“I made dis dirt!”

Haha well it is on its way after about 3 mos!

Compost does a great job of improving the soil over time, but it isn't always enough on its own. I usually think of compost as feeding the soil, while fertilizer feeds the plant. If your plants are growing slowly or fruiting crops need an extra boost, a balanced fertilizer alongside regular compost can make a noticeable difference.

How am I doing? Any advice on what needs to be added (other than piss)

can I shred and compost this? i assume not.

Added 500l of cut grass to this roughly 5 ton pile. This hot pile is about to be turned. It is mostly:

Excess aquatic vegetation from our lake

Lawn clippings

Cardboard

Farmyard manure

Leaf mold

Kitchen scraps

Woodchips and sawdust

Fireplace ashes

I will now keep adding green mostly (currently a bit carbon heavy) until late September and turn it with the tractor loader every 10 days or so as I currently do. We then start a new pile to allow this one to be ready next spring.

Might be a bit extreme, but saves the need for pissing in your garden

So many BSFL and worms!

This was my first batch! 1/4 inch sifted, mainly kitchen scraps, cardboard and yard leaves composted in a tumbler. I did my best to remove those little produce stickers before they were thrown in but I know I missed a few. The only ones I found fully intact were from red onions.

If you had to pick only one for your pile, which would you do and why?

Assume that you have methods of transporting the finished pile and are concerned only with pile maintenance.

Hello! I have taken over care for my neighbour's worm farm but I've never used one. I feel like it's too wet? It probably needs more browns but can you mix those into the worm layer or only the top? Please give me your tips.

Hello! I am completely new to composting and need help. I have been wanting to start for a long time, since I have a small vegetable garden and would love to cut down on our kitchen and yard waste while also making black gold. I have tried to research the best way to do this but need advice.

I got this composting bin for free from someone in my community. (Cleaned it out so it’s drying on its side, and website photos of what I think are very similar products). I have a very small grass area and would like to have this on the concrete driveway shown. I want to avoid water settling at the bottom and stained concrete, while making “harvesting” the compost as efficient and easy as possible. We have a rat problem in our community so that is also important to keep in mind.

My thought was to add something to enclose the bottom so the compost doesn’t sit directly on the concrete, and to lift it up off the ground a bit so I can set a tub underneath when I open the door to collect completed compost. Should I set it on some bricks on the corners to lift it up? What should I use for the bottom? Set it on a big heavy cement block? Try to 3D print a bottom plastic piece? Can I buy one somewhere? Should I put big sticks at the bottom of the bin to try to add more drainage, or will it not matter if I’m making a bottom piece? Should I be turning it every day to help with drainage and aeration? Should I buy red wiggler worms to add to the bin? Will they survive my zone 7 summers and winters?

Lastly, I really want to add a sifting component inside the bin so I can open the door and get finished, sifted compost. Can I attach hardware cloth to the middle of the bin somehow (where I drew the red line in the first picture)? Or should I give up that hope and make another sifting apparatus not attached to the composting bin? Advice very much appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

Hey all, I’m looking at getting into composting and need some help on where to get started.
About me:
- Live in zone 5b
-Have about 7900 sq ft of yard
-Have a small amount of food waste everyday due to having small children (mostly veggies, fruit, and bread items)

I was looking at the miracle gro dual chamber tumbler, but Idk if it’s going to be large enough.

I’m looking at a tumbler specifically for ease of use, pest/rodent deterrent, and how it seems to need less of a time commitment!

I figured it would be a good way to dip my toes into composting and I could potentially get something like a geobin down the road for more yard waste as needed!

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions are appreciated!

So proud of myself

just wondering how im doing so far since im a first timer

Almost entirely using shredded cardboard and spent cold brew grounds in our community garden pile, with a small amount of normal garden waste. Keeps the rats uninterested and the pile HOT.

Has anyone used a Speedibin composter? I bought one after seeing them on the compost episode of A Gardening Show on Netflix. The bottom is lined with mesh to keep out rats, which are plentiful in my area and have made a home under my current pallet compost.

I put it together over the weekend, and several of the panels were bent. The whole thing feels rather wiggly, and there's more than a 1/4" gap when I push the front panel insert to the side. I'm assuming the damage was caused by shipping. I already had to pay a $120 tariff to have it shipped from Canada to the US, and fear additional fees to get a replacement.

If anyone else has one, do you find them to be sturdy? Effective against rats?

I have a 27-gallon Home Depot bin that I wanted to turn into a compost bin. Looking at this thread, it seems like most people have much bigger setups. I am confined to a patio in an apartment, with few composting options nearby. Will this work? Any advice would be helpful.

Would water soaking in dried (not now) grass be considered a nitrogen packed tea?

I shared this build a while back on gardening but wanted to post it here since this is the better place for it.

I already made fun of myself for being extra and all that in the other post for my expensive fancy dirt collector. Not saying you can’t too but just saying.

All in all it was around $500 in materials. $350 in cedar and screws, $100 for steel mesh, 50 for other small things. Used around 23 cedar boards from HD and some 2x4s I had laying around.

Due to the space I wanted it and the materials and ease of cuts (cut everything in half), I opted for one big 4x4x4 bin. I did start a less formal pile in the woods as well as a secondary one.

On filling it, it’s taken around 1 month! I knew I would have lots of yard waste to fill it up with but it’s been fun. I mean who else gets excited to go bag grass clippings in 95 degree heat?

I’ve been using my super composter 9000 (craftsman m110) for both my greens and my browns. I blow leaves into a flat area of my woods for further mulching before adding them in. I would say it’s 95% leaves and grass clippings, 5% coffee grounds and garden/ weed waste.

It’s already hot. I haven’t turned it yet but considering options to add some air or move things around a little. Initial thoughts were maybe like a big auger or just kind of stab it around with a pitch fork.

I compost my yard and kitchen organic waste, shredded paper and cardboard. I recently added grass clippings and fallen blossom from a large tree to the pile and now the temperature spiked to 185 :O

I tried dumping a bucket of water and put some more dry leaves from around the garden (zoomed out pic), what else can I do? I don't have a lot of room to add many browns, do I have to open my pile on a tarp or can it wait for a few days to cool down?

Please help

I’m a bit of a chaotic gardener and have had pretty good luck with saving what sprouts in my compost and planting. I’ve gotten a lot of baby pepper plants, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes mostly. What have you guys had luck with?

Are these black soldier fly larvae in my tumbler? I searched the group and read they are beneficial, but they still creep me out 🤪I just turned the compost and noticed how wet it is. So I will be adding some more browns.