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So I realized my cat has been pooping in our compost. Do I need to empty our bin and start over? I used it in my herb pots.
@Laura,
If it is not being used for edible plants and you aren’t going through the compost with your bare hands, I’d probably say don’t worry about it if you can keep the cat out in the future.
Maybe get rid of any poop that you see with a trowel, keep the pile, and only use it for trees and shrubs, if you want to save it?
But if you want to be totally safe, just abandon the whole pile.
If you are pregnant, stay away from the compost completely.
The issue is the toxicity of cat poop. If you want to get grossed out, here’s a reputable link.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2637/if-cat-poop-is-so-toxic-to-pregnant-women-why-arent-there-more-birth-defects
Hello, How do I safely store extra compost for the future? We recently purchased too much compost to start off our new square foot garden. It was expensive and was delivered to our home and can’t be returned. How can I store it for future use? Is it best to store it airtight, or does it still need to breathe? I was thinking of putting it into a trash can with holes drilled all over the sides. Also, if completed mature compost is being stored for future use, does it need to continue being stirred once a week like regular decomposing compost in order to prevent undesirable bacteria or fungus ruining the pile? Any info pointing us in the right direction regarding storing our extra compost would be very much appreciated! Thanks!
Which is the better material for a tumbling-type composter: galvanized metal vs. plastic? I was thinking of making an inexpensive homemade composter by using a trash can, drilling holes all over the sides, securing the lid in place with a bungee cord, and then rolling the trash can on it’s side once a week. If I use a large plastic trash can, do I need to be concerned about the chemicals in the plastic leaching out into the composting soil? It will get quite hot inside the composter on a hot summer day, and with all the health warnings about plastics leaching harmful chemicals when storing food, etc, I was wondering how a plastic composter might affect the compost? Might there be bad chemicals in the compost that would now be used in the vegetable garden? Please tell me your thoughts on this? (I understand most of the consumer composters for sale are made of plastic.) Thanks for your input. 8^)
@ Christy
The galvanized metal one will be heavier, and will probably rust when you puncture it, because non-galvanized parts of the metal will be exposed.
I don’t worry at all about plastic leaching anything, personally. Even if it did, it would be a tiny amount. I think the risks are so small as to not even be measurable or realistic, because the type of plastic in most trash cans is often the same as plastic in actual food barrels that food gets shipped to restaurants in. If you eat at restaurants, you are already eating actual food that came in direct contact with the same type of plastic.
Hi – I just started composting and have a Smith & Hawken stackable bin. Do I also need a secondary storage place (tumbling bin, etc) to “cook” the compost or will the materials in my compost stackable bin continue to “cook” as I add new materials to the pile every few days?
@Carrie
No, you don’t need a secondary storage place. The stackable bin is already designed so that material breaks down as it goes through the three stacks, if I remember that bin correctly.
Even with a regular compost bin, you can always keep adding to it if you practice continuous composting instead of batch composting. The finished stuff will be at the bottom, and the unfinished stuff will be at the top. You can also run it through a screen if you really want to go crazy and make sure nothing unfinished gets through, but I don’t think that’s really necessary.
Just keep adding, and you’re good!
Hi – I’m in the process of picking out a composting bin for my backyard. I see that some models claim to make compost in 3-4 weeks, while other models take a year to make compost. I have some questions:
1.) Is it even possible to make compost as quickly as 3-4 weeks?
2.) If I did use the “quick” composter, would be compost be as good or would it be a poorer quality compost?
3.) Will worms grow in the “quick” composter?
4.) What would you suggest, buying the quick or the slow and steady version?
Thank you so much for your time!
Dee
@Dee
1. It is possible to make compost in 3 to 4 weeks. Just not for you, probably. (Seriously, it’s possible, but it’s so unlikely that it’s not worth considering.)
2. The quality of finished compost is identical.
3. You can only get compost that quickly by hot composting, where the materials get as hot as 160 degrees. Hot composting is not compatible with worm composting, and you shouldn’t add worms. If you have a hot compost pile or bin that’s on the ground, worms might come up from below for a quick bite, but they will stay far away from the hot center.
4. It’s not the compost bin, it’s the person using it. You can attempt hot composting or cold composting (or even a semi-quick “warm” composting) with just about any type of bin. A guy that taught my master composter class could get finished compost in about four weeks from a giant compost pile with no bin at all!
