You should add toenail clippings. They are a key ingredient in my superior compost offerings.

It doesn't sound like any of that is actually harmful. A few thoughts however, to improve your experience.

I personally never put purchased stuff like sugar into the pile unless it's somehow spoiled. An expensive way to make compost.

...

I was taking this post seriously but I suddenly decided to check my calendar and make sure it's not April 1.

Sugar and spice? Terpenes? Really?

not a joke "terpenes and terpenoids are the primary constituents of the essential oils of many types of plants and flowers. Essential oils are used widely as natural flavor additives for food"

As far as the sugar goes. The blackberry syrup i did not like the taste of or the texture it had been sitting in a cabinet for over a year opened.
The dextrose is left over additive for making petri dishes and was also old and really cheap
there was less then half of one teaspoon of cinnamon and sugar added.
So with that said since no money was "wasted" on the sugars(carbohydrates) is there any other reason you wouldn't want small amounts mixed in?
I know for a fact that the micro organism/fungi/bacteria thrive in a 4-6% sugar solution.
Please enlighten me as to why you would not take this serious. I am curious to read all points of view.

Two issues to address - the constituents of your compost, and second more terpenes from your plants.

On your compost, if you are adding those things to make compost, then things I believe should be avoided are "Iron rich clay heavy soil from Georgia" and "Pulverized pumice stone". Neither of those decomposes during composting, and neither brings any benefit to the composting process that I can discern. Composting fundamentally is about encouraging the decay or decomposition of organic materials as would occur naturally if the fell on the ground in the wilds somewhere.

Second issue is the addition of mycorrhizae to a compost pile. My suspicion is these will be consumed during a thermophylic composting cycle. If so then it is simply a waste. Save those for soil addition, along with the finished compost.

If you are tryng to steer your compost to a particular pH during decomposition, that is a significant mistake. There is a progression of microbes that naturally occurs during the decomposition of composting, and with that comes a natural progression of pH. Typically pH falls appreciably as organic acids are initially produced. Then that reverses as those acids are further decomposed. A well constructed pile will end up being very near neutral, most likely pH 7-7.2 if left alone. If you start trying to steer the pH you may well disrupt the normal microbial progression, as pH is often a trigger for the end of one species work and the beginning of another. Further , any effort you make to adjust pH by the controlled addition of organic materials is probably futile, as the acids or bases will be decomposed in the process.

A final concern about your compost construction is that from reading the list it appears that it may well be on the high N side of optimal. But without amounts and compositional analysis of each there is no way to gauge that.

On the terpenes - I can certainly appreciate the desire to increase terpene production in various plants, especially aromatic herbs. However, I question the validity of your notion that plants absorb terpenes. I didn't know that plants absorbed terpenes - I thought they were biosynthesized by those plants that are known for their notable terpenoid content.

That by far was the best response i have ever seen online, i really apricieate you spending your time to help point me in the right direction.
ill respond in order
The iron rich soil was added to work in conjunction with the other nutrients like calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc check out a nutrient wheel
( http://www.rd2.co.nz/uploads/images/nutrient_inter(1).gif ) they need each other to be available to plants.
the pumice stone was added for aeration since it lacks mineral qualities.

I strongly believe that the addition of mycorrhizae will greatly increase the biodiversity of the compost.I hear what you are saying but It would be like claiming yogurt is pointless to eat because the good bacteria will be killed in your stomach acid. Yes it is true to an extant but the vast majority will survive to preform their intended purpose.
On to the PH.You make a great point! i didn't think about it like that a natural fluctuation on ph would be optimal i can always change the Ph of the finished product if needed.
I think the N might be high this is true if you have a suggestion on what to add to make it more balanced it would be great. I add more and more seaweed all the time and i know this breaks down to 1-1-1 and contains ever trace element possible.The ganoderma mushroom also contains an unreal amount of vitamins and minerals check out the health benefits for humans (http://www.vinnysganofusion.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/medicinal_chart.jpg)
I was thinking of making some potash so i would have the N- and the K available but would need more P

And on to the terpens. I believe you are 100% correct in saying that plants will not just absorb terpene. That is to say if i keep adding lemon leaves or lavender to my compost my plants will not automatically start to smell like lemons or lavender.But it does make my compost smell good and the diversity of available compounds is what i am after.
Thank you again for your professional response, I truly appreciate the feedback.

Properly made compost will always finish out at a near neutral pH.
Mycorrhiza is a term that means symbiotic. Many species of fungi form a mycorrhizal (symbiotic) relationship with some plants providing the soil is a good, healthy soil that can support those fungi. Adding some purchased "mycorrhizal fungi" is largely a waste of time, money, and energy since the fungi you get may not be the ones you need or your soil might not be able to support them because of the wrong soil pH or not enough food available.
Sounds like you found a biodynamic compost recipe for something.

grod - yes, you can make adjustments to your finished compost. I would save the additives for that stage. As for the mycorrhizae, they are doing nothing for your compost. The best that can happen is some of the spores survivie. If your compost heats up to much over 130 ðF, the probablility for spore survival decreases rapidly. Those that survive can only remain dormant until they meet plant roots. If you want to add them to your soil, along with the compost, fine. But save them for soil addition.

