General – Page 40 – Crazy About Compost

Ants in the Compost – What do I do?

As spring turns to summer, ants tend to creep into compost piles more easily if the conditions are good. To be clear, ants aren't necessarily a problem for a compost pile, but you don't want the pile to be overrun with them. Luckily, the steps to getting ants on their way out is very easy: 1) Dampen the pile - ants show up when a compost pile is dry. "moist as a wrung out sponge" still applies. Add more browns, then get them wet. 2) Turn the pile - Not my favorite option, since I like to be as lazy as possible with composting, but it does work. Turning the contents will disrupt their plants and re-bury the food scraps. 3) Mix in grass - it retains moisture that will…

Stop Buying Compost. Perfect Way To Make Your Own Compost At Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4PVA7Hc9E Great video! Two gripes: 1) Ignore the 50/50 ratio mentioned- For every amount of food scraps added, you'll need three times as much brown material, ideally leaves. 2) Don't expect a finished pile in 4 months, unless you want to turn it frequently... I don't! I like to give it a year.

Envirocycle worm invasion!

This is a good problem to have- red wigglers are finding their way from my compost pile into my Envirocycle! It's interesting how I still can't get the dampness fixed, even after quadrupling my leaf additions each week. I think it's time to make the holes on the sides bigger to let more air in. If you have an old Envirocycle composter model that's pre-vents, definitely think about making some of your own.