If you are choosing a bin, you’ll want to consider capacity. Will it hold enough stuff? Then, do you want a regular bin, or a tumbler? Tumblers are easy to turn and to keep mixed and aerated, but they don’t hold as much and are more expensive. Regular bins don’t tumble, but are typically cheaper and hold more stuff.
Here’s a buyer’s guide I wrote. (There’s also a video!)
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/compost-bin-buyers-guide.html
A compost bin is mostly a personal preference. You can’t go too wrong, because most bins are pretty good.
I once composted with kitchen scraps, steer manure, and newspaper in a trench that wasn’t very deep, and the compost was wonderful.
Now I’m wondering what would happen if I put 4 lbs of ground up kitchen scraps (I used my blender), and 12 lbs of newspaper, and and 2 lbs of manure in a five gallon bucket with a lid that I put out in the sunshine for a couple of months. Do you think this would work. I don’t have any lawn clippings but I do have a lot of dead weeds. I don’t have a chipper/shredder. This is a temporary fix until I get a proper composter.
@Norval
There’s no drainage in a five gallon bucket, so the contents will probably go anaerobic and not break down as well. Drainage and aeration are important things to consider.
If you buried that same stuff in a hole in the ground, it would probably work fine. Or if you drilled a bunch of holes in the bucket. However, things like that in a small sealed container (as opposed to in the ground) don’t break down as well as in larger containers, like your previous 33 gallon trash can experiment.
I once re-routed my garbage disposal to dump into a 33 gal garbage bin that had a lid with a hole and holes on the bottom and side, added one part steer or horse manure and one part lawn clipping to the compost slurry. When the can was full, I put a lid that didn’t have a hole and rolled it around the yard, then left it for 3 months or so. When I got back from travelling, I had compost and compost tea which I worked into my garden soil and things grew just fine. Was this just fool’s luck?
@Norval
You had a good mix of rich organic materials, and a container with drainage, and you mixed it and then waited for it to break down. Sounds like good composting to me!
Used to compost in the ground and was quite successful- our waste management offered compost bins and I elected to try this. After about a month, my compost is growing lots of veg of some sort and when I open the lid a lot of gnat looking things fly out, they’re probably mosquitoes but didn’t want to hang out long enough to find out. I have oak leaves, and compost dirt ( sand) from my original compost pile along with the fruits and veg that I started with. I even added some big worms to help the process along. The lid offers low and high ventilation. What is the difference and what am I doing wrong? Thank you for your assistance.
I just bought a tumber composter and the directions say I need to use 75% grass clippings.
1. Why can’t I use veggie scraps instead since that is comparable in Nitrogen content? I don’t understand why it insists on grass clippings at such a high ratio. I thought the ration was 3B to1G so now I am utterly confused. Is tumbler recipe different than other style composters?
2. It also says, no worms – why?
3. If someone used fertilizer on their lawn 5 weeks ago, are their grass clippings ok for my compost that I will eventually use on my organic veggie garden, or will the fertilizer the previously used blow ‘organic’ gardening for me?
@Martha
1. Those instructions are probably talking about DRIED grass clippings, which are carbon rich, because the nitrogen disappears when the clippings dry out. (That’s the weird thing about grass clippings. They can be a nitrogen rich material or a carbon rich material, depending on if they are fresh or dried out.) That would explain 75 percent grass clippings, since you typically have more carbon rich stuff than nitrogen rich stuff, by volume. You may certainly substitute any other type of carbon or nitrogen rich material with a compost bin, and none of them will require any specific ingredient.
2. You don’t add worms to a compost tumbler, because worm composting is different than regular composting. Regular composting generates heat, and will kill all the worms. Compost tumblers are also off the ground, so the worms can’t come and go into the soil.
With a bin on the ground, worms are sometimes drawn to the contents of the bin and will eat from the bottom and crawl up into the bin, but then they’ll leave if it gets too warm or dry or whatever.
3. It depends. I’d say it’s “close enough” and still consider it organic. As long as you aren’t trying to get some kind of official certification for “organically grown,” I think it’s fine. If you want to be picky about it and want it to really be completely and totally organic, I’d probably leave it out. But then you have to consider if you’re eating produce at home that isn’t organic and adding THAT to your bin, wouldn’t that be an issue for you too?
