Matt Cotton

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since Nov 10, 2012
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Recent posts by Matt Cotton

Jessica -

Not sure where you are located, but there are dozens of good training classes in larger-scale composting available. The US Composting Council is a good place to start; look here for a list of upcoming training courses: http://compostingcouncil.org/other-training-courses/, but there are others that may not be listed here. Google "compost training" in your area. In my experience - helping large scale composters for over 25 years - many (though not all) of the problems I encounter deal with the fundamentals of pile construction, porosity/material balance, moisture, aeration, turning frequency, temperature, etc. Understanding the fundamentals is key to achieving consistent results, whether at backyard, farm, or commercial scale.
12 years ago
The issues you're having with the addition of 200 pounds of (I'm guessing) "sheets" of paper to "a minivan size" compost pile might have more to do with the porosity of the pile then with C:N ratio per se. Yes, paper has a lot of carbon, but it doesn't provide a lot of structure. Try this - get a 5-gallon bucket, weigh it (most 5 gallon buckets I've weighed are 1.8 - 2 pounds) fill it with the compost, tap it a few times on the ground from about 4 - 6 inches and top it off and weigh it again (a bathroom scale should work, a fishing scale or a luggage scale work well and allow you to hoist the bucket with the scale). Take the resulting weight, subtract the initial (tare) weight (the 1.8 - 2 pounds) and then multiply by 40. For example, if the filled bucket weighs 27 pounds, subtract 2 pounds for the bucket weight and you get 25. 25 pounds x 40 = 1,000 pounds per cubic yard. This works because there are almost exactly 40, 5-gallon buckets in a cubic yard. Technically most 5-gallon buckets are slightly more than 5-gallons, so if you want to be more precise, figure out exactly where the 5-gallon mark is, but its probably not that important for your pile.

For a passively aerated pile, 800 - to 1,000 pounds would be a good target weight (lighter is probably better - to a point). If your pile is much denser then that (1,000 pounds per cubic yard) you may want to add some high structure wood ships (not sawdust), maybe straw, something to lighten up the mix. Add the chips, recombine the pile and see if that doesn't solve the problem. The structure of the pile is what allows oxygen into the pile. To little and your pile might not have been getting enough oxygen, which might account for the unusual structure and odor.

Hope this is useful.
12 years ago