Compost Materials - Newspaper

19 years ago

Ok, now i'm getting garden-web greedy - 2 questions in as many minutes hehe :)

I've got a large 3 compartment compost box built and i'm in my first year, filling the first compartment. In my previous compost (at a different location) I found it quite easy to build good, high quality compost that heated up and worked very fast. (So fast and hot in fact, meat could be composted safely).

In this new box, the materials don't seem to be composting as readily and the box is more of a cold/vermiculture compost. In the new location i don't have a good carb/nitrogen mix as I have mostly nitrogen additives (grass, vegetable scraps etc.) My thinking is that I need a carbohydrate food source to generate the microbial heat required to kill seeds and pathogens.

Lacking straw, hay or leaves, is newspaper a viable source of the carbs required to do this? I get 3 newspapers delivered every week and they just go right into the recycle bin.. might as well be putting them in the compost if it will work.

The link below shows the compost bin - perhaps my design is the core of the problem?

thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Compost Bin

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Comments (4)

hemnancy
19 years ago
You should check out the soil forum. They would have lots of good composting info. I use newspaper to kill weeds by putting it down 6+ sheets thick, and I would think it might need to be shredded to compost well but haven't tried it.

Here is a link that might be useful: soil forum
Poochella
19 years ago
Esobofh, I dutifully shredded newspaper one year in a shredder and layered it into my compost. Not only was it still there a year later, but I could still read the print LOL! It went nowhere, no matter if I watered it, put it dead center, carefully layered grass around it. I won't use it again, but others swear by it.

I agree, the soil forum will get you precise input from the compost enthusiasts.

The usual compost here is fresh grass, barn waste of hay/stray manure, kitchen scraps, extra coffee grounds and shredded leaves all in layers and turned regularly. It all usually cooks and breaks down very nicely in a few months. But not the year of the Seattle Times.....
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minet
19 years ago
Oh, shoot! You're in Canada. I was hoping you lived really close to me so you could come build me a compost bin like that. It looks fabulous! Did you use a kit or design it yourself?

I'm new to the PNW but in California I used newspaper all the time in compost, without problems. Much drier down there, is the only difference I can think of. Shredding helps, or tearing into small strips by hand.

Do you have any sawdust available? That's also a good brown component.

Yes, check out the SCM forum here on GardenWeb. They'll tell you all you want to know and much, much more ...
scarleta
19 years ago
You have great bins.Mine are similar.I just added ( after using them for a couple of years) a wire mesh on the bottom ( rats will dig into it) and covered with plywood with holes for drainage and ventilation.The purpose of the plywood is so when you move the material to the next bin you won't put the fork into the wire mesh.Anyways about your question paper( as suggested by even shredded takes a long time to break down and it keeps everything too wet.Good luck to you and you do have a 1st class bins.Really nice...