My 1st Composting experiment

I built a compost bin in my backyard for the first time. its 3'x3'x3' of chicken wire and wood support. I started the pile with a healthy dose of leaves, garden debris (old tomato plants, carrot tops and other vegi scrap - chopped up) I threw some Chicken Manure (from Home Depot) on it and I have been feeding it Egg Shells, Coffee Grounds and Kitchen Scraps (clean Vegi scraps and bread).

My question is:

How filled should my bin be?

Am I adding the right stuff?

Am I missing anything? (i have no cover for it....)

You can fill the bin to the top, but it breaks down faster if you turn the compost occasionally so leave a little room for that. Wet the compost down once in a while as moisture helps in breaking it down.

If you have an old plastic tarp (shower curtain, visqueen) to cover it with, it will help hold in heat and speed up decomposition.

You can feed it any organic matter, but no meat, fat, oils or dairy products...mainly due to attracting pests, rodents etc and how long it takes that stuff to break down.

Ok. Thanks!

I think after two years of putzing around different garden sites and not finding the answers I need. I believe that the Subscrition Price for Daves is not out of the question...

I have alwasy been able to find the answers I need here, But I need more!!!

I'm Addicted to my Garden!!!!

See you in the other forums!!!

I agree...someone here will always have an answer, or at least help you head in the right direction. $20 is a fair price for the wealth of experience that comes with it. A good investment.... Looking forward to running into you around the Garden. GRIN

If you do decide to subscribe, there's a Soil & Composting forum where you can probably get some more advice on your compost: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/soil/all/ There's also a California gardening forum--our climate is so different than other places in the country that it's nice to be able to get advice from people who are familiar with the climate. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/region_ca/all/ If you don't want to spend $20 you can also buy a couple months membership for $5 just to see if there's enough here to make it worth spending the money.

Hi Onecoolcad, glad your making your own compost, have to tell you, this becomes addictive ha, ha, ha. You are doing well, you can add anything to the compost heap that is found around the home like Fluff from the clothes drier / carpet cleaner, old newspapers shredded up (just rip the pages into about 2 inch wide strips) I do try to keep the colour pages out as the colour had chemicals in it.
Tee bags, coffee grounds all kitchen scraps (NO COOkED FOOD) this would attract vermin, if you have a wood burning stove, use the ash, add old compost from pots, weeds BUT no flower / seed heads, don't add the roots of perennial weeds like Dandelion etc or they will regrow as you add the compost to the garden IF the heat in the compost bin has not killed them off, same with seeds from weeds.
As you get used to composting you will instinctively know what you can add, like Grass cuttings in thin layers with either newspaper or shrub pruning between to allow air into the heap, if you don't, the grass cuttings will smell. hope this is a little help, happy composting, spread the word and get friends to save their kitchen waste for you. Good luck. WeeNel.