Making compost questions

Just looking to make my own compost and have a few questions.
1- what types of things should i add to it? I know not to add dairy and meat,onions and lemons but is it ok to add trim from plants and maybe some fish?
2-also wondering if i can put my old promix/perilite into it ?
3-how do you know when its good to go?
4-should i dig up worms and throw them in or will the composting kill them?
5-can i mix my compost in my indoor grow with my pro mix and perilite and if so how much? I uaually only finish in 3-5 gallons

Anything else you may think of that may help

I'm in construction and have five old tubs that I compost in. I mix old potting soils, yard waste, fish, wood ash, saw dust, shrimp shells, and other stuff. Most of the time I only use some of the material mentioned in a batch, but have several batches of different materials.

When I'm making soil blends for growing indoors I'll use some of different batches but also add dolemite lime, clay, perilite, gypsum, and other amendments like oyster shell, kelp, ....... and cook it between 1-4 weeks. I start with fox farm ocean forest and happy frog and build on that.

I don't know what conditions are like there for composting but I make large batches and use them to top dress my out door plants, shrubs, veggies, fruits. I make a lot Of compost but always miX it or top dress. I never add time release to it.

The worms come naturally and do the most work.

If you have spcifec questions just ask.

Bareback said:

I'm in construction and have five old tubs that I compost in. I mix old potting soils, yard waste, fish, wood ash, saw dust, shrimp shells, and other stuff. Most of the time I only use some of the material mentioned in a batch, but have several batches of different materials.

When I'm making soil blends for growing indoors I'll use some of different batches but also add dolemite lime, clay, perilite, gypsum, and other amendments like oyster shell, kelp, ....... and cook it between 1-4 weeks. I start with fox farm ocean forest and happy frog and build on that.

I don't know what conditions are like there for composting but I make large batches and use them to top dress my out door plants, shrubs, veggies, fruits. I make a lot Of compost but always miX it or top dress. I never add time release to it.

The worms come naturally and do the most work.

If you have spcifec questions just ask.

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Pretty cold here for the next couple months between 0-15 celsius so not sure if it will cook that well. Shoukd i check ph before i use it?

I’m in the deep south so I can compost year around. I don’t ph any of my ingredients before I cook it but I will do a ph on a water run off test before putting seedlings in it. But I have never had a problem with ph from compost. Mixing compost in my soil only gives me these issues, weed seed contamination, poor drainage . But a good mix with my compost gives me a soil that feeds my plants for the entire grow, however if I see that they need feed I will give some nutrients and I usually do two or three times a grow.

Op, you should be fine with the weather/temp you're having. Do yourself a favor and get some organic compost starter, it helps when you start your pile and will heat it up. Yes, fish is definitely a good input for your pile, as well as any kitchen scraps you didnt mention. Make sure you have enough 'brown' material (leaves,straw,old soil) to mix in or your pile will stink,be too wet and becomes anaerobic (you'll be able to smell when this happens) I used a lot of peat moss which wasnt great but it was fairly cheap. It gets a little too compacted though,so I added straw. If you can find a good source for wood shavings, grab them!! Those get the pile really hot and are great because they dont compact like sawdust( I used sawdust which worked well, just settled too much) make sure the shavings are clean wood, no pressure treated.
You want your pile above 150°f to kill weed seeds, I was getting mine up to 175°f every time i turned it, then after 2 weeks it would drop to 100°f. When it dropped to 100°, I'd turn the pile by pitchfork, getting that pile back up to 175° by the next day.
I just added a bunch of seaweed to mine in prepartion for winter. I turned it the other day, and after a few nights of freezing weather, my pile is at 75°f. Those temps wont break down anything, but at least i can still get into it all winter( I'm hoping) It would be nice to cut down on my scraps in the trash during winter, not just summer. I'm curious to see if the pile will stay thawed all winter. It should if I keep turning it.
You'll be surprised at what you can compost and what is beneficial. Just make sure youve got your brown/green material ratios right, and youll be good to go