r/composting

I have been collecting my kitchen scraps and yard waste in my compost bin for a few months now. I'm lucky since we have a giant oak tree behind our property that sheds like crazy so I have plenty of browns. Every time I take a kitchen bucket out back, I cap it with the oak leaves and pour water over top that I rinse the bucket with.

I also pour in my kids pee into it when they pee on a potty rather than in the toilet, it's not a whole lot but figured since pee seems to be THE thing to do, it's better than nothing.

I turn it probably not as frequently as I should but when I do, a bunch of earwigs scatter and then crawl back in which I think is a good thing?

I finally got a thermometer to check the temperature and was a bit bummed out. It's 73 outside, we just got out of an insane heat wave so I'm not sure if the pile heat is the decomposition or if it's just retained from the last few days. It's reading at about 83.

Should I just be turning it more? Do I need to chop these leaves up? Open to any suggestions. I'm planning to have a pretty large garden set up for next spring so this compost would be very valuable. Please help 🙏

Found in deep country
Ecolo

Mondays are compost turning day. Mix of garden waste, a couple of bales of spoiled lucerne, softwood shavings from the calf pens and half a ton of coffee grounds.
Apologies for the dodgy camera work, it’s tricky to operate the tractor whilst filming!

I’ve never seen these in my compost before. I think they’re black soldier fly larvae? I keep the lid closed all the time but I saw a black soldier fly hanging out in the bin when I left it open briefly. It grosses me out but they seem to be making quick work of things!

Fresh grass, fresh weeds, dried grass, sticks (Finely chopped), cardboard (cut to 2" cubes), wood fire ash, wood coals. All built and ready to go!

It's just to start the pile, but if anyone has any tips, tricks, or any onsite please let me know. I checked multiple sources online and they said I could add all the things I did.

I do have a bucket indoor for food scraps to add later on as well, but I needed to get something started.

My compost is in a tote on my balcony(I live in an apt). There are millions of these what the heck are they? I recently added pill bugs(roly polys) but I don’t see them anywhere - are these tiny bugs eating them? Help

Passionate about their work

Duel win! Yellow oysters are helping break down the wood and I get some yummy mushrooms.

Time to mix a few of my loose piles and kitchen scraps.

Hi all! First time composter here! Just wanted to ask the experts how close I am to usable compost. I have a double barrel rotating bin, and the other side is almost maxed out so I am hoping to get this stuff cleared out soon so I can let the other side decompose and start filling this side again. Thanks in advance for any help/advice!

So I’ve been frustrated the last year or so working with my tumbler. It doesn’t get hot, and produces sticky compost that never quite finishes to the right texture. I took inspiration from a post a few months ago and decided to build a compost (finishing) tower out of bricks.

I spent 2-1/2 months scavenging mismatching bricks until I finally found a dumpster full and made 10 trips on my bike carrying them home. The ground wasn’t level so I needed to first lay down some gravel to even out the area. The build didn’t quite conform to a cylinder and seemed to naturally narrow to a slight cone as I built up. I read online that would make it more stable, so I went with it.

In there I dumped first a bunch of sticks and cedar cuttings. Then I dumped in the younger side of my tumbler (sticks and kitchen waste), then the aging side (composting mud). I topped it with mostly finished compost that I had sitting in buckets.

My plan here is to let it cook the rest of the summer and maybe start pulling off the top when I need soil again, maybe in March.

Wish me luck!!

Don’t mind the cardboard on top of the pile on the left, it got shredded right after this lol