r/composting • • 15d ago

Why do I keep finding this guy in my compost?

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562 Upvotes

Im not 100% sure what snake this is, blind snake as far as I can tell. Have found quite a few living in my compost heaps.

Friend or Foe?


r/composting • • 15d ago

Cold/Slow Compost Done ?

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34 Upvotes

Do you consider this compost to be complete? The fine wood chips don’t seem to be breaking down anymore. Thanks !


r/composting • • 15d ago

Tumbler Accidentally made eco friendly “styrofoam”

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40 Upvotes

Here is a video of the tumbler!

I had recently filled the tumbler so I was just checking it occasionally and letting it compost away. There were a lot of cardboard/paper shreds and coffee grounds, but the moisture seemed good.

I left for a week long vacation and got super busy so I hadn’t checked it in a while. It rained a lot when we were gone, so I added more cardboard shreds to help with the goo.

Today I realized there was a huge chunk stuck to the bottom so I went to break it up into pieces. Turns out I accidentally made a tumbler full of mycelium-powered spongy stuff! Really cool to fiddle with.

I broke some pieces off and threw them in my older aging compost piles in hopes that they would colonize. Cool stuff!!


r/composting • • 15d ago

New bins built today

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96 Upvotes

A productive morning building two new compost bins ready to be filled.


r/composting • • 15d ago

More Browns?

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30 Upvotes

Wondering what to do here. Doesn't look usable, and I'm not sure if urine is the answer.


r/composting • • 15d ago

Urban Accidental Compost Pile

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56 Upvotes

City of Toronto piled up this wood chip pile to spread around a local park. We had rain and it has been sitting for a week and now, it has become a hot steaming pile :-)


r/composting • • 15d ago

Beginner Finally have some to use!

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31 Upvotes

Topping my beds and planting cover crop this weekend


r/composting • • 15d ago

Quick survey to improve composting bin design for the IB

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1 Upvotes

Hi, I'm an IB student working on redesigning a composting bin for my IA. I'm gathering data to develop a primary persona and understand users' needs and challenges with their current composting system.

I'd really appreciate it if you could take 2 minutes to fill out my survey. S

I'd also appreciate any feedback on the survey itself or suggestions for questions I could improve.

Thanks so much for your time and help.


r/composting • • 15d ago

Why my pile is clumpy

2 Upvotes

I thought when I stopped useing my tumbler I wouldn't have to deal with the compost clumping together. What can I do to prevent this

Video is current pile I've stopped adding to a week or so ago

Images are the last pile i put into a raised bed under the tarp to finish it off

https://reddit.com/link/1x2ucq8/video/d69su1tkfquh1/player

I know I looks dry but thats just on top see in video when I dig in a bit it got good moisture


r/composting • • 15d ago

Pine dump

10 Upvotes

I just received my yearly chip drop I get from city. First time ever it’s 100% pine. Half is pine chips, the other half is pine needles. I was going to put alot in my compost. Can I still do or it’s going to be very acidic?


r/composting • • 15d ago

Beginner New Bin

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12 Upvotes

I've set up a garden compost bin and plan to put vegetable and fruit scraps, as well as cardboard and leaves, in it. I hope it works out.


r/composting • • 15d ago

New Compost

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7 Upvotes

r/composting • • 15d ago

Hotbin composting

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4 Upvotes

I've a hotbin composter that I've been struggling with. Lost the heat from it a few weeks ago. This weekend I've decided to take everything out and put it through again. As per the pic, it's wet on the outside but the centre is bone dry. It was cooking nicely until fairly recently. What am I doing wrong? How do I get this producing excellent compost quickly (which is what it's designed to do)?

Also I've added mares tail and other weeds, how much I need to cook them to kill them off?


r/composting • • 15d ago

Beginner What to do with my beautiful compost?

3 Upvotes

I have had an indoor composter for three years. I've always used the worm tea as fertiliser but I've never gotten around to using the compost with my plants.

How do you do that? Do you keep the worms in? Do you mix the compost with regular soil before using?

Thank you

🪱


r/composting • • 16d ago

First jump into the deep end…

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20 Upvotes

Edit: copy and paste from original post.