Composting is a decomposition process. Focus on that for building your compost. Add things that the microbial community that evolves during composting can use beneficially, and save the other things for amending the soil directly. You can use the finished, mature compost as a carrier, but keep them out during the decomposition stages.

As for other things to add, I suspect you need more "browns". There are many options, from straw, dried leaves, shredded newsprint or cardboard, sawdust, etc. I suggest you look at the link below, and focus on the things listed in the table with a C:N ratio greater than 40.

On terpenes, if you're smelling them in your compost, they are being volatilized. You might enjoy the aroma, but volatilization means they are being lost.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Essentials of Composting

This post was edited by TXEB on Tue, Jul 2, 13 at 7:05

Thank you for the responses. Believe it or not i am a certified master composter for the City of New York. The course was an hour long they didn't teach me anything new they just wanted my money.
I am low on browns. I think i will find some willow bark it has certain growth-hormones that promote root growth and was the first plant to extract a cloning agent came from.
Just like the terpenes i know they wont just transfer over threw osmosis and and the acids would break down when the compost gets to hot.But that sounds like my brown of choice.
Oh yeah BTW you need 160F for one hour to successfully pasteurize any medium
Thank your for the term "biodynamic" i have always gardened by one rule
Feed the soil, not the plant.

OK grod, apologies for questioning the veracity of your post.

Most of what I would say has already been said. I notice you are doing this in a 5-gal bucket though. This is not going to be big enough to keep any heat at all. Usually a compost pile is several feet square. Also as you know it will shrink by 50-75% in volume so the end result will not be a whole lot. In any case a container does need to have a few drain holes so it doesn't get too wet.

One problem with putting ANYthing into the compost so that its effects can benefit your plants - whether it's terpenes or willow bark growth hormones: without any rigorous tests you have no idea whether the compounds will survive the very active environment of the compost. I generally assume organic compounds will not unless proven otherwise.

Compost is impossible in a 5 gallon bucket. So all these long-winded answers are nothing more than a waste of time.

Allen - there are many 5 gal and smaller lab reactors for composting that work just fine. It's far from impossible.

My Master Composter course was two, eight hour days. I am impressed it can be done in a one hour course.

While I applaud the effort and salute you as a true Compost Whacko, I fail to see the purpose to your endeavour. I take various yard trimmings, kitchen waste, leaves and straw, mix 'em up in approximate proportions, add water, turn occasionally and let it sit for long time after the heat goes down. Compost results.

Lloyd

Lloyd - is there a Master Compost Whacko course I can take somewhere? Seems to be the "in thing".

TX - I'm not cognizant of an 'official' whacko course but I think you are already more than qualified for the honour. You know more than enough already and the course/test would be a waste of your time. Believe it or not, some get perturbed about being called a whacko not understanding it really is a term of endearment. For those folks, we sometimes have to substitute 'enthusiast' for whacko.

Lloyd

P.S. Some --cough Annpat cough-- might object to your/my spelling of whacko, don't listen to them her.

Just curious to know which plants you are growing to make essential oils?

Lloyd - my problem is I'm a retired research chemist. It's the way tend to look at how Ms. Nature works. The issue is it scares a lot of people - they confuse it with witchcraft, and dismiss it as a result. I am used to being called a whacko.

I used to give composting workshops as a volunteer for my city public works dept. They were about an hour, or less. You can convey the basics but I agree that mastering composting takes a lot longer than that.

tox - in spite of my penchant towards the science, there is a lot of art in composting. Compost is probably one of the most complex natural ecosystems on our planet, and will never be fully understood in the lifetime of either me or my children.

Lloyd - to be fair, "whacko" is probably better reserved for what you are (or what you do) when you chase rats with your pitchfork; "wacko" is what geeks like me get called when we're being, well, geeks like me. So, maybe at times your a "whacko", and most of the time I'm a "wacko".

I think everybody in this thread qualifies as a wacko. And I mean that in a good way. :-p

This post was edited by toxcrusadr on Wed, Jul 3, 13 at 18:18

I'm sure anyone watching me run around the field whacking the ground with a fork thought/thinks I am certifiable and I would not argue with them.

I still hate rats, no sympathy for this one that got stuck exiting the combine. The sign does say "Warning....Stand Clear". Dumb rat.

Lloyd

So, Lloyd, that would make you a wacko whacko?

Yeah, dumb rat - should've read the sign. I'm kind of surprised it came out that intact.

Polite people sometimes call me eccentric, most think I am just plain nuts.

The combine was parked for the winter in the shed. The rat tried squeezing through a small hole and got stuck, couldn't go forward and couldn't go back.

Lloyd

Nice rat trap, Lloyd. A little expensive, and a bit large for my needs, but very nice.

"â¢Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
Tue, Jul 2, 13 at 14:11
My Master Composter course was two, eight hour days. I am impressed it can be done in a one hour course. "

Lloyd, surely you've heard the term "in a New York minute"...

sorry if the thread was hijacked but how is the compost going grod?

Good one Darth!