Composting Questions

16 years ago

Ok, IÂve now gone cross eyed reading the back log of posts. I must say you guys are such a hoot! And the knowledge available in this forum seems quite a valuable resource, to have access to this many enthusiast is a dream come true for a newbie like me!

So, now I have questions. A LOT of questions. But IÂll try to limit myself to just a few.

1. Kitchen Scraps Â As I said, IÂve been doing some reading, so I know veggies are good, meats are iffy at best, oils and fats are bad. Which leads me to questions likeÂ what about veggies that were cooked in oil, or with meat but has no meat present? Does the preparation make a difference, and if so, what should I use to decide what goes in the pile, the main item, or the possible "contaminate"?

2. We have cats, and having recently learned just how horrific the clay litter IÂve been using is for everyone involved, IÂm starting this week on the switch over to pine pellets that can go into the compost pile. Again, I have been reading. No Cat Poo! I got it. What IÂm not entirely sure of is if I need to keep the litter separate for some amount of time because of the urine, or if it can go straight into the browns pile for use immediately and as needed?

Those are my most pressing questions at the moment. Thanks for your time!

Char

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Comments (6)

Lloyd
16 years ago
rahC iH

.daer ot reisae ti ekam ot sdrawkcab siht etirw ot gniog m'I ,deyessorc enog evah uoy sA

Just kidding.

1) If oils and such make up only a small amount of your total compost pile, I'd not worry about cooking in oil or bits of meat. All food stuffs should be covered by browns if placed on top or alternatively buried into the existing pile.

2) I've never done any kind of cat litter composting. I'd guess that the urine soaked pine pellets could go straight into the pile.

Lloyd
charishc
Original Author
16 years ago
LOL.

Good one Lloyd, somehow I knew you would pop up in here with something good. Thank you for the clarification!

Char
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brocc
16 years ago
Hi Char,
About your pine pellets, they are fine in the compost the urine will help them break down. Depending on your other ingredients added along with the pellets, I have found it better to sometimes wet them with water when added to the bin, otherwise they can make a bit of a dry layer that sits around doing nothing for a while.
charishc
Original Author
16 years ago
I'm still currently working out exactly what all I have available.

Currently I'm up to almost an acre yard full of leaves that are a couple inches deep to a foot deep all the way around the fence line that are going to be gathered and shredded, then piled seperately to added as needed. Someone who cooks every day with lots of veggies, and often pasta, and soon to be six cats worth of litter boxes.

We also buy a lot of dry goods simi-bulk from Sam's Club, and I've been reading up on using that cardboard and the various other paper products availble as well.

Thanks,

Char
User
16 years ago
There is no reason to not compost non-clay cat litter and feces. Indoor adult cats are unlikely to have any disease that can be spread via compost (the time a cat produces toxoplasmosis cysts is very short after infection). If they are outdoor cats, they are burying the feces in your garden anyway. The litter is a "green" because of the high nitrogen content of the cat waste.

Composting kitchen waste may attract pests ... I compost everything, but I do not live where bears and raccoons and skunks are a problem.

Small amounts of oil is not a problem - that leftover pizza slice or sauteed squash will not kill your pile.

The state of Montana composts roadkill - entire carcasses - by burying them in wood chips and keeping the piles moist. There is almost no odor, and a bull elk disappears in less than a year ... a couple of chicken bones will vanish even faster.
toxcrusadr
16 years ago
With all those leaves you have an abundant source of browns, so your challenge is going to be having enough greens, it seems to me. If that is the case you may want to recycle that cardboard if facilities exist in your area rather than composting it. Also, you can pile up leaves in a corner or make a round fenced area and pile them to make leaf mold. It takes longer than compost but it's fluffy and wonderful.

You could have a separate compost pile or bin for the cat litter too, and use that on non-food crops if you're concerned about it at all.

Sounds like you have your work cut out, good luck!