Questions tagged [compost]
Compost is organic material which has undergone decomposition by microorganisms and is used as a soil amendment.
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Can you easily see mycelium when it's conquering territory?
In my stropharia rugosoannulata mycelium piles I tried looking for some mycelium when digging, but it was undetectable. Why was I unable to detect the mycelium with just my eyes?
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Moldy apple core in potted plant
Put an apple core in the pot with my plant and now it’s getting moldy and the mold is spreading to the soil. Will the mold hurt my plant? Or is this all part of the composting process?
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do wood chips insulate better for cold than heat?
I noticed that my wood chip compost pile that I never turned has ice still about 1" below the surface, so that got me to wonder if wood chips are better cold insulators than heat insulators.
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Making emulsion out of slaughterhouse waste
I have previously made fish emulsion to fertilize a small greywater garden; pretty much sealing fish waste (entrails, bones, skin) into oxygen-free plastic containers and leaving it for 6 months to a ...
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1answer
20 views
Why do compost piles warm from the outside in during the springtime?
I started moving my composting wood chips this spring, and noticed that the middle of the pile is still frozen, but the outside is workable, why is that?
I can tell you that when we had no snow on ...
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What is the difference between replacing soil and amending soil?
I came across this article and I find that it goes against everything that's said about soil amendment before planting. I've copied bits of it down below.
You are planting a new tree, and you want ...
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2answers
53 views
Burying large amounts of burgen
I need to dispose of a very large amount of Burgan (kunzea/tea trees) that I am removing from a part of a rural property it took over and is posing a fire danger.
The current pile is about 3x3x10 ...
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1answer
38 views
Can I throw a plant that has white flies into the compost pile?
I have a bunch of dead leaves from a plant that has white flies. Can I use them for compost?
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Can the filter papers in coffee K-pods be used for composting?
I already know it's a lot of trouble to remove them for composting, but does anyone know if the paper filters inside the K-pods are actually biodegradable? We no longer use the old fashioned coffee ...
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43 views
Bury Rodents Compost
Is it safe to bury a rat, approx 12" deep in my vegetable garden? I grow tomatoes, cilantro & peppers. Does it pose any health hazard?
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Is composting just stacking organic waste together?
I read a few sites, http://decompose.co and how to compost and a few other sites
is it really that complicated?
Is there anything else I need to learn?
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1answer
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Fresh cowdung and baggase in lasagna gardening
I am an apartment balcony gardener. I have access to a lot of fresh cowdung and baggase. However, I have no place to dry it or let it mature properly. I could dry it in my little balcony but the smell ...
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2answers
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Which kitchen and garden scraps can be scattered on a vegetable garden soil?
I'm trying to make the switch to adding natural instead of synthetic fertilizer to my vegetable garden (and stop tilling while I'm at it). Besides compost, I'm curious whether I could use some kitchen ...
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Does anyone know the reason potatoes should not be added to the compost pile?
There is a list of at least 13 things that do not go into the compost pile. Most I know and understand. I just found a list that included potatoes.
Potatoes do what to a pile of compost? Feces, ...
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2answers
148 views
Is it sensible to do composting in a grow bag or pot which already has plants planted in it?
I've taken a half liter soft drink bottle, cut off the bottom portion of it and created holes at the bottom and created top-vents like the ventilation that pipe composting needs.
The blue arrows ...
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1answer
63 views
Do I need to throw away my compost if it has had a mouse living in it?
I found a mouse in my compost a little while ago. Whilst the mouse doesn't seem to be there any more, I have been told that I should throw away this compost as the mouse could have brought some ...
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1answer
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Would a Jean Pain heater work well for heating in a USDA Zone 4A?
I'm considering digging a 300' (distance to the compost pile) trench 2 ways to heat constantly on a closed system as it's cheaper/easier to get a pile of wood chips than split wood. Would a wood chip ...
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What will fungi do in an aerobic environment?
