Yes! Good airflow is one of the secrets to successful composting. Without it, your compost pile could turn into a stinky mess (literally).
From here on out the garbage cans will be referred to as compost bins. Set up: Drill holes in each bin (5/16 inch holes are good). Bottom: Drill one hole in the center and six others spaced around the bottom of the bin.
Almost everyone advises putting down a layer of coarse material — corn cobs and husks, sticks, thick fibrous stalks from vegetables, or tall flowers. This layer improves aeration at the bottom of the compost pile.
Dig and Drop Composting
Dig a hole, approximately 10 to 12 inches deep and as wide as you want or need it to be. Drop food scraps or other organic matter into the hole. Replace the soil, and you're done.
A compost tumbler (a bin that rotates) is aerated each time you turn it, but don't overfill it, or there won't be room for the compost to move around. While there's no set rule on how often to aerate, once or twice a week is usually enough.
Your compost smells (very) bad.
A number of factors can cause this condition: lack of aeration, too much water, or an imbalance of carbon to nitrogen. Without air, the material becomes stagnant and rancid.
If a compost pile is just left sitting, and not turned, it will take 6-12 months or longer to completely break down, depending of the climate and weather. The cooler it is, the longer it will take.
Decomposition will be complete anywhere from two weeks to two years depending on the materials used, the size of the pile, and how often it is turned. Compost is ready when it has cooled, turned a rich brown color, and has decomposed into small soil-like particles.
Turning once a week or once every two weeks had generally lower decomposition rates. To maintain a thermophilic pile (pile with high heat), it should be turned every three to four days, or when the temperature drops below 104 F. However, if most of the material has been decomposed, less frequent turning is adequate.
Standing the bin on an earth base provides good access for soil organisms and allows easy drainage. But a hard surface is fine too – just add a few spadefuls of soil to get it off to a good start.
Composting works in sun or shade Piles in sunny spots will decompose quicker but also dry out faster and may need supplemental watering during hot dry weather. Those located in a shadier spot will stay moist longer but decompose slower.
Compost shouldn't be kept wet; it should be kept damp. The recommended moisture content of about 50% reflects the idea that compost should not be too wet or too dry.
Cardboard in the compost heap
Roughly torn into pieces cardboard will rot down well in the compost heap so long as it is mixed in with greens and not layered. Corrugated cardboard works even better because the corrugations hold it open until they decompose.
Base: Compost bins do not usually have, or need, a base. Free access to the soil allows good drainage and easy ingress for worms and other creatures that are important in the composting process.
If your compost heap is too wet, dig it out completely, then turn the ingredients to incorporate more air before restacking. Add dry materials into the mix to get a balance of greens and browns, improve drainage and prevent the compost from clogging up again.
They are drawn to the food waste which they help to break down naturally. If you want to reduce their numbers, leave the lid off your compost bin for 3-4 days. If you do this, make sure to cover the surface of the compost so it doesn't dry out.
It will lose much of its value if materials are left to decompose too long. The more time compost is left to sit around, the more “colloidal” it becomes. In other words, it becomes more and more compact as the composting microbes continue to feed on the waste materials.
If your compost bin is too dry it will stop decomposing as the bacteria and fungi responsible for the composting process won't be able to work effectively. Re-wet the heap by watering it - ideally with rainwater, but if you don't have any stored rainwater ordinary water will do.
One that might surprise you, lettuce takes 25 years to decompose! So it's important to not throw food on the side of the road or in nature, as it takes food a whole lot longer than you might think to biodegrade!
You can add clippings to the backyard compost pile. Composting involves mixing grass clippings and other plant materials with a small amount of soil containing microorganisms that decompose organic matter. Grass clippings are excellent additions to a compost pile because of their high nitrogen content.
Let's just start out by saying: putting egg shells in your compost is okay; they are a rich source of calcium and other essential nutrients that plants need.
Banana peels are a great ingredient for your compost or worm farm, adding lots of nutrients to the organic recycling process.