A friend of mine just offered me horse hay that their horses do not want to eat for my compost. Is this something I can use?
Iars, THANKS so much! You explanation is clear and concise and I am finally starting to get this composting business!
THANKS!!!
Martha
Hi! I’m a new gardener and was so excited when I put in my flower beds around my house lst summer. The original soil was very rocky, occasionaly very sandy, and also had some left over construction material. I removed the orginal soil (aproximately 18 inches deep) and replaced it with only bagged compost. Now after reading about how compost should be used an as soil ammendment, I am worried about the overall longevity of my beds. My hostas, purple cone flowers, & tulips all seem to be thriving…should I try to mix in or even add to the top, some topsoil to better retain the water? The beds seemed to be pretty dry & loose even after watering. I have noticed that the bulbs flowered pretty early…should I start from scratch on all this & replant my current growth in a new mix of soil & compost?
Hi, any compost that I use on my company’s garden must be “heat-treated” to take care of liability issues associated w/microorganisms in the compost (ridiculous if you ask me!!). Can you tell me the temperature that compost must reach to be considered “heat treated” and if it’s possible to achieve in a small compost bin? Thanks so much! Laura
@Laura
I don’t know if there’s an official answer, unfortunately.
I’d look into “solarizing”, where you spread on cement and put it under clear plastic to heat treat it.
I have started a composting bin that I purchased from Costco.It has been working for about 6 weeks.We added small pieces of box wood when we pruned them.Their still as green as the day we put them in,everything else seems to be doing well.Why is the box wood taking so long?
Thank
Wanda
@Wanda
Thick and woody materials in general take a very long time to break down. With shrubs and other woody stuff, it helps to run it through a chipper shredder, or otherwise chop it into smaller pieces for it to break down faster.
My question: I have a tumbler composter I used last year and got great compost.
This year’s pile, which I started in the fall with leaves and kitchen scraps, is still not finished. I can wait, but not only doesn’t it seem to be cooking, now it stinks! Like garbage. I don’t put any meat, dairy, fat, etc. etc. in there, and it has plenty of brown stuff. I think it might have gotten too wet when I watered it – could that be it?. The other thing that occurs to me is that I’m putting in garden cuttings that are just too big in there. If I pull out a dead plant that’s a foot tall, I just sling it in there! Too lazy to chop them up I guess. Any thoughts on the stink?
Thanks so much!!
@Nina
Bad smells are usually the rest of one or more of three things:
1. Meat, dairy, fat, grease. (You aren’t doing this. Good!)
2. Too many nitrogen rich materials, and not enough carbon rich materials.
3. Too wet, so that the contents go anaerobic and stinky anaerobic bacteria take over instead of the aerobic kind with well aerated materials.
My guess is too wet, or too much nitrogen, or both. Leave the top open in dry weather for a while and/or add more dry, carbon materials like shredded newspaper or dry leaves to soak up the water and balance things out.
Giant pieces take longer to break down that chopped up pieces. But if you don’t care about the longer breakdown time, it’s no big deal.
Good luck!
My husband and I compost. but I think we are doing something worng . my husband just tool some of the dirt out and it has avery bad order to it . What should we be doing or not be doing?
Can liverwort or regular moss be composted or will it just cause problems? Also, if I have large open (cement block) bins for composting, should I cover them w/ tarps to heat it up?
Hi Lars-
I have a standing compost bin that is full of grubs or mealworms. Im not positive. I understand that these are great for my composting, but am worried about using the compost in my garden. Are these grubs going to attack my garden? or how about once they’ve matured into beetles, will they be hazardous then?
@Caleb
By the time the compost is completely finished, the larvae will probably be gone. I imagine they’re eating the materials that are breaking down.
I’ve never really worried about it, and my vegetable garden and yard do not have beetle or grub problems. So I think you’ll be fine.
I wanted to know if you can plant vegatables in just compost without mixing it with soil? Will the plants still thrive, or grow even bigger and stronger and yummier?
