Composting kitchen waste

[Karen]

Hi All,I'm just beginning to "remediate" my patch of compacted soil to prepare the garden. When I attended Jim Muir's composting class, he talked about reducing the size of organic material before burying or layering it to amend the soil. He said he uses either a vegetable juicer or I can see using a food processor to create a uniform mash that will decompose more quickly. BUT, I know the easier I make this process, the more likely I am to keep it up.What experiences have you all had with just burying or chucking the larger chunks of vegetable and fruit scraps? How long might it take to break down in a layered "lasagna gardening" pile?Thanks in advance,Karen

[Dana]

I have two main methods - large holding area where I just dig it in. I don't add egg shells anymore since most AZ soil is highly alkaline and I heard we don't need to add more calcium. Also the shells aren't as good for the worms I've heard unless they are powdered and used around house. The other method is I trench long rows and fill with kitchen scraps then cover as I fill. I do this in areas where soil is real bad. Then later I can add finihed compost from my big bin when ready to plant. I do cut up some of the bigger chunks and add no banana peels due to insecticides on peel from shipping/import requirements.

[Harry Harrison]

Put the scraps in a bucket and chop up with a spade. Can mow with a mower if not too wet.
cheers Harry

[Melissa Rennells]

for me cores of like cabage or cauliflower take longer to break down.. so I just take few seconds and chop them a bit. corn husks as like the brown material. It took 2-3 weeks to break down the Cauliflower chunks last time I added them. I'm sure in the winter it will take longer.. the heat had a lot to due with the speed cause it dehydrated all the stuff.

[Cindy Findley]

I want to compost but do not have a plan or container yet.

I am tossing coffee grinds, egg shells, and veggie & fruit scraps in my flower beds. The flower beds are lush so no one can see how truly lazy I am.

Can you foresee any issues I may have in the future?

PS I live in an area full of feral cats, so rodents are NOT an issue. Speaking of that, anyone need a healthy (wild) kitten?

[Jane Doyle]

We've got two wild kittens already, thanks :^). My mother has always told me not to put eggshells in my compost, because our soil here has so many minerals already. Doesn't sound like your flowers mind too much at all, though!

[Karen]

Thanks, Anne. That's pretty much my current plan of action. If it doesn't work, I'll adjust. I don't want to play with my food quite that much :-)
k

[Karen]

Thanks, Anne. That's pretty much my current plan of action. If it doesn't work, I'll adjust. I don't want to play with my food quite that much :-)
k

[Karen]

Thanks for confirming my own lazy thinking. The only thing I wondered was if the "lasagna" technique allows the composting process to attain the temperature necessary to kill the "bad" bacteria, as well as break down the good stuff.