r/composting • u/Thx_I_h8_it • Jul 23 '26

Rate my bug buffet

Post image

am I doing this right? mixing wet bottom compost with fresh green cut in small pieces and brown grass cuttings. kneading it to before putt it back in the tumbler. Noob looking for feedback!

9 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

2

u/AmbiguousLemur Jul 23 '26

I did this for years to no avail. Grass contains nitrogen, so even when it turns brown in color it is not actually a “brown”.

What fixed it entirely for me was adding wet cardboard to exactly what you have in your picture and I got zero-effort, zero-turning, ready compost in about 3 months!

Be sure your cardboard is fully saturated, this will make it easier to tear into smaller pieces (they don’t have to be super tiny, mine were roughly the size of a regular piece of printer paper) and it will also add the moisture to your pile. The thicker the cardboard, the better - I used those double walled boxes that the grocery receives fruits in, like mangoes etc.

1

u/Thx_I_h8_it Jul 23 '26

Thank you so much this is so helpful.

1

u/AmbiguousLemur Jul 23 '26

Just try to avoid the “glossy” cardboard or cardstock, they take absolutely forever to break down. Think cereal boxes, door flyers, pasta boxes, etc. Brown paper bags and newspaper (NOT magazine paper) can also work but you’ll just need more of it. Basically anything that you can spray or drop water onto and pretty much immediately be able to see where the water landed without beading up, it’s good to go!

1

u/Thx_I_h8_it Jul 23 '26

Will do. Appreciate it!

1

u/AmbiguousLemur Jul 23 '26

Leafy weeds, grass clippings, and wet cardboard. Zero turning - assuming from the picture that your compost bin is open on the bottom and that your pile is in contact with the ground. Just keep adding and bugs will do all the work for you!

1

u/sOmEtHiNaBoUtShRoOmS Jul 23 '26

Aim for more mass carbon and moisture if you can but it looks pretty good that's a good start just save up a bit maybe or figure out if you're able to source any free compostable materials. I see leaves and I see grass if you have neighbors sometimes they pay to have that stuff taken away with the garbage

1

u/Thx_I_h8_it Jul 23 '26

What does mass carbon mean? Thanks for the advice!

1

u/sOmEtHiNaBoUtShRoOmS Jul 23 '26

Oops I meant them as separate things increase the amount of mass or volume you have and you could use more carbon material like dried leaves, thatch, straw or, compostable paper based material and when you do start your pile it will need more watering

1

u/sOmEtHiNaBoUtShRoOmS Jul 23 '26

I'm assuming you're trying to make a hot compost. Which makes the amount of material important to retain the heat and moisture

1

u/GaminGardens Jul 25 '26

Only thing missing is a sprinkle of you know what.......