ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do? (Gardening - Composting)

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I have a large coffee can full of potato peels, egg shells, apple peels/cores and used coffee grounds. Trouble is, I just kept adding to it and kept the lid on (about a week now) and when I opened it to add something to it this morning, I noticed little mold patches "growing" in there. Should I throw it all away? Or can I use it to start a compost pile? If I can still use it, what should I add to it and what should I keep it all in? I don't think keeping it out in an open pile would be possible. It really smells (like what else?....rotten potatoes - LOL) I'm really afraid it will attract all sorts of "undesirables". I'd really like to compost but I need it to be neat and not smelly and not attractive to flies, other bugs, stray cats (which we have an abundance of) etc. What type of container or whatever, can I use to compost in? I know it must have some sort of air circulation and that must be the problem with the coffee can thing here. I've kept the lid on and I should have done something sooner with the contents before it molded right? PLEASE HELP!!!

-- Greenthumbelina (sck8107@aol.com), April 19, 2001

Answers

Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

I would think it is fine,everything rots and "grows" mold.As long as no meat or dairy is in it use it.

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), April 19, 2001.

Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

Mold is part of decomposition. Decomposition is what composting is all about. Put it outside in a compost pile.

-- Chamoisee (chamoisee@yahoo.com), April 19, 2001.

Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

There are many different ways to compost. Containers can include: a store bought "one bin" systems which can be purchased in hardware and gardening stores. These containers are usually made from recycled plastic and look kinda like R2D2 (from the Star Wars movies). These have a removal top for dumping stuff into and a door at the bottom that slides up for removal of compost. The cost ranges from $30 - $90. Effective and neat.

Then there are homemade multi-bin systems. These can be made from pallets and chicken wire. These types are best for households that generate a lot of waste materials. There are also "tumblers" which can be expensive and are kinda small, but they work fast.

A quick, inexpensive way to compost is to make a wire collector from field fencing or rabbit wire. The problems are little heating of material and susceptible to scavengers. However, keep covered with a lid and when compost if finished, just remove wire.

There is also the "lazy man's compost" which is simply a pile put in the corner of the garden or property where stuff is just dumped. This is also susceptible to scavengers, but we've not had any real problems. We dump a shovelful of garden soil on the pile periodically and occasionally stir it up with the garden fork.

Until you can get a container in place, take what you've collected so far, dump it somewhere close to your garden and cover with some leaves, dirt, shredded newspapers, etc. Then when you have your container, just add your covered pile to it.

In the kitchen, I use a large, uncovered plastic container from my grocery store deli that holds about 5 gallons of stuff. Don't worry about mold. That doesn't effect the composting process.

Just about everything can be composted expect meat, bones, grease, and dairy products. These things take a long time to break down and smell to high heaven.

Once your compost pile starts "cooking" you'll have beautiful "black gold" to add to your garden.

Good luck and thanks for reading.

-- Dianne in Mass (dianne.bone@usa.net), April 19, 2001.


Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

I keep all of our vegetable scraps, etc. in an open ice cream pail on the counter. [Do not add meat or grease or dairy--eggshells are okay-- this WILL attract animals] I've noticed it smells worse if we cover it. It fills up really quickly in the summer, so it gets dumped every day or two, and doesn't have time to smell. We just dig it into a pile outside by the garden, and it never attracts any undesirables, esp. if you have it mixed with grass clippings or dirt or some such. You can encircle it with a piece of fencing to keep it neater, and remove it to turn it, or make a bin out of pallets (which is what we intend to do one of these days) Or spend a fortune on a ready-made compost turner barrel...lots of ways to make the pile look "better". Also, keep the pile somewhat moist with a garden hose or something. It will decompose much faster.

-- Tina Durie (jtdurie@frontiernet.net), April 19, 2001.

Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

The environment you have going in your coffee can produces anaerobic decomposition, i.e. without the presence of air.

What you want for composting is aerobic decomposition, i.e. in the presence of air.

You also need other materials to make a successful compost pile. Think of compost as being like baking a cake. There are certain materials that make up the whole product. To make compost you need to have both carbon and nitrogen materials. Think of the two as dry, and damp or wet. Similar to the ingredients such as dry leaves and wet grass clippings. The carbon of one is broken down by the nitrogen of the other.

I can't seem to find the correct ratio of material at the moment, but believe for the fastest break down it is 60% carbon product to 40% nitrogen product. With the proper ratio, a compost pile will not have any odor other than an earthy smell. Just layer the materials, and it always helps to toss in a little dirt that is teeming with organisms. A pile must not be soggy or it will stop composting, but must still be damp.

To hasten the break down of material you can chop it finer. You can also turn the pile every few days to speed up the compost process. If you leave the pile unturned it will still break down, but make take more than a year to do so.

Now, go make some of that black gold.

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), April 19, 2001.



Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

I've often forgotten to dump my scrap bucket until things have gotten really soggy. I just dump it in the compost bin and cover it with some grass clippings, leaves, or existing compost. That usually eliminates any odor. We have a plastic composter from Home Depot that works really real. The temperature gets up to about 140 degrees. After a couple weeks, we take the compost out of the bin and put it into a compost bin made from pallets. We have another pallet bin that we put excess grass clippings and leaves in and we let that one slow rot. And another one that we transfer the finished compost into if we don't need it for the garden yet. I usually don't worry too much about percentages of leaves vs grass vs scraps. I just put yard waste and kitchen waste in and let it go to work. We also don't do too much turning and still have more compost than we can use. I don't put egg shells in though. I save them and crush them to put around the flowers and vegetables to help keep the slugs off. They don't like to crawl across the sharp edges. Good luck with your composting!

-- CJ Popeck (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), April 19, 2001.

Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

Greenthumbelina, as I remember, you are in a townhouse or something in Florida? You may not be allowed to put any of the above compost piles or pallet type bins in your yard, depending on the homeowner's rules, or whatever. When in a similar situation, I purchased a plastic trashcan, cut a bunch of holes about 1 inch in diameter with a utility knife--actually they were triangles, easier to cut than circles, all around the can. Put your yukkies in there, add your grass clippings and so forth as you get them, and try to mix it or roll it on end once or twice a week. Viola, you will have compost, and the neighbors won't know. Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), April 19, 2001.

Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

Just leave the lid off and the scraps won't go into anarobic decomposition. We use an open topped 1 gal bucket to gather scraps for our worm bins and bury it about every 4 days in the bins in the back room. Look at the vermicomposting threads in the archives. We discussed household arobic composting with worms pretty deep there. There are also good simple instructions available in the Nov 2000 Countryside and the site www.magicworms.com if vermicomposting interests you. A good book on the subject is "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 19, 2001.

Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

Hello Greenthumbilina, I think that your best solution would be to purchase a vermiculture container, and some redworms. These can be purchased or made. People use them as a way to reduce their kitchen waste without having the problems of a compost pile. The vermiculture container along with the worms will consume an average families kitchen scraps on a daily basis. The worms eat the waste. The worms multiply and can be sold or used in your garden. There have been several worm farmers posting information in regard to those that might be interested in such. One of the websites that I thought was quite interesting and may be useful to you is: www:magicworms.com Also, take a minute to check my website a read the reply that I posted to your questions about gardening in South Florida. I hope that my suggestions will be helpful to you and that you can start a great garden in the fall. Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), April 19, 2001.

Response to ICK...ICK...and YUK - What do I do?

I don't use a compost bin. I just take a shovel and dig a hole in the garden row and bury it. I always have some spaces not in current use, and that's where it goes, so I don't accidently dig into it too soon. I use ice cream buckets with lids under the sink. During canning season I take out 5 gallon bucket fulls and bury them, a couple a day!

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), April 19, 2001.


Thanks to all of you for your responses. I'm going to try to find a simple composting bin somewhere this weekend. I'll probably try Home Depot but I don't know if the one nearby carries such a thing. I don't know if they get much of a need for them here in the city. I have another (dumb) question. Can you use breads in composting? Like leftover cornbread, muffins, regular old bread, pancakes etc.? Just wondering. I know you can't use dairy or meat products but I wasn't sure about the breads. Thanks

-- Greenthumbelina (sck8107@aol.com), April 20, 2001.

Sure you can put breads in a compost bin. It may attract scavengers if your bin is open, but most compost will (my dogs will eat most vegetables and I've found my cat snacking on breads). Just buy a bin that's contained and you're all set. You need to balance your carbons and nitrogens. If you need sources of nitrogen, you can get hair from a barber shop (beauty salon hair has more chemicals in it generally speaking) or soiled bedding from a pet shop. I put the dirty newspapers from my parrot's cage in there. Most of your typical veggie scraps will provide carbons.

-- Sheryl Adams (radams@sacoriver.net), April 21, 2001.

I know I keep asking questions about what you can and can not put into your compost pile/bin etc. but every time I get ready to throw somethig away now, I wonder if I should or shouldn't put it in the compost pile. Now I want to know about bananas and the banana peels. I know bananas draw those tiny gnats or fruit flies or wahtever they are. If I cover it up with soil will it keep the bugs away? Thanks for being ever-so-patient with me on this. I truely am "GREEN" when it comes to composting. :o)

-- Greenthumbelina (sck8107@aol.com), April 23, 2001.

We are starting our first compost pile too. Chose a corner of our garden. I have been dumping all the stuff that the pig and chickens can't eat. Which isn't much because there are only two of us to cook for. I am currently worming my chickens and can't use the eggs they are laying for a time. Can I put the white and yolk in the pile as well as the shells? So far I haven't been doing that because I wasn't sure if eggs were considered meat or dairy. Would it hurt anything because of the trace of worming medicine that might still be in the egg? Thanks.

-- cindy (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), April 25, 2001.

It's ok to put bananas and peels in the compost just cover them with some leaves, grass clippings, or dirt.

-- CJ Popeck (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), April 26, 2001.


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