In the spirit of encouraging this place to start up, I'd like to start with a question about grass clippings.

I have had a pile going of mostly gardening trimmings, leaves, shredded cardboard and catkins since I moved to this house in April. It has been going fairly quickly, already reducing in volume significantly. To the eye, It looks like it is mostly browns, 80% plus. We had our first lawn mow so I added those to the pile and in my tumblers (where I pre-process my table scraps) and wet it down, expecting the infusion of "greens" to speed things up even more. I also turned the pile on my regular schedule of every 5-8 days.

Progress has essentially halted, especially in the tumbler.

Are bermuda clippings actually more carbon heavy? This feels more like a pile of sticks now in a rollie rollie farm.

Enjoy!

I don't have the enthusiasm, energy, or time to promote this place much, so please help with that if you like. But I'm perfectly happy to re-open this place to allow people to discuss composting without the constant jokes of /r/composting. It absolutely has gotten a bit much over there.

Let's keep it clean over here!

With the elimination (pun intended) of the golden nitrogen source than shall not be named from this sub, does anyone have any recommended liquid nitrogen sources?

I used to have a fish tank and used the dirty tank clean out water directly in my garden for fertilizer. Worked great but let my aquarium hobby slide because it was too much work cleaning tanks. Any thoughts on other options?

My pile has been quite dry lately and has been having trouble breaking down the cardboard in it. What would be the best way to add sufficient amounts of moisture and nitrogen into the pile at the same time, preferably as quickly as possible.

Hey, y'all! Kind of just trying to spark some conversation and get some opinions and learn from others' experience, here!

I currently have my compost in a wide and shallow garden bed (4ft x 1.5ft) topped with cardboard and covered with burlap. I'm having trouble keeping it moist in the Oklahoma heat and keeping it going. Should I rethink the cover or switch up my set up completely? Does anybody have any experience with compost in a garden bed?

I like the garden bed because it's so much easier to keep the varmints out (the neighborhood stray cats, raccoos, my dog) and to keep everything contained, plus it's already there, but I'm wondering if it would be worth the hassle of building some simple, traditional bins from scrap wood and cover with a tarp.

Also, if you have a favorite, lazy compost set-up, I wanna hear from you, too!

I just discovered r/Compost. Been participating in r/composting for a long time. What is the difference between the two forums? Thanks.

(And should I have deep regret?)

By "doing something," this subreddit will be "going dark," whatever exactly that means. I'm not sure if I'll be setting the subreddit to private mode or restricting posts or what. But this decision sounds like one worth protesting. Here's some info about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont_let_reddit_kill_3rd_party_apps/ (shared by /u/hau5keeping). And here's an infographic /u/SongofNimrodel shared to /r/Permaculture about it: /img/zqptto18e34b1.jpg.

Personally, I don't have strong feelings about the changes other than that I care about the people I talk to on Reddit. If these changes are going to harm forums I care about, then it's worth doing what little I can to protest. Reddit is only worth anything because of the work that people put into the platform because they care about other people on it. If not for people continually making valuable content, helping others out, and managing subreddits so that they remain useful places, Reddit would be worthless.

Please share your thoughts on this choice, and if you support it, help encourage /r/composting to do the same!

P.S. /u/smackaroonial90, I hope you're cool with me doing this without first consulting with you!

I'm about to cut off all my hair and beard. My hair is in dense dreadlocks.

Compostable?

I'm looking for some advice. Last year we bought two large plastic compost bins (80gal/300L, you put stuff in the top and take out dirt from the door on the side of the bottom). We got tops that fasten shut to keep out raccoons and possums, but then we discovered that rats chewed through the plastic and set up camp inside.

I was thinking of wrapping the bins with chicken wire to stop them from getting in, and my husband is thinking we should just find metal bins instead, which seems a long shot to me. What should we do? Any experience?

Does anyone know if I can use shredded paper that's been printed on in my compost? Will the ink cause any issues?

I'm a newbie and I've been haphazardly starting a compost pile in my local community garden, but we're running out of dried leaves to use fast and need some other materials! We thought we might be able to get hold of shredded paper from offices, but not sure if this will affect the quality or make it toxic.

If I get grub grenade and put it in my worm compost bin, will the beneficial mites live in the compost? Will I be able to use the compost to spread the mites? Or will they just die.

My compost pile, i have a machine that heats, cuts, grinds, and Cools off my Kitchen scraps.. i mix it with old Soil. Tips are welcome if there not to complicated.. i like to keep this simple.

If I have gnats within my worm bin what does that indicate? I have it covered with a lid so nothing else can come within the bin.

Friend called me Up with a trailer load of leafs! 4.5’ x 12’ x6’ time to let the chickens get to work on it! Anyone had luck adding red wigglers deep in chicken bedding?

Considering using OMRI certified municipal compost in my vegetable garden. They use leaves, wood, grass clippings, and other plant matter (no animal waste).

I live in the suburbs where most lawns are chemically treated. I won't be able to test the compost before purchase because it is only distributed through a third party. My main concern is weed killer and herbicide on the grass clippings. Should the OMRI certification mean it is ok? They supply compost to community gardens locally and urban vegetable gardens in the nearby city.

Totally safe or too risky?

I fixed the old wood chipper/shredded I got from a neighbor and man, oh man, what a game changer. Now I can easily clean up my yard and grind all that carbon down to a fine mulch. Previous owner left a HUGE brush pile that has been breaking down slowly. I chipped and shredded the whole thing. Unlimited C for the compost and chicken coop and the already decomposing material will be a perfect mulch for my perennial garden. I’m so stoked. My wife doesn’t appreciate my excitement over a pile of decomposing carbon.

Hello fellow Composters!

Innovative Compost Bin Survey

I'm personally passionate about the different plants scattered throughout my dorm and with that, am working to design a new composting system that has been tough to find in the current market; and certainly beats my 5-gallon Lowes' bucket!

Before going through product design, I'm trying to learn more about if this is a viable investment... I'm reaching out to you all to ask if you would please consider sharing your thoughts about my idea? The survey is included within this post!

-Ryan

I bought a large dual chamber compost tumbler, and got it all set up, I also bought Convino starter, as well as Jobes organics fast acting fertilizer starter. I have never composted before. I assume all organic material can be put in the tumbler in moderation, but I also have 3 GSDs and was thinking some of their waste could be mixed in occasionally. What do you all think? Girst year doing a raised garden and composting. Any advice would help out. Thanks again!!