New answers tagged compost
1
If you compost mint (spearmint or other mints) that has set seed, than I can see how you could "contaminate" low temp compost in that there's not enough heat in the pile to kill the seeds. This would apply to ANY plant that you add into that pile that has already set seed (especially any member of the Brassicaceae).
Whether you inadvertently sow ...
1
Let's not fall into the trap of seeing this as an XY problem. XY just indicates that we have failed to find common ground in resolving the issue; XY is a sign that each party is retreating to their side for convenience sake - a classic cop out. You are trying to be kind to your plants and use up kitchen scraps responsibly - this is laudable, and we can help ...
1
Elements like carbon don't change into other elements (like nitrogen). The carbon that remains after the nitrogen is gone was already there to begin with, and it was there when the plants were alive, too. It's possible that some of the carbon was converted into another form, and maybe some got released as gas, somehow; but you're probably not going to get ...
2
You are missing the fact that the ratio of carbon to nitrogen in organic material is nowhere near a 50/50 split. The difference between "nitrogen rich" and "nitrogen poor" is more like the difference between 25 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen and 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen, by weight.
The most common chemical compound in plant ...
0
Your C:N ratio is off.
It should be 25-30:1 ish.
2
Ants are very interesting creatures and with many different kinds of ways of being. Given that without knowing which kind of ant I can only go by statistics which say that most ants do not create compost.
The do make tunnels and that can improve the drainage of an area, but generally that's about it. They haul their dead and waste products away and discard ...
5
Likely the volume of compostables is too small. It is really hard to get compost going in small quantities, and even the manufacturer of your bin suggests something like the roller bins for smaller amounts. You don't get the good heating, but there is mechanical disturbance and aeration. The solution really is to try to find a good supply of varied ...
0
The composting process should result in high temperatures (over 130 Fahrenheit) for at least 3 days in a row. If you achieve that, and maybe more days, then weed seeds should be killed by that process already. Commercial composters will lay out their compost in a small area like 10 square yrds and add water for a few days to cause germination of any seeds in ...
3
As the link you provided indicates, the compost materials being added are generally too wet and the excess water cannot be eliminated by the normal fermentation process. The result is an anaerobic fermentation (not enough air in the mix) which produces harmful substances rather than beneficial compost tea. As the documentation says, add dry materials to your ...
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