Can I test my compost pile to ensure that it is doing well? This is our first year trying to compost (bought a compost barrel that we rotate) and it just doesn't look right to me. Each time I open lid, little flying bugs come flying out. Is that good? bad?

Egg shells do not seem to ever break down. Should I even be adding them?

Are artichokes ok to add? They are so thick and fiberous and, by looking at them, I am guessing that they might not break down very easily either.

Though I didn't start out by doing this, I have, for about the past 3 weeks, been collecting all of my organic veggie waste in my kitchen in a large bowl. Once bowl is full, I have been blending it all up in my Cuisinart Food Processor, thinking that perhaps this will help speed up the breaking down process. Is this ok to do??

Thanks so much all!,

Mindy

If you have lots of fruit and vegetable scraps in your compost bin, and not much else, you are going to have little flies. If you throw in some browns - shredded newspaper, last fall's leaves, ripped up cardboard box - the flies should diminish.

Compost takes a while to come to fruition - just wait it out, if you can.

I second the recommendation to add more dry brown materials. One thing about puree-ing your waste is that it will not give any 'fluff' to the pile, and air will have a harder time getting into the center. It may actually be better to leave at least some of the scraps unpulverized. Just a thought, I haven't done what you're doing.

If it's drippy wet, leave the door open in dry weather to get the moisture down.

This might be a dumb question, but would dirt serve as brown material?

Reason being is that I don't have any organic leaves, newspaper or cardboard boxes to add. Our garden is stictly an organic one. Any other ideas on something that would serve as brown material that I could find in an organic form possibly?

Mindy

This might be a dumb question, but would dirt serve as brown material?

Reason being is that I don't have any organic leaves, newspaper or cardboard boxes to add. Our garden is stictly an organic one. Any other ideas on something that would serve as brown material that I could find in an organic form possibly?

Mindy

Certainly you have junk mail you could shred (or tear up) and add to your pile. It would serve as a source of carbon (brown).

Do you know a woodworker? Wood shavings or sawdust are a super brown.

Wood chips from utility tree trimming crews.

Shredded yard waste mulch from a municipal mulch pile.

Square bale of pine shavings sold as horse bedding at the farm supply. One bale (about 1-2 cu ft) will last a long time and is <$10.

There has to be SOMEthing.

The use of "dirt" is not as a carbonaceous addition. It can be used as a cap to prevent N outgassing. Sir Albert Howard would be a good read.

Some believe incorporating dirt innoculates a compost pile with needed fungi/bacteria etc. Anecdotally, not needed.

Food Processor, yes, a great idea, but I found precooking is very good. Microwaving fruits and vegetables speed them up. I think a Food Processor is too much work, because you have to take apart the blades and clean them out.

You put everything in a big Pyrex type of bowl and nuke for about 2 to 5 minutes.

The word "organic" in the context of gardening is an invented term and is meaningless in and of itself. Trying to decide whether leaves are more organic than shredded paper or the like strikes me as an exercise in futility. You are keeping things out of landfills and/or reducing strain on your local recycling facility, so choose what will yield you the best batch of compost.