Hello Ahmad,
You’re right, I’ll be adding shredded paper and cardboard, as sawdust takes forever to compost. It’s still great though.

Alzainah

be careful from too much juicing!
because you don’t get any fiber from juice.
as a woman you need around 27 grams fiber per day.
best luck,

The bad smelling gas may be hydrogen sulfide – be very careful not to inhale (smells like rotten/overcooked eggs/cabbage? same odour) It can also be ammonia (too much nitrogen -> a lot of ammonium) – also bad. Those obligate anaerobes have funky metabolism
Do not worry about anaerobic bacteria – you want those guys too
I am setting up a live planted aquarium so the soil/compost parts cross over very well. I fully understand how frustrating it may be to find/setup these type of projects where there is no support (although much easier to do than a planted aquarium!)
Just a question, did you find a source for red clay? Red clay (not modelling clay found in il maktabat) is rich in iron so it would greatly help terrestrial or aquatic plants. You can try to add some to whatever you are trying to plant next to see if any positive effect is noticed as an experiment.
Can’t find red clay? Kitty litter is bentonite/molar clay. Don’t ask how I know…….
I am thinking of doing hydroponics since I pretty much have most of the necessary equipment and I would hate to waste what I learned from college. Once I learned that berries need 2-3 years before fruiting I hesitated a bit….
I also like to cook and finding good vegetable/fruit ingredients is hard enough especially in summer. I miss the taste of vine ripe cherry tomatoes but alas, so is life. Never mind Italian basil :(
A very lovely blog. Keep up the good work.

Hello there Fatboa,
You seem to know a lot about composting, thank you for your tips.
I’m pretty sure it’s not H2S, and probably ammonia, I am very careful not to breath in any gases from my compost, especially if it’s steaming hot.

I have not heard of red clay being used as a soil conditioner, if you can let me how to get it here, I’d experiment with it.
Isn’t cat litter with anti odor elements dangerous? I’ve read to never use it in compost.
What did you study in college? Hydroponics is a very interesting field. You might be interested in the products featured in this new shop http://www.biohydrokw.com/ owned by a very passionate hydroponics grower.
Yes! Cooking with quality ingredients is really a privilege.
Thank you very much for your kind words, I appreciate the encouragement.

Alzainah

I do not necessarily know a lot about composting, just biochemistry.
Good idea about not breathing any gases, I’ve inhaled way too many in laboratories.
I have no idea where to find red clay and that is what I am trying to find. I’ll search some more since I need some for my aquarium. It is just a way to add iron and something with cation exchange capacity (CEC) to hold onto nutrients for the plants although the peat you’re adding to the soil has more than enough CEC.
Yes cat litter with anti-odour elements are dangerous but you can find some. One I did find was at Sultan Center labeled Pura. Supposedly its made from bentonite and pretty much nothing else even in the way of anti-clumping agents. I added some to water and it formed a sludge so I suppose it is true. I’ve also read studies about bentonite increasing yields in South East Asia but it was used for rice which prefers a clay rich soil. If you ever thought about growing plant which requires a clay soil to thrive you’ll know where to look.
I studied biochemistry/molecular biology type of stuff. Funnily enough, the most fun and interesting course I took was plant tissue culture which was from another major (botany). I sort of regret not majoring in it.
Thank you for the hydroponics website, I was searching for a micronutrient mix and found some at a hydroponics website here in Kuwait but was discouraged when I found out is closed. Not too surprising since everyone thinks using “agricultural sand” (really sea sand – test it with vinegar and see the bubbles) is enough, nevermind (Nirvanaaaaaa!!) organic matter, micro/macro nutrients etc.
A related story, my aunt has a few bonsai trees that are on the verge of dying (3+ year old peat moss mix with far too frequent watering = none remaining synthetic fertilizers + depleted organic matter + fungus). I added some potassium nitrate, calcium phosphate, potassium, magnesium sulphate, a micronutrient mix and less than a week later its sending shoots, new leaves and showing good growth. She asked me what I did and told her that it needed added nutrients, changing the soil and you watered it too frequently. She looked at me as if I was insane!
I’m thinking of growing San Marzano tomatoes and italian basil hydroponically. Just so I can make pizza so that is my motivation. I’ll probably start when I see some results from the planted aquarium.
You’re very welcome and sorry about babbling for too long.