Compost mystery/disaster - help!

[Noosner]

I bought an Envirocycle composter in Spring last year. We finished filling it, mainly with vegetable peelings and cardboard in about June and have been turning it approx once a week/fortnight since then. Last time I looked (October) things seemed to be working okay, though I was surprised how much the contents had composted down. But when I went to empty it this weekend, there was just a small amount of black, wet smelly sludge in the bottom, plus a load of grass and twigs that I'm sure I never put in there! The composter drains through slits into a reservoir at the bottom to give a compost 'tea' and that was great - full of non-smelly brown liquid. But the other stuff was useless. Any idea what I've done wrong? Did I leave it too long and the compost totally decomposed into liquid? Is that even possible? It almost looked as if an animal had got in, eaten all the compost and made a nest out of grass, but there is absolutely no opening for anything to get in - that's the point of the composter! Any advice gratefully received!!

[roitelet]

Compost does rot down to not a lot. If yours is wet and smelly I would suggest that there were not enough 'browns' in the bin or the whole lot might be too wet. Try next year adding the material in layers about 6ins thick of new green material and than a layer of dead things, cardboard and paper and not too many lawn clippings.

[Chippy Minton]

I agree with 'roitelet' stuff rots down to next to nothing, you're lucky to be catching the 'tea' We filled our Dalek for about 18 months before it looked even like it had anything in, especially in the summer, fill it to the top, go back in a few weeks and there was a couple of feet of space! Now we have chickens and rabbits and their bedding goes in so we have a lot, and I mean a lot! of brown matter, add more brown, then a bit more, then some more, but I do find we need to water the compost often as the brown is dry.

I LURVE compost

[sammy_roser]

Sounds like you added in too much green and not enough brown. Some recommend 1 part green to 2 parts brown, others recommend 50/50. If you put grass clippings in make sure it is only a small layer at a time otherwise you'll end up with sludge

[Penellype]

Yes it sounds as though the compost has gone anaerobic, which makes it rot down to a smelly black gunge. The browns, particularly chopped twiggy stuff, help to create air spaces and stop this from happening.

[Veggielot]

Compost does reduce significantly in size as it decomposes so I don't think that in itself is a sign of a problem. I wouldn't expect it to be as wet as you describe. More browns should help.

Are you sure that nothing can get in your bin. If the grass and twigs look new it could be a sign something is getting in. It could also mean rain is gerring in.

[Noosner]

Dear all, thanks so much for the help here! I think you're right, and I didn't put in enough 'browns', in fact used the bin mainly for veg peelings, egg shells etc and it has gone anaerobic. In retrospect, I took 'browns' down to the compost heap at lottie simply because they are bigger and I thought they would fill the compost bin up too much. The compost at lottie is absolutely fine, so there's a lesson there. I also think you are right about rain, Veggielot. The bin sits against a south facing wall, but we get a prevailing wind that drives the rain against that wall pretty fiercely, so I think that explains that. Also on reflection I think I probably should have emptied the reservoir of tea earlier as it may have backed up into the bin. I don't THINK anything can get in, but how the flip those twigs got in is anyone's guess!

So... just to recap on what 'browns' are...? Egg boxes, cardboard, and is newspaper a good idea? What about things like envelopes and electricity bills? (I'd like to see those rot...)

[rustylady]

So... just to recap on what 'browns' are...? Egg boxes, cardboard, and is newspaper a good idea? What about things like envelopes and electricity bills? (I'd like to see those rot...)

Yes, all those are fine. I shred my paperwork first though.

[BertieFox]

I have around seven black plastic cone composters that various people gave to me as they couldn't be bothered to use them or claimed they encouraged rats. While I find them very useful as the initial location for grass cuttings, weeds and even small prunings, I find they do not make good compost and it does end up as a sludgy mass at the bottom of the cone. In fact, it seems you can add materials for ever and they never fill up! So it's difficult to know when to stop and just leave it all.
What I do now is to empty them completely after a couple of months, depending on time of year, and put the contents into the standard 3 or 4 foot square wooden box (no gaps, solid sides, and with a cover to keep out the rain in really wet weather). This produces beautiful crumbly compost within a year which you can simply sieve to make a wonderful planting medium or top dressing. Of course, you need two of these to have one in use and one just left to 'finish'. It does take up more space but my experience with plastic bins is that they just don't work properly.

One real mystery however, is that compost always ends up with pieces of plastic, plastic bags, and even solid pieces of cutlery in it. As my wife denies totally ever putting these things into the kitchen waste, I guess they must have been left there by passing vagrants or the Little People?? NEVER any money though, which is sad.

[Chippy Minton]

I shred my paperwork first though.

Me too! The satisfying whir of the shredder, then adding to the heap, then adding the compost to the garden, it's a win : win : win

[Penellype]

Things like twigs, dead leaves and wood shavings are also browns, so if you stir twigs into your grass cuttings etc they are less likely to go smelly. Its all to do with the amount of lignin, which is the tough stringy stuff that plants produce when they get older. Grass contains very little, wood contains a lot.

[Noosner]

That's a real help folks, thanks very much indeed for taking the time out to post. I really like the idea of a shredder, and putting some of the annoying junk mail we get nowadays instead of proper letters to use. Sorry, but one more question: can you put things like colour catalogues in? Anyway it is now on my shopping list! (Oh, joy! An excuse to buy a new gadget...)

It is interesting to hear what you say about plastic composters in general BertieFox. The Envirocycle composter was quite expensive and I was seduced by the advertising that said it works incredibly quickly. In retrospect, getting a proper system going and installing another ordinary heap next to my existing one at lottie would probably have been better.

It's just that problem of kitchen waste... it's a faff taking it down to lottie and anyway I'm not quite sure it's allowed at our lotties because of the rat encouragement issue.

[4390evans]

Ive got 2 cone composters also but I find them quite good. To stop mine being sludgy I turn them every 2 months, although I was lazy for a few months and stuff started growing, I only use my compost to fill out the boarders or the hill I have as I don't have enough soil so it fills it up lovely and adds nutrients or so Im told. The bits that haven't dissolved or certain stuff that has started growing I chop up with the spade and put it in the other compost for last year. I do agree with the forever to fill bit like! one of mine took 6 months to fill and that's from a family of 5! I might have a go at one of them boxes you suggested for my little allotment bit at the bottom of the garden, see which is better

[Rocketron]

That's a real help folks, thanks very much indeed for taking the time out to post. I really like the idea of a shredder, and putting some of the annoying junk mail we get nowadays instead of proper letters to use. Sorry, but one more question: can you put things like colour catalogues in? Anyway it is now on my shopping list! (Oh, joy! An excuse to buy a new gadget...)

It is interesting to hear what you say about plastic composters in general BertieFox. The Envirocycle composter was quite expensive and I was seduced by the advertising that said it works incredibly quickly. In retrospect, getting a proper system going and installing another ordinary heap next to my existing one at lottie would probably have been better.

It's just that problem of kitchen waste... it's a faff taking it down to lottie and anyway I'm not quite sure it's allowed at our lotties because of the rat encouragement issue.

I believe Two Sheds' patent remedy is to wrap food waste in newspaper, thus adding extra browns and making more airspace in the composter.

[Bill HH]

Regarding paper, i don't think it's a good idea to add glossy paper as in magazines or catalogues etc or card board that is glossy. They all take a long time to absorb water and i think all that ink may be on the toxic side. News paper print is mainly vegetable based so is ok.