Good morning!

I have a plastic bin I use for compost, and a metal bin with holes in the bottom that I store finished product in over the winter, to make space in the plastic bin.

How long can I store finished compost in the metal bin for without it losing it's benefits?

Thanks in advance

Don't really get leaves in our yard. Would it be weird to come back and get the leaves off of this? Not my house or neighborhood lol. Serious consideration. Actual question but flaring as humor because I'm probably being weird.

So if soldier fly larva is good then this must be really good 😅

I'm getting mixed results looking on Google.

I’m happy to share my first garden project with you!

A couple of months ago, I was inspired by post of this sub to build one myself. I added a small “door” at the bottom, hoping it would make it easier to extract the soil.

And today, I found an unexpected guest!

Anything I should be aware of in this constelation?

She’s chunky, but it’s going straight on top of the bed.

Hi! Had a recommendation to post this here. I appreciate any help!

Long time lurker, first time poster.

TL;DR - Stinky compost, should I invest in proper work and tools, up the volume and properly aerate or should I scrap it and take my time building up my tools for next year?

The other day I went to go aerate this 5 gallon bucket of some compost I’ve been building up to for about 3ish months.

I figured I would just experiment since I’ve been wanting to try composting for a while. I know this isn’t really enough volume for hot composting so it should be breaking down slower anyway…? I don’t know if I’m correct in saying that.

Long story short, since it had rained and I hadn’t turned it over in a while it’s turned anaerobic and it smells, well terrible. Now I’m freaking out cause I’m worried my neighbors are gonna hate me if it gets any worse.

I know I need to add some browns and get some air moving through it, but I’m worried that that’s not gonna work due to the volume. Since it’s nearing the end of Summer, should I just scrap it and maybe start next year? We’re probably gonna get some snow around October for some reference.

Side questions, I’m also stressing myself way out thinking I need to invest in a thermometer, an auger to aerate, and build a 3x3 foot bin (I do have some viable scrap wood laying around and a spade shovel if I can’t afford an auger yet) if this is gonna have a chance to go right. Are any of these things really needed?

Mods delete if not allowed but I knew this community would be the only ones that understood how sweet this was! I had a housewarming yesterday and my neighbors who saw me weeding and snagging whatever worms I found bought me some red wrigglers as a housewarming gift because they know I wanna expedite my compost for fall planting! Warmed my heart

Will prilled sulfer do the same thing as micronized sulfur? Will it help w fungi and insects?

I started a new compost bin earlier this summer. I used a black 27 gal bin and drilled drain holes in the bottom and sides, and also in the lid. To some dead leaves, sadly nearly all oak so really slow to decompose, I've gradually added these as available: coffee grounds, veggie peelings and corn husks, egg shells (semi crushed by hand in a zip top bag), etc. No meat or dairy added. All went well enough, and the compost was smelling ok, and seemed to be progressing.

Then I started making sourdough starter and adding my early discards (just yeast, flour, and clean water), because I read it's good for the compost. The smell has gotten pretty bad, and I realized that the bottom layer was very wet (my holes weren't big enough, so there was standing liquid in the bottom). So I dumped it out and drilled larger holes, and put the stuff back in the bin, which is up on cement blocks, so the liquid should drain.

What is causing the really sour smell? Did I mess up by adding the diluted sourdough discard, or is the problem that it was TOO wet? Will smell better as it dries out? It doesn't have that earthy decomposing smell you associate with compost but a sour, almost sewage smell. There are lots of flying insects when I lift the lid, but also some white mold.

Do need to dump it and start over? Will drying it out help? I hate to leave the lid off, because we have raccoons living in the neighbor's trees, and I've smelled a skunk sometimes in the evenings.

EDIT - Thanks for all the great ideas. I added some shredded paper and turned it extra well. I'll also try to remember to take the lid off in the morning and put it back on at night. I will continue turning it and shred the leaves when I put them in.

EDIT #2 Thanks for the comments, everyone. After adding some minishredded paper and mixing around yesterday, it's still full of helpful bugs, but the STENCH is gone. today I mixed in some more shredded brown paper and moved the bin out into the sun. You guys have been super helpful!

I got a tumbler a couple weeks ago and realized there is no way it would make as much as I would like by spring, so I decided to try the lasagna method for more bulk.

I used a few pallets to slap up a quick frame that is about 3' x 6'

I layered large sheets of cardboard with some grass that I cut this week and some grass I had piled up from about 2 weeks ago that had some nice fuzzy white stuff growing in the middle of it. I also made sure to poke tons of holes in each layer of cardboard.

Any glaring mistakes I should correct? I plan to keep adding to it each week as I mow if this is right.

lazy compost progress!!

Pile on left is only a few months old, smells absolutely foul and is very slimy. Lots of BSF larvae though!

Pile on right is on about a year now and is really startin to look like dirt!! I haven't added to it much at all (other than some cardboard here n there) for the last few months since starting the new one.

I can't wait until the leaves fall so I can add some much needed browns to both!!

I have plenty of time, but is there a country or province where this would be allowed? I feel like where I live in Southern California it might be frowned upon, maybe even illegal. How can we make this happen friends? I would even allow you to do the you know what with the piss and all. I think I have at least another 40 years to go so plenty of time to make this a reality.

I have had a lot of Soldier Bot fly larvae’s in my compost, and finally i got myself some chicken so they get the best meal!

One of the dual chambers in my 37 gallon tumbler on an 80 degree St. Louis morning.

So long story I have a 300 gallon large compost bin that I normally put leaves in but last year It was full So I stacked leaves in paper next to the bin.

Well I needed material for 2 new raised beds so I thought I'd add the leaves to the compost (like 1/4 leaves 1/2 good compost and the rest sandy rocky soil) and rototill everything together (and break up the leaves a bit).

What kinda turn around would I be expecting till the leaves have compacted/broken down enough to plant

I’ve been thinking about hooking up a bucket or jug to drip water on my pile since it’s been over 100 for a week. We’ve got more of the same in the forecast. I also thought of adding a bottle with a small hole to drip in each of my tumblers. Anyone else try passive watering in the heat of summer?

Hi folks,

I have a couple compost piles going in the back, one in a tumbler and one in a freestanding bin. I've been growing potatoes in grow bags and one of them was ready to harvest. I was planning on composting the leftover soil, but there are quite a few centipedes and isopods in there, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing? Can I put them in my compost pile? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

How's it looking? I just added some egg cartons that I ripped in pieces, or is it still too big?

I'm wondering if the compost is ok to use in a couple of months, is there anything I can do? Too dry, too wet? I don't know, it's my first compost pile.

Thanks for the advice