I am currently done doing my own experimentation with composting. I am using a composter given by my in-laws called bio-stacker. It works, it costs around $100, but is not as easy to use as the cost tumbler (that costs from $250-$400 depending on the model you buy.)

The following is my entries of what I have been doing.

I realize I am not doing everything perfectly. This is for two reason, one is I am a little lazy and secondly I am experimenting. One experiment is the whole lemon piece. I know perfectly well it will not decompose properly in its currently whole condition, but I am more interested in seeing what happens to it over the course of the next year. I do expect to have some usable compost at the end of summer but only time will tell.

I am still composting but not documenting it any more. What I found out were three main keys. First was temperature was key, summer weather made it break down fast. Second you needed to keep it moist, but not soaken wet. Third, it needed to be turned regularly. I generally accumulate a lot over the fall and winter, then just let the composting do its thing over the summer. BTW, everything breaks down, it is amazing.

March 21st, 2006
I got my compost turner in today and so far I like it. It seems easy to use and durable to boot. Only time will tell.

February 26th, 2006
I turned the pile again today. It is looking good and still continues to break down the food scraps the my wife and I have put into it. I am really proud of my wife because she has taken a lot of food scraps out to the two compost bins. The second one is just a round piece of chicken wire and I have been throwing my citrus rinds, citrus tree cuttings, and some other plant trash from around the house. Right now it will be a holding bin for dry material or a long term compost pile. Not sure how I am going to utilize it.
The things I have noticed that are not decomposing are some branches from the star jasmine/waxleaf listrum and some bermuda grass pieces. They will eventually decompose but I can see that it will take a while.
I bought a compost turner online and I am looking forward to getting it delivered. It will really save my back since I am still having issues with my back and heavy labor.

February 7th, 2006
My back felt a little better so I performed a much needed turn. I knew my wife had been putting food in it on a weekly basis. This provided a lot of the much needed nitrates. And so far the compost is looking really good. The only visible food is oranges I put in about 2 weeks ago. Some unidentified citrus was decomposing quite nicely and no other food was visible. The only visible plant matter was a bunch of leaves I put in about a month ago. They wern't placed properly so they did not decompose as well as they would have if I had some compost-dirt on top of them. I went ahead and watered them like I should and with the heat we are having in So. Cal. the little microbes should be having a field day in the coming weeks.

December 24th, 2005
I went ahead and turned the pile again. This time I noticed a lot more dirt than normal, this is good. The one thing I am finding that is not composing is the branches from the star jasmine. They really do get in the way. I also removed several other branches the last time I turned it too. They will be going in my stationary compost pile which I just finished setting up.
I have also put in a lot of food and although it is attracting some nats, it is decomposing very fast.
What I am calling the stationary compost pile is just a cylinder made from chicken wire fense. I had some spare chicken wire so I just made a huge cylinder from it, about three times the area of my bio-stack composter. But I will not be turning this pile so it will take a long time for it to compost properly.

November 5th, 2005
I have pretty much done nothing with the pile at this point other than add some kitchen trash. Fruit, vegetables, and other matter that can easily decompose. But I have not watered it nor turned it. So it will be interesting to see what it looks like in a few months. The main reason I have not done anything is because my back is really bothering me and outdoor yardwork is out of the question until the doctor figures out what is going on.

September 24th, 2005
Today I threw some decomposing vegetables and fruit that was starting to grow in my kitchen/fridge. I noticed the grass was not decomposing like I would like. Nor was the star jasmin branches. But on the bottom was the start of some nice looking soil. So it looks like I have a chance. I also noticed that it collapsed from 3/4 full to 1/2 full.

July 19th, 2005
I started to scold myself today for not being more active in this experiment. Then I realized that what I am doing is more realistic. People with compost piles are more likely to do what I am doing instead of what the experts recommend. I am very busy with both work and school so I do not have a lot of time for things like this.
When I turned the pile I noticed that the fruit was completely gone except for a pineapple. I had a pineapple that was starting to rot so I threw the whole thing in. As of right now it is over half gone. Some onion peel and tortilla pieces were also visible (as was a little newspaper) but no other food products. The branches of my Star Jasmine were still there as was the grass I added and the leaves I put in at the beginning. No real compost had developed yet.
I plan on watering it regularly once or twice a week and will probably turn it in about a month or two. But I know I will be getting busy and probably will not feel like messing with this must over the next few months.

June 25th, 2005
Added another 4 gallons of water to the pile, added growing potatoes (probably not a good idea but this is an experiment) and a bunch of vegetable scraps (and hot dog bun) from last night's dinner. I expect those to be unnoticable in 3-4 weeks.
I did not put any meat in because that will attract insects and egg laying.

june 24th, 2005

I really need to be flipping the pile every week but I have been very busy. i flipped the pile today and although it isn't very hard, I still wish I had a compost tumbler. (I am about ready to convert a trash can into a make shift compost tumbler.)
upon inspecting the pile I noticed that the crab grass is not composting well but the rest is slowly decomposing. I cannot see any food particles, just leaves, branches, and crab grass. So far bread, vegetable matter, cherry tomato, carrot pieces, newspaper, paper towels have all decomposed to an unidentified state. The only two things I noticed that have not fully decomposed is the whole lemon and the cardboard cereal box. Also, far not much soil has developed. The lemon is almost whole but the cereal box is not looking too good. So it looks like a cereal box will decompose, but expect it to take more time than green/brown matter will.

May 28th, 2005
I turned the pile and added water to the 3 layers. For the past 6 weeks I have not seen a lot of decomposition like I would have liked. But I also know that I also do not have a perfect compost pile and I am only turning it every other week. Ideally I should have had a better mix of brown and green substances (I had too many green leaves), I had no starter and I failed to moisten the pile properly from the start. Now that I have a better mix I should see faster decompostion. I will add some green leaves this weekend and fill it up to the top.

I am currently having an infestation of earwigs and I have a spider living in there. I am leaving them alone for now.

I added some bread, carrot pieces, and a piece of newspaper as experimentation pieces.

The food products have decomposed to the point that I cannot see anything noticable except for the corn husks, corn cobs, the whole lemon, and the cardboard is not doing anything noticable.

May 14th, 2005
I turned the batch today and added water to the whole batch after I turned it. Ideally I should have added water to each layer (3 at this time) as I turned it. The whole batch has collapsed to 1/3 of the original size it was 2 weeks ago. So now I have room for some more leaves or other items. I have also added some food products and cardboard from a cereal box over the past week. The food products are tomato pieces, bread pieces, coffee grounds and filter (which are a great compost starter), and some citrus.

May 7th, 2005
I watered down the whole batch today but did not turn it. Because I have so much green stuff the water pretty much slid off the green leaves and went to the soil in the very bottom. I am noticing a fly problem.

April 30th, 2005
I Have had a myriad of items in. They are currently burmuda grass, leaves from my Star Jasmine and leaves/branches from my Waxleaf Listrum. I filled it to the top and did not water down the product.


References and bibliography I got this booklet for free at the living desert and it is a good book to follow. I am not following it to the letter because I am doing my own experimentation but I use it as a guide. I also whole heartedly recommend it for composting.
McDowell, C. F., & Clark-McDowell, T., (2002). Home Composting Made Easy. Cortesia Press.