@Megan
It’s possible to grow vegetables in pure compost, but you have to be careful. If the compost isn’t completely “finished” it will hurt the plants and prevent them from thriving. You’d be better off mixing compost into your soil. If you’re planting in a container, or a raised bed, I recommend the Square Foot Gardening soil recipe, which is 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 peat (or coir).
Marilyn June 12, 2010 at 7:29 am
I throw all my raw kitchen scraps in the garden, and I use all my grass clippings for mulch in the garden. In the spring I til in any leaves and etc I have around the yard, and add some cow manure. Sometimes I put newspaper in also. Does any of this do any good since I am doing it at different times?
@Marilyn
Yes, it’s still very good for your soil and garden if you do it a little bit at a time instead of composting it the “official” way. Adding organic materials to your soil is a good thing!
if i added compost to clay would it make the clay able to plant things like vegetables and things like that?
@John
Yes, adding compost to clay soil helps loosen it, and will improve drainage and fertility. It also help with sandy soil.
It won’t necessarily be immediate, and you’ll have to add a lot.
You might consider a raised bed garden on top of your clay soil, too. It might be an easier way to grow vegetables without requiring as much work.
Here’s a blog post about clay soils and compost.
http://site.cleanairgardening.com/info/beware-mixing-sand-into-clay-soils.html
We built a 9 ft. 3 bin composter out of Douglas Fir. The plans came from the Lowe’s Website. Is there something we could finish the outside portion of the wood with to offer it some protection from the Arizona sun, but that won’t contaminate my compost, which will be used for a vegetable garden? Linseed oil was suggested. I’m assuming that most varnishes are out of the question. I can’t find anything on this subject. Help!
@Suzanne
I don’t really have a problem with painting or varnishing the outside of the bin, and I don’t think it would hurt or contaminate anything.
I’ve pointed out before on this site that the EPA actually considers compost a way to remediate contaminated soil. Even soil that has been contaminated with explosives. So even if you were a little bit worried that the varnish might be harmful (which I am not, personally), then the compost would offset it to some extent.
http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/composting/pubs/bioremed.txt
Can I add outdated flaxseed meal or pancake mix to my compost?
@Karen
Yes, those ingredients should be fine. Assuming you aren’t talking about 20 pound bags or something! Because large amounts of a single material can overload your pile.
For best results, bury it deeper in the pile, just in case squirrels or other rodents might find it interesting.
My rabbit poops AND PEES in pine shavings. Is it ok to add it all to the compost bin?
@Chris
No problem with the pine shavings with rabbit poop and pee. The only issue might be that the shavings are so woody that they take a little bit longer to break down. But the rabbit part is fine.
why is it that when i get my compost pile built up that after a few days it turns into a smaller pile.
thank you for your answer
@tracy m
It turns into a smaller pile because it’s working!
As organic materials break down into compost, they also shrink in size. Your final amount of finished compost might only be 10 percent of the size of what you started with. That’s totally normal, and it sounds like you’re doing a good job of making compost.
My compost bin is cranking out lots of nice black compost–has been for a couple of years. When we first broke ground on a veggie garden I turned a lot of compost into the soil, in addition to using it as a mulch around some of the plants. Did the same in year two. Now that we are established at this, is it beneficial to keep turning more compost into the soil before each growing season, or should I just use it for a mulch, or do you have another suggestion? Thanks for your help!
@Larry
Vegetable plants are often heavy feeders, and can deplete the soil over time. So it’s a good idea to keep adding more compost every year to keep the soil fertility high.
Can you put boxwood clippings in a compost? Started to pit them and then just thought because I don’t know that they shouldn’t go in for some reason, ie ph, acid.
@R french
Yes, you can compost them. Really woody materials take a very long time to break down though. If it’s mostly woody material (like branches), then don’t overdo it. If it’s mostly leafy, then you can add more.
Today I wanted to begin composting and am using an old 100 gallon resin(plastic) cow tank. I weeded my garden and placed weeds, lettuce waste, etc. into the tank. Will this work? Do I need holes in the bottom?
@Cheyenne
Compost needs oxygen to break down the quickest. So you’ll get better results if the tank can drain. Otherwise, it will be a slimy rotten anaerobic mess at the bottom after you get a big rainfall. If you don’t drain anything, it will all still break down eventually. But it might stink like crazy, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
I know that you can compost hair, but what about animal fur? My long-haired cat is molting like crazy, and I’m wondering if I can add her discarded fur to my compost.
