Comments on: Making Compost – The Basics

By: steve

steve — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:25:42 +0000

@Becky, Make sure you bury kitchen scraps, especially fruit scraps deep within your compost pile or compost bin. This will help reduce them. They’re a nuisance but don’t hurt anything, if you rotate or mix it regularly it will help.

By: steve

steve — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:10:51 +0000

@William Lee Sr., Assuming your compost pile has a good mix of browns and greens and is moist, wait two to three weeks then check your compost temperature. If it has not reached 100 degrees give or take 5, give it a good mix and add some nitrogen, if you have coffee grounds those work well. Most coffee shops give them out for free. Then mix it weekly unless it does not get above 90 degrees, and if less add more nitrogen.

By: William Lee Sr.

William Lee Sr. — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:18:48 +0000

Hi
I’m starting composting in a recently built bin. I live in Mid-Indiana. Do I need to wait til the temp. in the compost pile reaches 105F before I start turning it?

By: Becky

Becky — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:27:08 +0000

We have lots of fruit flies in our compost. Is this normal? Is there a way to get rid of them? When we open the lid they come out by the 100′s!!!

By: steve

steve — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:05:09 +0000

@Dean, It’s possible your compost will attract rats if you already have some in the area. It really depends on what type of bin you have to know if it will be a problem. If you have a sealed composter with small air holes it will likely not be a problem, but large holes may. Make sure you bury your food scraps deep within the content and that will help.

By: dean

dean — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:25:04 +0000

when Iput stuf in the composter it is allwas at the same level would that be a good thing

By: dean

dean — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:20:01 +0000

I got a composter a few days ago I want to know if it would atreac mice and rats

By: steve

steve — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:10:37 +0000

@angie, A compost thermometer would be helpful, you need to be sure your compost is getting hot before turning it. Also, make sure it stays moist; if your compost is not as a moist as a well wrung out sponge add some water. Also, make sure you have a good mix of carbon material and nitrogen, with a majority of it being nitrogen, a 3 to 1 mix is good, but does not need to be exact.

By: angie

angie — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:59:48 +0000

I started a compost bin in October and now it’s Jan. in Pennsylvania. I turn the compost weekly, anything else I should be doing ? Will it be ready in April even though there is a considerable lack of heat over this time period ?

By: Jess

Jess — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:49:47 +0000

I’m doing a research project on hoop houses being created for an organization, and this site was so informative on compost that now I want to start one myself! And the comments/replies were just as helpful as well. Thanks for creating this site!