Gloop disposal ideas?
July 24, 2011 4:04 PM Subscribe
What can I do with the gloopy sludge that resulted from my failed composting?
I was a very lazy composter, mainly just putting wet vegetable/fruit scraps into a 7 cubic foot compost tumbler. It's possible that the combination of poor ratio-ing and the relatively small size of the tumbler prevented proper composting from occurring, and now I have a dark, smelly sludge that seems to mostly be the result of soldier fly larvae "processes." My question is, what can I possibly do with this stuff? I don't have a proper yard I can dig up and bury this stuff in. If I transfer it into a larger container with some dry materials, can it be salvaged? Is there some amazing organization in Los Angeles that will take it off my hands? Any ideas are welcome. Thanks.
I was a very lazy composter, mainly just putting wet vegetable/fruit scraps into a 7 cubic foot compost tumbler. It's possible that the combination of poor ratio-ing and the relatively small size of the tumbler prevented proper composting from occurring, and now I have a dark, smelly sludge that seems to mostly be the result of soldier fly larvae "processes." My question is, what can I possibly do with this stuff? I don't have a proper yard I can dig up and bury this stuff in. If I transfer it into a larger container with some dry materials, can it be salvaged? Is there some amazing organization in Los Angeles that will take it off my hands? Any ideas are welcome. Thanks.
You can probably drop it into a container, fill the container with water and make compost tea.
posted by xingcat at 4:07 PM on July 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by xingcat at 4:07 PM on July 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
I had a similar issue after a wet spring this year and adding too much water over the winter. I added a bunch of extra browns (paper towels/napkins, newspaper, dry leaves, stale bread), and that solved the problem.
posted by summit at 4:14 PM on July 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by summit at 4:14 PM on July 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Compost isn't like a batch of fudge that is ruined if you don't do it exactly right so there is zero need for concern here. If you've got a big pool of sloppy compost then you need to add a bunch of dry stuff to it. Rake the yard and throw that in there. Clear the gutters and put that in too. Grass clippings. Dead soil. Newspapers. Dry organic stuff, mainly. Just keep heaving it in and stir it all up like a big grim soup. It will be just fine and your garden will find it delicious.
posted by tumid dahlia at 4:30 PM on July 24, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by tumid dahlia at 4:30 PM on July 24, 2011 [9 favorites]
Nthing adding more "browns."
(Don't add water in an attempt to make compost tea. That is not what compost tea is. It's smelly probably because you've fostered the growth of smelly anaerobic bacteria; aerobic bacteria is the kind you want to grow in your compost. Adding water will no help this situation.)
posted by purpleclover at 5:40 PM on July 24, 2011
(Don't add water in an attempt to make compost tea. That is not what compost tea is. It's smelly probably because you've fostered the growth of smelly anaerobic bacteria; aerobic bacteria is the kind you want to grow in your compost. Adding water will no help this situation.)
posted by purpleclover at 5:40 PM on July 24, 2011
Is your compost bin FULL of the gloop or is there room? You might have to acquire another bin and divide the gloop in two and then add the browns to both if you have too much gloop.
Small browns- so straw, newspapers (ripped up) etc, not sticks. Be careful with grass clippings- I recall that grass clippings (ie fresh not-dried grass) are more green than brown, (correct, compost divas?)
If you're in the heat wave of the USA now (which is probably why you're posting this- the smell!) once you add the dry browns the heat should help dry it out and salvage it.
The basic rule of thumb for the ratio is more brown to green, something I've seen is having a bag of straw or whatever on hand next to the tumbler so you can chuck in a few handfuls of brown with your veggie scraps each time you take the scraps to the tumbler.
We line our kitchen bench top scraps bin with newspaper (to stop icky veggie goo sticking to the bin) (has to be several sheets thick) which seems to help the compost, as the brown/green is then in layers. Stirring or tumbling your compost is important too.
posted by titanium_geek at 6:02 PM on July 24, 2011
Small browns- so straw, newspapers (ripped up) etc, not sticks. Be careful with grass clippings- I recall that grass clippings (ie fresh not-dried grass) are more green than brown, (correct, compost divas?)
If you're in the heat wave of the USA now (which is probably why you're posting this- the smell!) once you add the dry browns the heat should help dry it out and salvage it.
The basic rule of thumb for the ratio is more brown to green, something I've seen is having a bag of straw or whatever on hand next to the tumbler so you can chuck in a few handfuls of brown with your veggie scraps each time you take the scraps to the tumbler.
We line our kitchen bench top scraps bin with newspaper (to stop icky veggie goo sticking to the bin) (has to be several sheets thick) which seems to help the compost, as the brown/green is then in layers. Stirring or tumbling your compost is important too.
posted by titanium_geek at 6:02 PM on July 24, 2011
The experts can correct me if I'm wrong but unless you've been putting fecal matter in there then there's very few ways that it can actually be dangerous/harmful/ruined.
Nthing the other comments here, just add X, Y, or Z until it looks like dirt again. Time heals all wounds with compost.
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:45 PM on July 24, 2011
Nthing the other comments here, just add X, Y, or Z until it looks like dirt again. Time heals all wounds with compost.
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:45 PM on July 24, 2011
Add ripped up cardboard, lots. And don't fret about the ink. Ink used to contained toxic heavy metals such as lead, but doesn't anymore. In fact, there is more heavy metals in most garden soils and so by adding composted cardboard you are actually diluting any existing heavy metals that occur naturally in your soil.
posted by priorpark17 at 1:51 AM on July 25, 2011
posted by priorpark17 at 1:51 AM on July 25, 2011
I recall that grass clippings (ie fresh not-dried grass) are more green than brown, (correct, compost divas?)
That's my understanding as well; grass clippings are a great way to kick start an inactive or slow system, but they won't help in this case.
posted by Think_Long at 5:44 AM on July 25, 2011
That's my understanding as well; grass clippings are a great way to kick start an inactive or slow system, but they won't help in this case.
posted by Think_Long at 5:44 AM on July 25, 2011
Yeah, nthing with the do not worry chorus. I have a compost pile that is the epitome of lazy composting in place. (I do turn it frequently, but pay little attention to temperature or ratios or anything like that.) All you need is time. There's no real way to ruin compost.
posted by dhartung at 1:00 PM on July 25, 2011
posted by dhartung at 1:00 PM on July 25, 2011
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posted by Think_Long at 4:07 PM on July 24, 2011 [1 favorite]