of them had a few chunks from a previous pile. But those critters all came from the soil in the first place. I've never once bought inoculant or brought in something from outside as inoculant. Having said that it won't hurt if someone wants to do the legwork. Sounds like a great project, good luck with it!
User
14 years ago
mrobbins - You don't need to "inoculate" the pile. All the mold spores and bacteria you ever need are floating around in the air. They land, reproduce and you have compost.

Likewise, you don't need to feed it, nourish it or do much except make sure it stays moist and gets enough air. If it goes anaerobic, it will start to stink from the byproduycts the anaerobic bacteria give off.

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