@Monica
Yes, you can compost animal fur.
The only caveat would be that like any other material, if you have too much of one thing, it will slow things down. So if you were a groomer, for example, you might end up with too much fur to compost effectively. As long as you have plenty of other materials in there too though, it should be fine.
My first ever compost pile has finished. Woo! I was able to use it because I had to throw out zucchini and yellow squash plants from my garden. Squash borers infiltrated their stems, and my best most beautiful zucchini plant flopped to the ground. After some investigation, I saw the slimy little grub crawling back into the stem he had ruined, so I knew it was squash borers. My question is, can I use plants that have been attacked by grubs in my compost? Should I cut off the stems and just use the leaves or something?
@Sarah
Squash borers are caterpillars that turn into a moth. So composting the stems shouldn’t hurt anything, because caterpillars don’t lay eggs — only moths.
The moth lays eggs at the base of the squash plant, according to this. So the eggs probably wouldn’t be on the leaves either.
http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=804
I would imagine that the eggs hatch quickly, so they wouldn’t just sit there dormant in your compost pile for a year, regardless.
They would either hatch in the compost (where they wouldn’t find any vines) or they would get burned up by the heat of the pile.
I have seen articles on making a compost bin from a plastic trash can, is this a good idea? Is it too late in the season to start? I have kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, newspapers, and grass clippings. I’ve never done this and have a lot of questions. This website is very helpful. Thanks.
@Rhonda
Yes, it’s perfectly reasonable to make a compost bin out of a trash can, as long as you make sure it has drainage and aeration holes.
It’s never too late in the season to start composting. Compost generates its own heat. When there are freezing temperatures outside, the composting process will temporarily stop. But it will start back up again on its own when the weather starts to warm up. So you can keep adding to your bin all winter, as long as there’s room to put it in. It just won’t break down and/or break down very quickly during the freezing cold months.
I’m thinking about using two garbage bins — either plastic or metal for batch composting. Since many people use plastic compost bins, and since the materials get really hot, don’t the toxins in the plastic leach into the compost, which would then leach into fruits and vegetables if you have a fruit/vegetable garden?
Thanks
@Robin
It’s all about what you’re comfortable with, but I personally have absolutely zero worries about anything from the plastic leaching into the compost. The truth is that compost is used to remediate toxic materials — even stuff like explosives. So it’s unlikely that some minute amount of plastic stuff would hurt your compost.
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/composting/pubs/
I just started composting. I have a barrel type. Can I use moldy vegetable scrapes from refridgerator. I am juicing using alot of carrots, spinach and apples. I keep a container in the fridge but often it starts molding before I put it in the composter. Is this okay or should I not use moldy vegetables?
@MylaRay
Yes, you can absolutely compost moldy or rotten vegetables. Composting is the process of organic material breaking down, and it doesn’t hurt at all if it has already started to rot in the refrigerator before you add it to the compost bin.
If I make a pile of horse dropings in the garden in the fall will it compost enough to use on the vegitable garden by spring? It is a lot of work to compst it in the corner of my land then dig it out in the spring. I live in north west Ma. thank you and how will i get this answer?
Hi – I started to compost probably about a year now. I try to remember to turn it but I really don’t do it that frequently. Up until now I’ve had no insects in the bin. Today I saw a roach (ugh) and lots of crickets! What should I do? Are they good for the compost, I can’t believe roaches are good for anything!! It doesn’t smell but I’ve never had these insects before! It seems very slow at decomposing also. I live in Arizona so I thought it would really cook!
Hi! If your grass clippings have weeds in them, will the compost end up growing weeds? If manure is such a great fertilizer, are pet feces a good or bad thing to put in the compost?
Hi,
We just got a compost tumbler and are excited to get started. My question is about the safety of using coffee grounds in our compost, given that we have a dog who frequently digs, eats grass and plays in the yard where the composted soil will eventually go. I realize that coffee grounds are excellent for compost, but that they are also toxic to dogs. I feel fairly certain that she won’t get to the compost while it is “cooking”, since the tumbler closes securely. But, I’m wondering if the process of decomposing will change the grounds enough that they will no longer be toxic to her once they are part of the soil. The same question would also apply to other organic materials that are known dog toxins, such as grapes and raisins. But, I’m mainly concerned with coffee grounds as I know they would play a bigger part in the composting process.
