My not so garden oriented boyfriend was trying to help by turning my compost and added dirt from the garden to the top layer of my beautiful compost. The natural dirt around here has a high clay content and I'm worried that the compost pile is not decomposing properly. Anyone have any advice or know if this will be OK?
So composters advise throwing some dirt in as a "starter" - all the bacteria in the dirt. Turn it, fluff it, keep it warm ;-)
I think it will be fine, unless it was a LOT of dirt. Then you are going to need to find lots of browns and greens to mix in.
My mom is a master gardener, and her rule is, anything goes! EXCEPT animal proteins (because this will encourage the growth of bacteria that eats animal protein, which is dangerous for you when you're gardening, if you should cut your hand or something). Anyhow, throwing dirt into your compost isn't ideal, but by the same token it won't hurt it either. Just turn the compost and forget about it!
My mom is a compost queen - she never added dirt however, it won't hurt it any. Plus, since the dirt is already in the compost bin, you can't do a thing about it. My mom puts shredded paper (from the bills), spoiled milk, anything related to produce, etc. She says no animal fat though. Hope this helps.
It's absolutely ok - in fact, he did you a favor! A bit of dirt in the compost actually helps the compost break down, as it contains an abundance of microorganisms needed for decay. Most instructions for compost-pile-building suggest that you add a shovel full or two of dirt, but a little more won't hurt either. If you feel like the clay soil on top is weighing your pile down (which it might be), just turn your pile to incorporate the dirt and get some air into the pile. Clay soil is actually full of nutrients, so it will just add to the pile all of it's good qualities :).Remember to keep the pile as damp as a wrung out sponge, and try to add green/browns in a 2:1 ratio and you should be good! If you have any other questions, feel free to call the Master Composters "Rotline" (really!) at ###-###-####. I'm a Master Gardener for Santa Clara County and if you have gardening questions, our hotline is ###-###-####, with staffing to answer your questions M-F, 9:30-12:30 :). Good luck!
Perfect question for my friend Shawna. =)
http://www.thecasualgardener.com/
I think it is okay, just turn it to keep aerating the compost.
