This is getting OLD.

flies.

Update 3/21:  I covered the compost mix (fruit flies like you would not believe!) with about 1/2 cu. yard of topsoil.  I also finally figured out where to get saw dust – the pet store.

Got a 4.0 cubic ft. bag of pine bedding.  I already decided that this first crop would go on non-edible plants since I’ve done so much experimenting.  I don’t know if pine bedding is made from wood that has bad stuff – probably not because it’s for animals, but just to be safe, I won’t be calling this “organic” compost.

Update 3/25: I added the dirt, then a load of kitchen waste, with a generous layer of pine bedding.  This morning, I checked, and the fruit flies were unabated.  At lunch, the flies were buzzing happily.  I have a fly haven.

Now, Johanna Has a Manure Smell

Oh great, this isn’t going so well right now.   This morning, I added some kitchen waste and poked, and got a strong whiff of Flossie the Cow. Shazam!

manure

In reading thru the faqs, the manual and everything else I could find, I blamed my husband.  Okay, not really, but I think that the current manure smell, mold, slime, flies, etc.  all stem from the same original issue:  for about 2 weeks, my husband Matt was the sole depositor in the Johanna.  I never took the time to explain some of the finer points to the poor guy, so with a few brief statements from me, he took the bull by the horns, so to speak.

When I finally got off my butt and started taking a more active role in the composting process, what I found was that he was busy adding “greens” (kitchen waste – high in nitrogen) without layering, and he was adding water each time he made an addition.  Not his fault, since I didn’t explain.  The results came in stages:  first, it was just slimy.  Then, it started smelling musty, then there was mold and fuzz, then flies, and finally, manure smell.   Heck, there may be something after that, I don’t know.  Despite all this, it’s all correctable, and is no big deal.

So here’s what I’m doing to get the compost back on the right track: 

First, I explained to my husband (no, I didn’t nag) that he needs to spread out the compost – not just dump the bag.  Then, cover it with some browns (even just a torn up paper bag).  Don’t add water unless it looks a little dry.  Poke it and cover it back up.  Lesson:  If you end up choosing a Johanna, make sure that everyone in the household knows how to maintain the composter.

Second, I poked, turned, poked and turned.  Lesson:  aerate your compost.

Third:  I added mature compost (from my cheap composter) plus some peat moss.  Lesson:  slimy, smelly moldy – all these are signs that there is too much nitrogen, not enough carbon.  The compost and peat moss will even that up, and the peat moss will soak up some of the excess moisture.  The flies are still there, but diminishing. 

Now, I’m back to my indoor project: painting the kitchen.

Questions, questions

I found a great faq on the johanna. Bookmark this faq if you use the Green Johanna.

Practical Johanna Tip

When you dump your kitchen waste, immediately cover it up with “browns” whether that be a torn up paper bag, sawdust, dry leaves etc.

This may seem obvious to some, but we didn’t realize that creating the layer instantly will help supress odor, flies and over-wetness.

Geo-Engineering – No longer just the “province of kooks”?

kooky!

One of the driving factors in my shift toward a sustainable lifestyle is  the feeling that I have to do my part, however insignificant, to reduce greehouse gas emissions.  I know that my small part doesn’t make a dent, but the hope is that my actions are joined by many like me, and that this stream of small actions feeds into a larger stream of political will and collective actions.  That’s why I am so happy to have Obama in the Whitehouse (okay, that is only one reason).  The final cog in this scenario in my head is the innovation of our scientific community.  In my estimation, if we can put a man on the moon, surely we can come up with some way or ways to reverse or even just mitigate the effects of all the CO2 in the atomosphere.

It seems like one of the first steps we’ve taken collectively is to start quantifying the cost of doing nothing, and then coming up with the cost of correcting the problem.  According to some, the cost of reducing or eliminating carbon from the atmosphere world wide will be staggering.  And during this world-wide economic downturn, there is reluctance and even inability to invest the money and radically alter (Obama’s plans notwithstanding) our infrastructure to move away from carbon-based fuels entirely.  Of course, the cost of doing nothing is possibly annhilation.

Enter the geo-engineers.  This field, which Time Magazine has referred to as the “province of kooks” is a once-disdained area of engineering that is now being looked at again since Paul Crutzen suggested in an op-ed that maybe the earth could be cooled by releasing sulfurous debris into the atmosphere.

According to Science Daily, “Geo-engineering is the large-scale engineering of the environment to combat the effects of climate change — in particular to counteract the effects of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A number of schemes have been suggested including nutrient fertilisation of the oceans, cloud seeding, sunshades in space, stratospheric aerosol injections, and ocean pipes”

Encouragingly, a recent review of geo-engineering projects by the University of East Anglia concludes that one of the most promising projects is using biochar (read: fancy compost).  Biochar is produced when bio waste is subjected to pyrolysis (super hot composting) and is then added back into the soil.  I know it’s not quite the same thing, but the principle is very similar.  Woo hoo for compost!

In a later post, I plan to lay out in more detail exactly what biochar is and what it’s potential benefits are.

Johanna Update – 6 weeks in

I haven’t updated the progress on the hot composting lately – so here goes.

We’ve had the Johanna for just over 6 weeks.  Everything from egg crate to raw chicken fat goes in there.  The vast majority is coffee grounds, fruit/vegetable scraps and uneaten milk/cereal.  I’ve made many mistakes (even though I read the directions three times and have composted before) .  Too much water, not enough “brown” matter etc. 

