composting and fish fertilizer questions

Okay, so I have a bin that I've been composting continuously in for the past 3 months. Now everything was all of the way broken down, but I just started using it. I put it at the base of all of my plants and have started putting it in holes before I plant anything, then cover it with soil. Some of the peels were just from last week so they are still hole. My question is, will this cause disease or bug infestations? I feel like I am putting straight garbage into my garden. Also, the same questions apply to the fish fertilizer. I feel like I will be the most hated house on the block for a while until that God awful smell goes away. It is supposed to smell like that? I just bought it yesterday and the label says deodorized-HAH!

growing up wrote;"Now everything was all of the way broken down, but I just started using it. I put it at the base of all of my plants and have started putting it in holes before I plant anything, then cover it with soil. Some of the peels were just from last week so they are still hole."

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. If everything is all broken down, then nothing is whole anymore. Peels from last week should not be used until they have been composted to the point of decomposition, from what I understand. Do you mean that part of it was completely broken down, but you added new green "stuff" to the pile?
Margo

Yup. The compost was coming along pretty nicely and was untouched for quite some time (other than turning and mixing), but I recently started adding kitchen scraps again. The compost that was older still hadn't really turned to compost though. From what I could tell, I added the correct ratios of greens to browns and water, but I think that it was the kinds of browns I used that made my problems. Corn husks, cardboard, the twiggy branches didn't break down at all. I thought I had read that if I buried fresh scraps, they would compost in the ground. Was this not right?

I'm new to this, but I thought that one didn't "use" it untill it had finished composting. I know that raw manure (except rabbit and maybe goat) are a no-no, so maybe I was just assuming. There is a soil and compost forum, maybe they could help?

This message was edited Jun 26, 2007 7:48 AM

I don't have any manure in my compost, only kitchen scraps, yard clippings and various papers.

Was the "Now" in the sentence supposed to be "Not"? If so, that would make more sense: "Not everything was all of the way broken down, etc...."

I don't know much about composting, I haven't done it, but I've been thinking about it. I have read that sometimes you can use the "hole" method where you dig a hole in the walkway of your garden, fill it with scraps, bury it, and then dig another hole. Maybe you could pick out the scraps and do that and use the stuff that is well composted around your plants.

As far as the fish fertilizer, do you mean fish emulsion? If so, I've been meaning to ask someone what exactly fish "emulsion" was......sounds like it doesn't smell very good though....

Kristie

Sorry about the typo, is was supposed to be 'not'.

The fish emulsion smells horrible! It said deodorized, but even with the cap on, never opened, I could smell rancid fish. The smell isn't so bad now a couple of days later. When I walk outside, the smell doesn't hit you in the face any more. But, if I am standing directly in my garden, it smells like 1920's Cannery Row.

It seems to me it would be hard to eat anything out of a garden if it smelled like 1920's Cannery Row.....lol. Maybe I'll avoid Fish Emulsion......thanks!

Kristie

There are several ways to make compost from household waste, you either store it in a compost bin/heap etc and turn it every so often, OR you dig a trench in the veg bed, it needs to be about a spade deep, then add your new/fresh garden/household waste, and then cover with the soil you just dug out of the trench, as you plant your seeds/small veg plants, the waste will rot down at the same time as your plant roots start to reach the depth of this waste, so it will be a good bit composted by then, because it is well burried, no smell, animals etc, will disturb it and your plants/veg will get the goodness from the rotted compost, dont throw fresh kitchen stuff on top of the soil or you will attract slugs, mice, rats or any other animals that will find this a nice bit if dinner. your compost bin needs to be almost full before everything will start to rot as it is the heat from the amount of household scraps that help the breakdown into compost faster, but not in a few weeks, it will take much longer than that, it should look like a nice dark soil like the comopst colour you buy in bags from the store, and should not smell of anything but soil. hope this helps
WeeNel.

Luckily, living here in the desert, we don't have slugs or snails. I've never seen a rodent out here, but that doesn't mean they don't live out here. I went back over everything and burried it good with soil and mulched over it. There was never any smell and my garden seems to have gotten the boost it needed. Thanks for all of your suggestions.

I just finished using fish emulsion on our garden this morning (which I do regularly, once every couple of weeks for some plants, less frequently for others). Even properly diluted it does give off a pretty strong "fishy" smell at first and my hands smell strongly of it. (I'm quite popular with our dog at the moment).

But it dissipates (right term?) rather quickly after application. I'm using an old fashioned watering can and putting it directly on the ground by the stem/roots rather than spraying it on the foliage. I guess I might pass on eating some nearly ripe lettuce or spinach that had been recently "fish fertilized" on the foliage, but otherwise I can't imagine this causing any problems for your vegetables. On the contrary they will be happier as a result, good green color and lots of production. Especially good to use when your vegetables are at the blossom stage.