Dry Compost = No Composting

My three-month-old grass clippings look like I put them in last week.

306°  After our cat found a mouse in the backyard I decided it was time to see if my compost pile had become a nest for live cat toys. The good news was that it had not. In fact, I found no sign of any type of unwanted pests. That was the good news.

The bad news was that the compost was completely dry. Not only was it not composting, it was actually preserving plant matter. Grass clippings from last summer looked like they might green up if I put them out on the lawn and watered them.

I know they say we’re in a severe drought and if my compost pile is an indicator, we’re as dry as salt on a sand dune in the Sahara.

I know compost needs water, but I had hoped it would happen by magic

I reorganized the compost and added some dirt and mucho water. I read that dirt helps the composting process. I guess compost does better when it has something to act as a model for it. I put in the soil mixture I purchased last Spring because I want my compost to have quality dirt to model after, not this clay-clay mixture found almost everywhere from Colorado to Nevada.

Now I just need to water my compost twice a month and turn it once a month. The price we pay to pretend to be farmers.