Compost Questions

[BelleL]

I am trying to start a compost pile. I have been taking all the paper products that were ready for the trash, outside and mixing them in with manure. What else can go in a compost pile besides paper trash, old vegatables, fruits, and animal manure :1pig: ?
Any Help would be appreciated!!

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

tear up your paper as finely as possible.

Used hay, straw, leaves, grass clippings etc are the most common compost ingredients. Garden soil or topsoil can be added too as a starter. Some people add red wiggler worms to help the pile out too, although they will come naturally.

[moldy]

only use animal manure from herbivores. Cat/dog refuse can have disease or other nasty things present. I tear up egg cartons (the cardboard type) to help balance out all the "wet " stuff I put in mine. Egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, basically any food except fat and meat will work fine. If you add chicken droppings, it will need to set for a long time as they will burn plants if used fresh. Leaves are great to add. If your pile does not seem to be reducing soon, try adding a little flat pop (soda, coke, whatever you call it in your area). That always seems to give mine a boost.

[GoddessKristie]

You can put in just about anything that's vegetable based. A PP mentioned leaves, you can put wood chips in, a lot of coffee shops give away coffee grounds for your compost pile too. Paper is great, but I avoid colored inks 'cause they can have bad things in them. Cardboard is fine, again I avoid colored inks, our local paper recyling place gives away newspaper if it's for your garden as well.

[BelleL]

Thank you to all who replied to me!!! I didn't know that about the flat soda!

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Ag molasses works even better than flat soda (especially since I only drink pop sweetened with Splenda like Pepsi One). Molasses diluted is a great plant pick me up too. It has some nutrients itself, but it really gets the molds and bacteria working in the plants soil. Of course my sheep and goats will fight me for every drop - its why the ewes and nannies seem to enjoy being "jugged" to have their babies (tastee water).

You can never have too much poop like sheep, goat, rabbit in your compost. Of course you can just use the poop straight into the garden too. My asparagus gets about a ton each January and the bed is only 8 by 16.

[Paquebot]

If it were the remains of any living matter, it's capable of being composted. That includes the manure of all animals plus the animals themselves. Nature has designed bacteria to deal with anything organic.

No need to fear colored inks. Printing shops are not considered as hazardous places of employment nor are the inks they use considered hazardous.

Slick paper takes a little longer to break down but it's due to a coating of kaolin, a harmless type of clay.

Key to rapid decomposition is ratio of carbon to nitrogen. 20:1 is ultimate but even 5:1 will work if it's certain material. Regardless, it all leads back to compost in the end.

Martin