Maybe it's more science than art, this composting thing, but DW wants me to do a garden and do it organically. I grew up pouring the chemicals into these red clay Georgia soils and plants, so this organic thing is new to me. I have a few questions for you experts.
What, no compost school?!?
The local gardening club or community garden or community college might offer a composting class. The advantage of these is free handouts, free compost-bin plans, and free advice on local conditions in your area. You'll also get the name/number of someone to call for special problems. Some even offer a "starter set" of compost tea or a compost bucket.
I noticed some of you included paper in the stew mix. If I throw out the coffee filters with the grounds (what a mess to separate) will these water-sturdy filters breakdown during the composting process?
No problem, if it's made from paper and not plastic/wire mesh. IIRC one of this board's members picks up Starbuck's daily disposals for their compost. Coffee grounds make great compost and the filters don't last more than a day or two in our compost bin or our vermipost bin.
Some of the things I've read say to chop up everything in tiny little pieces. Is this really necessary or can I just throw out the banana peels and apple peels and oranges etc just like they come off the fruit?
What everyone else has said-- it just goes faster/hotter. I think it's a pain and not worth the effort. We used to pile our compost in between two upended wooden pallets, so the termites & ants really sped up the process. CFB's design runs a hot pile, as do the spinning drums. We now use a $50 plastic bin that keeps things hot and empties from the bottom but is not holding together as well as I'd hoped.
Some people freeze their stuff before adding it to the pile. Others make sure that they don't add any seeds that they don't want to have sprouting out of the ground later. In our case our old ground-based compost pile has finally put up a nice crop of papaya trees that I need to transplant to more suitable locations.
Are there any types of food byproducts that should NOT go into the compost bucket?
Fats & oils are bad, so is human fecal matter. (Hey, I learned that in Asia, OK?) Pet droppings are bad if they're carnivores (fats & oils again) but OK if they're herbivores (like bunnies).
Proteins (meats) can decompose with bad odors. That may or may not be a problem, but we know a local woman who composts in her basement and avoids adding meat protein.
Eggshells can take a long time to break down but they're valued for their minerals. We know one [-]anal-retentive[/-] enthusiastic composter who peels the inner membrane off her shells and crushes them before adding them to the pile.
So, does anyone have experience with composting and bears?
In our case it's mongoose. They're messy but it's great to watch them squabble with the mynah birds...
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