I need a Compost 101 class

WendyGR

I really want to start composting. Here are my hurdles right now:

1) DH says it will be stinky.

2) I get really confused when I start reading about all these ratios. Math is not my strong suit.

Help! 

Hey Jellisy

It really isn't stinky at all.  We've been composting for years and I have never noticed an off smell.

Truthfully, don't worry too much about the ratios. It's not rocket science.  Your compostable material wants to break down, you just need to give it a place to do it.  All summer long you will have lots of greens (grass clippings, garden waste, kitchen scraps), in the fall you will have lots of browns (leaves).  We keep the yard waste in a pile (leaves that went through the lawmower and grass clippings and add it to kitchen scraps in our tumbler.  When the tumbler is full, we add the kitchen scraps to the pile (buried) or to a second composter, let the tumbler complete the process (with daily turns) and then begin again in the tumbler once everything is broken down.  If you don't have a lot of browns right now from your yard, you can use shredded newspaper, dryer lint, dirt from your yard, etc. to supplement.   

What method are you thinking of?  Tumbler, bin, pile?  In my experience you will eventually need two compost areas set up if you plan on using your compost in the garden.   

FoxinFiji

Compost piles aren't really smelly.  If they are you probably need more browns.  Things recently put in the pile might smell a little but if you bury them down into the pile (which is good to do anyway) you won't smell them at all.  

Don't get scared by the "math!"  It's not really that hard at all.  Just have both browns and greens.  If there is more than one vs the other it will just take a little longer to decompose.  We just dot the classic pile composts in a 3 part open ended bin made of 2x4's and chicken wire.  I like it because we can have different piles at different stages and not have to dig through a huge tumbler/bin for usable material.  People with one tumbler are always asking what to do with their partially decomposed compost in the tumbler on the green living board so they can start a new pile.  Ideally you would have two. 

WendyGR

Hey Jellisy:

What method are you thinking of?  Tumbler, bin, pile?  In my experience you will eventually need two compost areas set up if you plan on using your compost in the garden.    

I haven't decided what method to use yet. We have a couple of "dead" areas in our yard that are sort of out of the way. Does it need sun? (dumb question I'm sure, I told you I was new at this!) 

FoxinFiji

WendyGR:

Hey Jellisy:

What method are you thinking of?  Tumbler, bin, pile?  In my experience you will eventually need two compost areas set up if you plan on using your compost in the garden.    

I haven't decided what method to use yet. We have a couple of "dead" areas in our yard that are sort of out of the way. Does it need sun? (dumb question I'm sure, I told you I was new at this!) 

Nope it doesn't need sun.  In fact shade will help keep sun loving weeds out of the pile (if you're using the pile method).  Just tuck it away in a corner where you don't see it from your windows but is easy to get to.  If you want to add to your compost pile in the rain/snow/cold it's nice to have it not too far away. 

jessicaclare

I think its a huge misconception that compost piles are stinky. We use the pile method and just throw everything on there. The only issue we had at the beginning was racoons, but once we figured out that we hould bury new compost underneath, it was fine.

Compost is pretty easy to figure out. I also couldn't believe how much it cut down on our garbage every week!