This winter I'm considering adding another foot to my wine cap bed so it has a nice thermal environment all winter. That would make it under 2' (wood chip dimensions of 10'x100'x2') of wood chips/...
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2answers
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Are hops bad for compost?
I brew my own beer and as such have a relatively large amount (2KG dry weight) of spent malt grains and a small amount (100g dry weight) of hops that go in the compost once a month or so.
Hops are ...
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1answer
34 views
How thick of a layer of wood chips will I want to keep the soil warm in a USDA zone 4A environment during the winter?
I'm currently building a 10X100 fungal/garden bed, in a USDA zone 4A environment, and am going to want to keep the soil warm enough to keep fungi spreading. How deep will I want a layer of wood chips ...
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1answer
219 views
Can I compost vermiculite?
I've read online that you can compost perlite without a problem, and it actually has some benefits. I couldn't find information online that says that composting vermiculite is okay.
I know it is ...
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1answer
37 views
what is the liveable temperature range of winecap?
I'm trying to promote wine cap growth, and am unsure if I should leave a black tarp on it, or take off the black tarp.
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3answers
78 views
Is it possible to compost living grass?
I'm trying to kill off a large area (30'X30'X4') of living grass that has been established for hundreds of years. What would be the best way to kill off this grass? I do have a 30'X30' grain plastic ...
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1answer
50 views
Insect Identification: What's this insect
Recently i found an insect very rapidly multiplying itself in the compost heap at home. I took some blurry images of the insect since they were very brisk and not sufficiently static. I am concerned ...
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4answers
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What are the obstacles to wide-scale commercial composting of human feces?
I hope this isn't too broad.
I'm talking about large scale industrial composting. So you take a city's sewage, treat it (irradiating is one method I've seen mentioned) and modify it as needed. Then ...
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What treatments would “balance out” what's in dog poo on my lawn, to not kill the lawn?
Criteria:
I do not want to MOVE the poop.
I just want to keep it from killing the grass
I'm ok with it taking 1-3 weeks to break down.
I'm looking for easy not perfect :)
I know: we should be ...
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1answer
28 views
What do I need to add to turn (or offset) dog poop into fertilizer?
We end up with dog poop in our yard.
I'd like to put pour something on it that would break it down/compost it (even if it took a month). I'd rather not have to pick it up :)
Bonus points if there'...
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2answers
78 views
How should I deal with garlic rust after the harvest?
I've grown garlic that got infected with garlic rust. I had some luck in that the infection started late in the spring so the bulbs are actually pretty big - around 60g, cleaned.
The garlic stems and ...
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35 views
should water going through compost come out sudsy (like soap suds)?
I have a composting chamber (similar to a miracle grow container but goes in 1 side and out the other) be sending out water that seems a little sudsy on the output side?
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2answers
77 views
Is this underground compost system likely to work?
I live in an arid area with strong winds and very hot summers. I've tried a regular compost pile but have had problems with pests (migratory rats that seem to be attracted by the smell) and the heat: ...
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25 views
Chopping old vegetable/fruit to the ground as compost [duplicate]
Sometimes I have vegetable/fruit that's gone bad and it's going to be thrown. I was thinking about chopping it and mix it with the ground of the plants I have (not so many).
Will it be helpful for ...
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1answer
43 views
How can I care for my euonymus japonicus president gauthier?
I bought a cheap supermarket mixed planter pot about 3 years ago. I left them outside in a damp, sheltered area with little direct sunlight. The plant I now believe to have identified as euonymus ...
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2answers
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Will cat poo affect my flowers?
We have two cats at home, one of them uses the indoor litter tray while the other prefers to use the flower bed (then diligently spreading soil to cover up the deed).
Should I be concerned? The ...
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1answer
60 views
Will forest floor mulch work well for fungal dominated wood chip compost?
I'm in a bind to find fungal dominated wood chip compost (yes, even the crops extension line at the local university gives me the stumped response) in the Minneapolis/St Paul area, and was wondering ...