My observations so far…

• the compost is hot – I haven’t purchased a thermometer yet, but it is steamy and warm when you put your hand close;
• I let it get too wet a few weeks ago, and it made things slimy and fungus and mold really kicked in – not good, but it continues to be hot in there;
• The smell is musty, but so far, not bad – except for in the beginning.  I turned it today, and notice a faint sulfurous smell, so I know I have too much anaerobic activity happening.  I aerated and will monitor it to see if the odor improves as it dries out – otherwise, I have to get something drier inside like sawdust;
• We have little flies on the inside but not the outside;
• A rodent tried once to get in, but didn’t really make any progress, and we’ve had no evidence it’s been back since.

All in all, the Johanna appears to be performing as promised, even though I haven’t been the best compost practitioner. 

Can I recommend the Johanna?  Yes, I can – but only if you have  enough browns to keep your kitchen waste covered.  Otherwise, you’ll have to be creative there.

Flies, Flies, Flies!

I walked out to put more compost in the Johanna, and was greeted by a small army of little flies, buzzing around. I opened the top and everything looked too wet. I added some more browns and a little more compost, all thankfully pretty dry. No water for a while! I will check again in a few days to see if I should add some peat moss just to soak up that extra moisture.

Fortunately, there was no nasty smell.

With Johanna, You Poke, Not Turn

One big difference between the Johanna and my other composter is that you don’t turn…you poke.

I am used to turning for aeration, but I now realize that Johanna does it’s work when you layer brown and green layers (carbon and nitrogen). Then, instead of turning and mixing, you poke and twist for aeration.

Going forward, we’ll be doing that. Since we have a dearth of browns, I’ll have to use unbleached paper towels and unused brown grocery bags (all ripped up).

Gollee!

Green Johanna is tested again…by a rodent

This afternoon, we all went into the back yard. I glanced over at my un-covered raised bed and noticed that again, something had rooted around to get every last seed I had tried to start. Then, I also noticed that it had attempted to find a way into the Johanna.

I became worried. There was a slight depression at the base of the composter where the creature (rat, racoon, possum?) had tried to gain access. But we saw that it was an aborted attempt. Good heavens! The Johanna repelled a rodent.

Let’s see what the next few weeks bring us.

Compost Recipes: Be a Chef

In an earlier post, I discussed your composting “oven” – that is, what kind of composter you may want to choose.  In this post, I’ll look at the different recipes you can follow.  I am borrowing liberally from my compost book, “Backyard Composting” by Harmonius Technologies.  I highly recommend you get this book, or some other if you want to learn more about composting.

The basic science behind the recipes is simple:  to produce decomposition, you need carbon and nitrogen.  Organisms that do the composting need carbon for fuel and nitrogen for growing.  These organisms need more carbon than nitrogen, in general.   The ideal ratio is 25:1 (Carbon to Nitrogen).  Any ratio will eventually produce compost, but a compost pile with this general ratio is ideal to produce decomposition. 

Why is it hot?  I was terrible at chemistry, but the basic idea is that when carbon oxidizes into carbon dioxide, (like when it is being digested by a little microorganism), the chemical reaction produces heat.   If your compost pile feels warm or steams, then this is exactly what is going on.  This is a good thing.

Recipe 1: Compost for a farm

• 2 parts dry leaves (carbon)
• 2 parts straw or sawdust (carbon)
• 4 parts nitrogen-rich ingredients such as:
  • fresh garden weeds
  • manure
  • kitchen waste (no meat, dairy, bread)
  • grass clippings
• a little water (to make it moist but not wet)

Recipe 2: Compost for a big, grassy yard with a little garden or plantings

•  3 parts dry leaves  (carbon)
• 1 part garden weeds (nitrogen)
• 1 part grass clippings (nitrogen)
• 1 part kitchen waste [no meat, dairy, bread] (nitrogen)
• a little water (to make it moist but not wet)

Recipe 3: Compost for a non-existent yard

• 1 part hay [purchased] (carbon) AND
• 1 part unbleached paper products such as: (carbon)
  •  unbleached paper towels and napkins
  • toilet paper and paper towel rolls
  • brown paper grocery bags OR
• 1 part newsprint (no glossy paper) (carbon)
• 2 parts kitchen waste [no meat, dairy, bread] (nitrogen)
• a little water (to make it moist but not wet)

All three of these recipes are sufficient to give all the bacteria, bugs and microorganisms what they need to decompose this material.  In addition, you don’t have to follow any of these recipes religiously – they are basic principles, and after a while, you’ll develop an innate sense of what looks right.

Fast or Slow?

For mature compost in 1-3 months:

• alternate your carbon and nitrogen layers
• turn your compost
• make sure your particles are as small as you have time to make them.

Otherwise, you will get mature compost in 3-6 months if you don’t do all this.

Stir, Aerate, Turn:

A simple small pitchfork will help you aerate and turn the pile, and harvest compost.  In addition, there are aeration tools which help bring oxygen down into the deeper layers.  An occasional stir or turn will help your compost along nicely.

Water

In each recipe, I include water.  The basic idea here is to keep the pile moist, but at the consistency of damp coffee grounds, not mucky.  Too much water will stop the process.  Luckily, if you do accidentally put too much water, just add more carbon (dry leaves, brown paper etc.) to restore the consistency.

Extras

There are a few other things that you can throw into your composter – these are not necessary to get things cooking, but they are wonderful additions:

• mature compost
• garden soil
• fireplace ashes
• bone meal
• blood meal
• crushed rock dust
• vermiculite

A note about newsprint:  the inks used in printing are generally petroleum based, and may contain carcinogens in small quantities.  While it’s not the ideal ingredient, especially for an organic gardener, the composting process breaks down most of this.  If you’re feeling really worried, don’t use it, or call the paper to see if they use environmentally friendly inks.