Shouldn't it be decompost, really?
Oct. 8th, 2012 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desperanceSo I went out into the back yard and worried at my compost-bin a bit, and then decided to be proactive.
Thing is, back in the UK, making compost was easy. It was basically What My Back Yard Did: it was a machine for generating compost, which then got recycled into plant growth, which then got recycled into more compost. It's the real reason I had to move; I had three bins in a narrow yard which could really not take much more in the way of garden beds or pots, and every bin was filling.
Here, though? I installed a bin last year, and I've been filling it steadily for six months, here in the warm of California, and I had really expected to be shovelling good dark humus from the bottom by now. But - well, not so much. This is another country, and things rot differently here. I think I let it lie too dry all summer; so this last month I've been running the hose on it a lot, and for definites it is too wet now. I know this, because I have been deeply engaged with it for the last half-hour.
I lifted off the bin and set it down to one side, and then basically I turned the whole heap over: lots of fresh stiff tomato-clippings underneath to provide structure and aeration till they decompose, and then all the dense decaying matter flung in on top, interspersed with dry paper shreddings and the occasional shovelful of corporate compost from the town dump. I think it'll be okay, come spring - but that again is UK-Chaz talking, wise in the way of British compost and honestly a little bit at sea over here. I'm just doing what I know to do, and hoping to see the results that I am used to.
It is at least busy with little life, albeit mostly woodlice. Are there no worms in California? I think I have yet to see a worm, which is kind of what our entire compost-culture depends on where I'm from. Anyone with CA-specific advice, I am very ready to listen.
Thing is, back in the UK, making compost was easy. It was basically What My Back Yard Did: it was a machine for generating compost, which then got recycled into plant growth, which then got recycled into more compost. It's the real reason I had to move; I had three bins in a narrow yard which could really not take much more in the way of garden beds or pots, and every bin was filling.
Here, though? I installed a bin last year, and I've been filling it steadily for six months, here in the warm of California, and I had really expected to be shovelling good dark humus from the bottom by now. But - well, not so much. This is another country, and things rot differently here. I think I let it lie too dry all summer; so this last month I've been running the hose on it a lot, and for definites it is too wet now. I know this, because I have been deeply engaged with it for the last half-hour.
I lifted off the bin and set it down to one side, and then basically I turned the whole heap over: lots of fresh stiff tomato-clippings underneath to provide structure and aeration till they decompose, and then all the dense decaying matter flung in on top, interspersed with dry paper shreddings and the occasional shovelful of corporate compost from the town dump. I think it'll be okay, come spring - but that again is UK-Chaz talking, wise in the way of British compost and honestly a little bit at sea over here. I'm just doing what I know to do, and hoping to see the results that I am used to.
It is at least busy with little life, albeit mostly woodlice. Are there no worms in California? I think I have yet to see a worm, which is kind of what our entire compost-culture depends on where I'm from. Anyone with CA-specific advice, I am very ready to listen.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-08 08:04 pm (UTC)I'm not sure what your compost setup is. Many cities give away plastic tiered bins for composting; the plastic is usually black, which heats the stuff up (warmth discourages woodlice, too), and also holds moisture. There's usually a grate or something at the bottom for shoveling it out, and the bottom is a mesh that allows drainage and worms to enter.
Earthworms are not actually native to the US! They are around, though, but it sounds like your compost got too dried out for their liking. In the rainy season the opposite tends to happen. You probably need to sprinkle your compost more frequently during the dry season, or even in winter if drought continues, and fluff it more often. It shouldn't be saturated, though.
You might look into a worm bin for faster composting, particularly of kitchen waste. They are plastic boxes (tiered) in which you put your starter compost and a starter can of red wriggler worms that break the stuff down. You have to keep them damp enough to be happy, of course, but it is a way of skipping past waiting for the local worms to colonize your compost from below.