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2answers
35 views
How much swap-space should a leave in my compost tumbler?
My wife and I decided to try composting and after filling a five gallon bucket in three weeks with kitchen scraps we took the jump and bought a two-chamber tumbler (so we can add to one side while the ...
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2answers
83 views
Is just adding a new soil layer on top of existing soil good for creating a new plant bed?
I want to create a small area (2 square meters) for new plants and/or seedlings. I need to raise a level in that area a little (for overall garden design purposes), and I plan just to put 30cm / 1ft ...
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2answers
91 views
How to balance the compost bin
We have a black tumble composter that is about one-quarter full of organic plant food and garden clippings. Now that the weather is heating up the bin has become quite smelly and is attracting flies.
...
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Is there a way to avoid the recurring cost of microbes when composting at home?
I am planning to start a terrace garden and to generate compost for it. I found two sellers Seller1 and Seller2 in my city. Seller1 has "patented microbes" and Seller2 has microbes, saw dust, dry ...
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1answer
50 views
How should I store a large pile of compost for future use?
I recently acquired 5 cubic yards of compost. I'd hoped to use this immediately on my small zone 6 property for some garden bed and sheet mulching projects. However, I've since been injured and may ...
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1answer
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I've read that composting can reach up to 140 degrees - does this affect my plants?
I plan to do approximately a 1'x1' curved ditch between my garden rows filled with wood chips, and manure, will this make the plants get too warm, or will it keep the soil cooler like cover crops do??
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2answers
143 views
Handling Compost with Bare Hands?
I just realized I did this today. I usually wear gloves but today I was starting a lasagna garden (at least the base of it) and i got some bagged compost to spread over cardboard and I just spread it ...
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1answer
723 views
Another dying Meyer lemon tree
I have two potted Meyer lemon trees, both about 20 years old, in 14" pots. I live in Rhode Island, so the trees are outside from May to October, then in a west facing, roughly 70 degree kitchen, with ...
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3answers
160 views
Is it possible to plant vegetables just in compost without soil added?
I am new to gardening and I have started to grow my own vegetables at home. I have used only compost - and now that I am reading more about gardening, I am not sure if what I did was right. So do I ...
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5answers
999 views
How to speed up composting of large amounts of leaves inside plastic bags?
I've just finished raking, shredding and bagging all the leaves (including some moss, pine needles and cones) from last fall (and few years before). All this material inside bags is wet/moist, bags ...
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1answer
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What to do with surplus thuja leaves after pruning?
We all know that there are tons of thuja leaves after pruning thuja hedges.
Can thuja leaves be used as mulch (perhaps for acid-loving plants, let's say young pines, or vaccinum)? What if they are ...
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5answers
2k views
Would turning the compost actually slow down compost decomposition?
I watched this timelapse of litter decomposition. This makes me wonder if turning the compost actually slow down composting by discouraging detritivores and burrowers to live in the compost. I would ...
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2answers
130 views
How to transition among compost stages in a multi-stage bin
I built a two-stage compost bin with pallet wood and cedar. Each stage is one cubic yard. I have been adding food scraps and leaves to the first stage since the spring, and there is currently about ...
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1answer
149 views
Is there a type of garden shredder that can handle leaves, branches and wet materials?
Is there any type of all-purpose and durable shredder that can shred leaves and a few small branches, and some wetter materials like vegetable waste? I'm not looking for a brand name, just to find out ...
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5answers
3k views
What can be done with hazelnut shells?
I've found a lot of empty and broken hazelnut shells lying under huge hazelnut shrub. (Most of them were eaten by squirrels but some have worm holes). Is it safe to use them for composting (maybe ...
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1answer
459 views
Walnut leaves in compost - yes or no?
I have several walnut trees in my yard, and this year I am going to make compost for the first time in my life, and would like to know whether I should include walnut leaves in my compost pile.
There ...