Thanks,
Susan
I just started composting and was wondering if I should turn the material inside and how often…and also how long will it take on average for the material inside to change to the good stuff?
I work for an elementary school and everyday they throw away at least a bucket full of cooked vegetables and fruits. Could these be used in composting? I have made a composting tumbler at home, but from other readings, they say don’t put cooked fruit and vegetables in. Need a little help. Thanks
I recently bought a tumbleweed compost maker. I haven’t used it yet. I live in Santa Fe , NM in the high desert at 7000 ft. I’m noticing it advices to use 75% grass cuttings or lawn trimmings, and 25% food scraps. We don’t really have grass here. I do have a minimal amount of weeds, leaves, and other yard waste, although I noticed you suggest not to use weeds either. Mainly what I want it for is to recycle my food scraps. I don’t have a huge need for compost per say right now, but I want to recycle the material, so it’s ok if it takes a little longer to decompose for my needs. My question is can I add straw or hay to the bin with the food scraps? Will that work to decompose and to make compost? Otherwise, what would you suggest? I don’t want to use it until I hear back from you incase I need to exchange it for another type.
Thanks!
I have a pet parrot. She is really clean and eats only organic pellets and produce. I have been putting her tray newpaper, which contains a few of her droppings, in my vermacomposter. I recently read that that wasn’t a good idea, but i’ve also read that vegetarian animals droppings can be added. What is the right answer?
I am new to composting and bought a tumbler – from research, seems this is the easiest method for beginners. I mowed my lawn and dethatched the soil to pull up all of the brown material. Thinking this would be a good “mix” for composting, I added it all into the tumbler. I continued to add kitchen material twice weekly(coffee grinds, egg shells, etc) and turned the pile daily. It heated up quickly but started giving off a strong amonia smell (too much nitrogen) so I added shredded newspaper. Smells earthy again. The pile is damp (not too wet / dry) but I have baseball sized clumps in it – looks like clumps of grass. Is this normal? Should I break the clumps up? Dry them out and break them up? Do I need to add more carbon or nitrogen material? This is actually my very first pile and any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I would like to start my own compost simply to recycle our kitchen scraps, but we don’t have a lot of brown / carbon sources from the lists I’ve seen. I am worried that we will have way more kitchen scraps than carbon sources. Do you have any suggestions?
I have been composting for the first time. I have noticed a white, surf-looking substance in it. The compost got very wet and perhaps to much green in it. Is this white stuff ok?
I have a round tumble type composter. I put somethings in every
day and rotate the composter, but it occurs to me that I need to stop and just let it work without adding any new materials. But that is two months without using any of the materials that I could use. Tell me how long I can let it build up before stopping?
There is a giant old tire (like a tractor trailer tire) that someone abandoned just behind my property line in the woods. Can I use this to hold my compost? Sorry if this is a dumb question–I’m just beginning this process and I thought I might have a solution right in my backyard…
Thanks!
Nikki
here’s a silly question… How about the cores of apples? I can’t find anything anywhere that says you can or cannot compost them because of the seeds??
@Christy
Yes, apple cores are absolutely acceptable to compost, and make a very good nitrogen rich material.
Lots of different things you can compost have seeds, but the dampness of the compost and the heat that the composting process generates usually prevents any of them from being viable.
The only real exception is that you want to be careful about adding weeds that have gone to seed, because weeds are tough, and so are their seeds.
Why are the worms crawling to the top of the worm bin?
I have a Worm Factory vermicomposter and love it, but I am thinking about getting a compost tumbler to process the waste from my garden that my worm bin simply can’t keep up with. My question is, with a compost tumbler, can you continue to add material to the composter throughout the composting process, or do you need to wait until the batch is complete to start a new one? Thank you.
Can I combine leaves and grass clippings to my compost pile and leave it that way for the winter I live in the Philadelphia area and we have cold winters. If I do leave it out in the yard what should I do so it decomposes by spring? How can I save for next year some leftover compost I would like to use in early spring? Can I leave it out or is there some other method I can use to perserve it?