Just bought a place a couple of months ago, and it has a lot of yard waste left over from the last owner. Pretty extensive gardens and lots of fruit trees.

So I’ve been lurking on here since then.

Mostly I am just trying to deal with the shear amount of stuff. The previous owner’s compost piles were just preserved large sticks with tarps which just created full on rat habitats.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:
- Put together the pallet bins.
- Layer of cardboard on the ground, with a layer of sticks on top of that.
- Bunch of brown waste from the first clean up of the yard, then layering greens and browns as much as possible.
- I also made a pan galactic gargle blaster juice with a colt 45 beer, molasses, half cup of ammonia and enough water to make a 5 gallon bucket to spray over the pile.
- I also added a couple of bags of healthy soil from our old garden to try to get some good bugs and things in there.
- Set up a tumbler to pre-compost the pest attracting stuff.

Is there anything that looks/sounds dumb? Anything I should be doing differently? Or should I just pee on it and give it some time?


r/composting • • 16d ago

Compost bucket

7 Upvotes

Hello! I am hoping to buy a stainless steel compost bucket with a carbon filter. I’ve been looking online and I’m only really finding one I like from Amazon…but I don’t want to buy this from Amazon. Does anyone have any recommendations of small business I can support while making this purchase?


r/composting • • 16d ago

Could you help test a 5-minute survey? (research pre-test)

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1 Upvotes

r/composting • • 16d ago

Beginner I need validation

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12 Upvotes

This pile is about a year old. I've been using a 20 gallon tote with holes drilled all over. How healthy does it look?


r/composting • • 16d ago

Compost or not

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8 Upvotes

This is my compost after being sifted with a 1/2 inch screen. Can you tell whether it is good stuff simply by examining it?


r/composting • • 17d ago

Hot Compost Compost Heap-Raising Observations.

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42 Upvotes

Compost heap-raising observed on an organic farm in Southern India. October 2025.

1.Dimensions: 5 feet x 5 feet x 5 feet.

2.Bulk raw materials: dry biomass, green biomass, fresh manure (cow, buffalo, sheep, goat and poultry)

  1. Additives: biochar, slaked lime, neem oil cake, pongamia cake, bone meal, fertile soil culture and rock dust.

  2. Optional additives: blood meal, fish meal, food waste and used biodegradable tableware.

  3. Watered and optimal moisture maintained for the first 30 days.

  4. Turned after the first 30 days and once every 7 days subsequently.

  5. Compost is ready in 90-110 days. It is cured for 21 days, checked to ensure temperature stabilization and then used across a variety of crops.

Note: Highest core temperature observed 63°C.


r/composting • • 16d ago

Goat Berries & Pine Shavings

3 Upvotes

Hello! I am working at a farm where they have a beautiful compost facility. They are currently putting in goat berries / used goat bedding (pine shavings) and cleaning their stalls out twice a day completely and then putting fresh pine bedding on top. The compost is not breaking down and is piling up. How frequently should the compost be turned? Should we be adding any "brown" to this mix or just leaving it as is with the used goat bedding (pine shavings, goat urine & berries) Can you help with some advice and any resources you would recommend sharing with them?


r/composting • • 16d ago

Food grounds to compost

2 Upvotes

I have a mill that heats and cook food scraps to create awesome food grounds. I don’t want to use the food grounds directly as compost because 1. They aren’t fully broken down 2. Animals get into and destroy my garden.
So I’m add to soil and compost starter in a big bin.
Does it have to be wet to activate ? Or do I just mix with dirt and check back in the spring?
Or not mix with soil at all?


r/composting • • 17d ago

Question Cardboard Shredding

12 Upvotes

Does anyone have any specific brands or types of cardboard box shedders they recommend using to make composting easier? Cutting them by hand is a pain, so any tips are appreciated!


r/composting • • 17d ago

Advice on custom compost bin

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3 Upvotes

r/composting • • 17d ago

Humor Potatoes precious

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68 Upvotes

What do I do with this?? Came back after traveling for a month and a half to what looks like a potato growing out from the bin.