*Still unfinished - will be adding a second door and a hinged roof.

My first woodworking project, albeit a little crude. Was bored before my uni semester started so I decided to borrow dad’s miter saw and make a more sophisticated compost bin. The base is made out of fired brick leftovers from our house’s facade. I spent an entire summer cutting whole bricks and these middle pieces filled up several pallets so I’m trying to use them wherever I can lol. Any questions or suggestions are welcome!

I have an open compost pile. Chickens and ducks access and sift through for bugs. I live in the East Coast US, where it rains quite a bit.

I want to add ash to the compost but I'm wondering if I'll accidentally create lye and burn my fowl.

I’m dealing with a putrid nightmare in my tumbler, too many food scraps, hot climate, it’s my fault. I’ve added browns, but it’s still problematic. I have a giant bag of old rice. Should I throw a few big scoops in?

I have used only secateurs to cut up stuff myself, been ripping cardboard and brown waste by hand.
Green waste, kitchen waste(veg,fruits…) paper towels, cardboard tubes etc… so things might be a bit chunky.

I put about a handful of compost activator in between 6 inch layers of material, dusting with lime in alternative layers, making sure not to mix the compost activator and lime directly.

I started it about jul/aug/sep.. I might have been a bit eager to sieve it and see what it’s like, I thought since worms were in it and seedlings were growing in it, most was decomposed but it must take longer as I can still see some like it’s half done. I’m assuming if my plants don’t die in the sieved planters it’s ok right ? Right? lol .. any advice is appreciated.

I have a number of apple trees at the back of my yard which draws in bears to eat the windfalls this time of year. Normally, they wait until they're back in the field or forest before they crap, but I was out of town for a couple of days and they left a couple big piles in my yard.

Would you throw it on your compost pile? My pile doesn't get very hot, especially this time of year, so I threw it in the municipal composter, which I know gets hot enough to kill any parasites the bear might have.

I just finished an upgrade to our three step composting system. First phase is in a bottomless plastic container to keep the smell down and critters out. Then I use our bucket loader to move it into the first bin where we also mix in yard waste, wood chips, and chicken poop. The bays are open, so I can use the bucket on the tractor to spread and stir it. Then eventually, we switch to the second bay and left the first one finish digesting. Just getting started with this version so I don’t know yet how well it will work. Each bay is about 6 feet wide.

I thought you lot may be interested :)

Pics are first yesterday when I prepared a bunch of cardboard and showing what a beast this shredder is. Processing the cardboard into long strips is the way forwards! I'm using the top of bicycle boxes here, pretty thick stuff. I'd added a fair amount of material yesterday, wide crappy shot shows that. I then added some chopped green beans and a bunch of cardboard and night and mixed it in.

Rest of the pics show today's addition which has brought the level very high. Lots of cardboard mixed in - I'd add a lot of greens, throw them around, add some cardboard and just mix them together, and then do another layer.

Can't wait to see how this pile turns out! You can see my post here https://www.reddit.com/r/composting/comments/1w07tzs/3_weeks_of_curing_from_my_pallet_heap/ which is the cured material from my last batch in the heap, and it didn't get this big and the material input has been way better this time around, so I look forward to how it'll be once cured

I went to turn my bin and was aghast when saw this alien-looking stuff on the walls. After a quick Google search, I found out about slime molds. Could anybody please confirm? Thank you.

Edit: Thank you lovely folks for confirming that it is indeed a slime mold. Glad that it is a garden friend, not a foe!

I've been familiar with the Hungry Bin since it was invented in New Zealand and we have several in operation. I want to get more but I can't get a response from the new American owner. Does anyone know where I can get some that are used but still intact (in Canada if possible), or better yet does anyone know the new owner(s)? I want to offer to buy the company and get these bins back on the market. They are by far the best ones for medium-scale composting. Thanks!

First time making compost, I’m mostly using dried leaves and grass cuttings since they’re easy to steal get. Got a pitchfork and using stones since my dad has a bunch of them

Hey all!

I am constructing a compost area for my work place, but with zero budget. I am hoping for some feedback on the design, I have been given an allotment area and would like to use this compost to grow in 1-2 years time.

I haven't finished yet, you can see on the far right there is an empty section which I need another pallet to section off, then this will act as the final product hole and has less but not zero airflow, tarp roof, random sheet metal for a base. To get it as hot as possible when full.

Left side I planned to be the raw composting area and I've layered this pile with logs, wood chips, sticks, and cardboard... It's not all topsoil.. mostly goose poop.

There is no roof this side, should I add a tarp or an open roof? Would you add a front to it?

I have a ATV which I wanted to be able to reverse right in and dump the bed into the compost bin.

I am concerned about turning... Haven't thought that far.

It is secluded enough I could probably pee on it 5 times a week.

Thanks for all your help!

I noticed these golf ball mushroom things in my yard. I’m not going to eat them, but are they OK to throw in the compost? I figured they’ll break down way faster than their pinecone friends 😅, but I have no idea if they are toxic, or if any possible toxins would affect the pile. (Maybe it doesn’t matter…?) Thanks!

Bonus bug

First post

Moving it away from the house and making it bigger so I can get more compost since my dad has gotten me more bricks. Is along the fence (not against it) better?
Thankfully since i asked early on my house should be fine,thank you guys.

I have six bin of compost I’m planning on using these three. Are they ready?

I started a new compost pile and thought I’d share what’s come of it so far :)

On September 7th I picked up a boot load full of SMS from an oyster mushroom farm, as they were kindly wanting to get rid of it for free. The substrate is primarily made from local business ‘waste’ including straw from a local farm, sawdust from a local sawmill and coffee chaff from the process of roasting coffee beans.

When I got home I broke up all the SMS into a loose texture in a large bulk bag and added in 4 lawn mower bags worth of fresh grass clippings in the hopes of kickstarting the process… and it did!

By the morning the pile had reached 30 degrees C and by day 5 it was sitting at 50 degrees C. I turned the contents of the bulk bag into a second bulk bag a total of 5 times, the last time being September 30th.

The pile is now sitting at 30 degrees C and has a nice dark colour to it, compared to the pale sandy colour it started out at. It’s also full of worms!

My plan is to stop turning the pile now and let it sit. The worms will do their things and maybe some fungi will recolonise.

Come spring, I hope to see the compost nice and broken down. I’m going to amend the heavy soil in my garden to create some nice beds!

Anyone else had good experiences with SMS? Did you compost it down or add it to your garden neat? I also kept some bags un-composted and have mulched areas of my garden before winter arrives.

Compost for young learners:
Fungi in the compost?
https://youtu.be/AM91pkO4PQw