Compost Correction

In my attempt to be kind to Mother Earth I began a compost bin this spring. As easy as it seems (find a space, drop in biodegradable items, let it turn in to dirt) it can be tricky. My bin was doing good until I left it alone.

I didn't turn it, didn't think about the mix of layers I needed (brown and green)and like other things when you leave them alone, my compost is now sludge an it smells.

Because Google is my BFF (Best Fact Finder) I learned that sludge-y compost needs to dry out. I have also learned that my compost may have too much "green" like kitchen scraps, which is what I primarily put into the bin. There's been more of this since I started up juicing again. This morning my scraps included pulp from the grapefruit, carrot and ginger root juice I made as well as the egg shells from my breakfast and cofee grounds.

Although I had drilled holes in the botton of the bin and on top, I have decided that I need more holes to allow air to circulate. I have chosen three weapons to combat the sludge.

Weapon 1 - Drill for creating more air flow holes in the bin

Weapon 2 - Newspaper, brown matter, which should slow down the creation of the smelly, sludgy matter (created by too much green - kitchen scraps)

Weapon 3 - Baking soda to combat the unappealing smell so my nice neighbors won't be able to smell my compost composting

The holes are small, but hopefully they will allow enough oxygen to reach the compost and help dry out what is currently too wet.

Google led me to the website: http://goorganicgardening.com/compost/green-versus-brown-compost-materials which has taught me that in addition to the newspaper, another brown material I could be putting in to the compost is dryer lint. We have a trashbin next to our washer upstairs for when we clean out the dryer's lint tray. I also put in our grass clippings, which is a good brown. There should be more brown than green material and I'll have to monitor this a bit better.

Here's hoping that my compost can get back on track so it will be ready for my raised bed gardens next year. Currently, I have a container garden in my small backyard and next year I'd like to put these plants in the ground.