I had a serious problem with water consumption to get my compost to actually compost and I needed to fix it. Over here summer days easily reach 40C (104F) and it's hard to keep compost from drying out.
For compost to work properly you have to have some amount of moisture and oxygen. Usually, in less arid climates than mine, the moisture in the material that you add to your compost is sufficient enough to keep the composting action going. In my arid climate the moisture evaporates too quickly to form anything but a dry, stagnant pile.
To try and solve the dry pile dilemma I'd add water on a daily basis to keep my composting material active. After awhile, and a lot of wasted water, I decided I needed to do something more sustainable.
I'm lucky and have access to barrels with removable lids but anything similar will work so use your imagination if you're going to try this.
The point is to control moisture loss but to also allow oxygen to enter the composting material. Without oxygen you're pile is going to turn into something really nasty and smelly so you'll know right away if you're getting enough oxygen or not. If you're not getting enough oxygen just drill some more holes and wait until your composts next checkup.
My recycled barrel with a removable lid cost me about $20. After I brought it home I started drilling 11 mm (3/8 inch) holes all over the place on the barrel. It's a compost barrel and it didn't have to look pretty so I didn't measure anything. If you want you can get creative and make a nice design on yours.
After about 6 months with this system I have never had to add water and I still get the composting action that I want to see. There's no odd smells either, and that's a really good sign that everything is going good!
The drawback to this system is that it's hard to turn your pile. The easiest method I've found is to mix in the stuff that you're adding as deep as you can and then once in awhile dump the whole barrel out and mix it really well. If it's not ready to use just shovel it all back in.
Who needs a gym membership when you're composting!
Submitted by GabyLo on November 4, 2009 - 10:34am.
We - my husband and I - live also in a semi-dry environment. The problem we have found, well not really a problem but more or less I state, our compost never had worms. As a matter of fact it is known they accelerate the breakdown process and a number of research studies indicate that vermicomposting can significantly reduce levels of pathogens in waste materials, such as biosolids along with more benefits for your compost. Very helpful I know, but keeping them or trying to get them from someone that so far we know nobody around the area who breed them, we have to accept the way of living without these slimy creatures and to accelerate the breakdown process, using instead something always is handy and works perfect for the deed, of course if you are not a squeamish-finicky human being. Simple, pee on it !!!
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