I’m on the Denver Urban Gardens mailer and here is a question that was asked:

Okay, I’m kind of struggling with composting. I had mushrooms growing a few weeks ago, and now I have fleas that are getting to be a problem. I add green and brown to the bin, water, stir once or twice a week — what am I doing wrong? Also, I have not seen a single worm in there. Help!-JH

Here’s my response:

Well for starters I don’t view mushrooms in your compost as much of an issue. Just means you’re doing something right keeping good healthy soil and staying toxin free!

As far as your flea issue is concerned, there will always be plenty of bugs in your compost, it’s a good thing! They help break down kitchen scraps etc… into compost hummus. But if you’re sure you have fleas (which as far as I’m aware is not a natural compost bug) you may have your compost a little too soggy. It should be as moist as a damp sponge, no wetter. I would dry it out for awhile until the fleas go away. Remember your green/brown ratio should be 40/60 which will help with your moisture level. Also to help get rid of the fleas: they don’t like garlic very much, try composting some of that on your pile.

And as far as your worms are concerned, if you’ve got a big bin (3×3′+) the compost may be too hot for worms to want to get in there. This is good. If you’re doing more of a passive style compost you can jump start your worms by picking up some red wigglers from City Floral or other garden centers. -CP

Perhaps this can answer some of your questions as well!

So the other day while getting ready for bed I came across a nicely sized black spider scurrying along my carpet trying to ineptly escape my gaze. So instead of my usual capturing of the spider in a cup and hurling it off my balcony I devised a crafty composting solution.

I had thought many times about having a spider in my compost bin to suck up all the fruit flies that cloud my vision every time I open my worm bin. So I decided to do just that! I plopped him right inside the compost bin and shut the lid hoping he wouldn’t try to leave the enclosed container.

He didn’t. In fact 2 days later when i went to check on it he had a decent sized web setup with more flies than he could dream of! Certainly a win win situation. Hopefully I don’t ruin the web too much when I do my next aerating stir. Who would’ve thought it’d be that easy?

This article is from the “Balcony Compost Newsletter (Compost This!)” Please use the form on the right to sign up for the semi-monthly newsletter if you thought this information was helpful

A major deterrent many people have about composting is smell. Understandable! We’ve all had kitchen scraps composting in our garbage bins creating a smell that leaves you gagging. Please keep in mind:

Your compost should not smell!

Don’t get me wrong. Compost, like anything else, can be done improperly. Why not take these easy steps to keep your compost smelling foresty fresh:

• Make sure your compost is only moist. Soggy wet compost can smell like a soggy gym sock.
• Don’t add meat or cheese.
• Make sure your compost is well aerated. If it’s packed down, mix it up and allow air through.
• Compost thrives on a good mix of green and brown components. A lot of green components can be smelly, including the majority of your kitchen scraps. Add more brown to suck up moisture and smells. Here’s a list of some good urban browns: shredded newspaper; toilet paper & paper towel rolls; rice; dryer lint; vacuum cleaner sweepings; coffee filters; tissue.