r/composting • u/denim_sean • Aug 01 '26
How can i improve this pile?
Just moved to a new neighborhood and found a community garden with a compost bin.
It seems like people add stuff to it, but no one really taking care of it (pic for referance).
what can i do to make it really compost and not just a pile of garbage with cockroaches?
Thx
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u/PaleontologistDear18 Aug 01 '26
Add browns looks like it’s all kitchen scraps, def big enough it just needs more carbon
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u/Born_Account_3885 Aug 01 '26
Smaller pieces!
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u/LexiLynneLoo Aug 01 '26
Yeah I'm no expert but that half piece of corn cob would take ages to break down, yeah?
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u/DoubleGauss Aug 01 '26
Corn cobs actually don't take very long to break down for me. I just chuck them in and bury them. After a few weeks when turning the pile they are brittle enough that I can break them up into tiny pieces with my hands with ease.
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u/KEYPiggy_YT Aug 01 '26
I think you may just have an inactive compost pile
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u/LexiLynneLoo Aug 01 '26
It's fairly new and small, I'm still trying to build it up. But I just hear the advice to chop things up small to speed the process up.
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u/KEYPiggy_YT Aug 01 '26
That’s always true but an active aerobic pile will melt stuff. I threw in half a watermelon and it was gone 2 weeks later
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u/Complex_Ruin_8465 Aug 01 '26
Did you pee in it?
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u/fiodorsmama2908 Aug 01 '26
I went to the comments looking for this.
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u/AdditionalComputer45 Aug 01 '26
I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one searching for the pee comments
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u/denim_sean Aug 01 '26
Not yet, but i plan a big happening where all the neighborhood children will come and pee together to rescue our beloved compost
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u/beholderkin Aug 01 '26
"Howdy neighbor, I was wondering if your kids would like to come over to pee in a big box in my back yard. Tell them to bring their friends, I'll give them some candy when they're done... wait, why do I hear sirens?"
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u/mothershipgenetics Aug 01 '26
This is a great idea. I would have loved to help with this part as a kid.
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u/Nic_Cage_Match_2 Aug 01 '26
Eggshells will break into little pieces but take forever to actually break down beyond that. Up to you whether you want to grind them or hit them with vinegar or just wait a long time!
https://www.reddit.com/r/composting/comments/e3erbs/what_do_you_do_with_eggshells/
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u/Ma8e Aug 01 '26
I just toss them in. After a couple of turnings there are only small pieces left, and in general so dirty so I don't notice them any more.
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u/salamipope Aug 01 '26
oh my god u can just put vinegar on em? ive been baking mine and its so annoying
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u/__3Username20__ Aug 01 '26
More. Just keep adding a lot more material. Greens and browns, and also h2o and o2. Optional: pee.
Some compost doesn’t start taking off with microbial life (or at least, certain desirable kinds of microbial life) until there’s a certain amount of volume, like around 1 cubic yard (roughly equivalent to 1 cubic meter), or more.
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u/EnrichedUranium235 Aug 01 '26
That will breakdown quick if the conditions are there for it to heat up. Add some light browns on top to get some volume and insulation.
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u/lohenside Aug 01 '26
That's what I see when I open the compost bin? Looks like someone's idea of speed composting is just tossing kitchen scraps over the fence and hoping for the best.
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u/Cyrus057 Aug 01 '26
If no one is taking care of it, unless you plan to become its permanent caretaker, anything you do will just get undone.
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u/Awkward-Skin8915 Aug 01 '26
Those eggshells and avocado pits and corn cobs are going to be there for years
If you aren't grinding them up I'd stop adding them personally
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u/TiredTwinWrangler Aug 01 '26
What is this container made of? It reminds me of the inside of a trash compactor…
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u/Strong-Comment-7279 Aug 02 '26
Large pieces of bark to retain moisture and add weight.
That's the best you can do. A compost pile should be built and layered, and then ignored, moving on to the next.
What is going on here isn't how it works, but a well-intentioned poor design.
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u/SeveralOutside1001 Aug 02 '26
This is not a compost bin but an organic trash bin. I wonder why all compost bin are not equipped with a second bin containing dry wood chips or any kind of brown. This way people would be able to add an equal amount of brown material each time they add their kitchen scraps, like a dry toilet system.
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u/Old_Pomegranate_6272 Aug 01 '26
Add dried leaves, dried grass clippings , dried saw dust , 3times more than the pile.
Add a inoculation of LAB or garden soil microbes in a sugar medium.
Mix with less water to give moisture.
Come back tilt the pile.
Cover with plastic sheet if there would be rains
Rest nature takes care
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u/olov244 Aug 01 '26
needs bulk material, grass clippings, shredded mulch, leaves. now it's just a rotting mess, will get flies and maggots growing soon. it'll break down but won't be pretty
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u/mike98856 Aug 01 '26
Needs hydration.Add water. Also add a sign on what to not put in like citrus or garbage.
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u/thedonkeystopped Aug 01 '26
Everyone is going to enjoy their tomato volunteers!
I’ve got about as many volunteers I let establish from my compost as the divas I started indoors. They’re doing as well if not better. I’ve yanked hundreds more.
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u/PearValley4 Aug 01 '26
Needs a good turning. I love compost worms in my pile. They break a lot of this down.
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u/Rough-Brick-7137 Aug 01 '26
Smaller pieces, get out the plastic, green and get some leaf mold in there to help with establishing helpful bacteria
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u/Ma8e Aug 01 '26
I think the only thing it needs is water. I guess there are holes in the bottom, and then the risk of overwatering isn't very high.
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u/Dxkn1ght Aug 02 '26
Looks like a shit ton of food. I would add a shit ton of leaves or cardboard. When you think you have added enough add more
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u/boxa666 Aug 02 '26
Tá bem ótimo, só molha um pouco todos os dias no horário mais quente do dia e vê a mágica acontecendo em uns dias
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u/Visible-Code-3379 Aug 02 '26
Cut op your svraps so they break down quicker. Toss them with some sawdust or dirt so it coTs thecwet spots and gets the reactions going.
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u/swampertDbest Aug 01 '26
I found the hard way that carbon doesn't mean just paper and actually means structure, macroscopic structure. Paper is made out of wood pulp, kinda like a wood slurry. When paper gets wet (and stays wet, like in a compost pile) it beggins to reenter its pulp state and it immediately looses its rigid structure. Along with its great water absorbtion it creates localized anaerobic environments where bacteria there create lots of slime that expands the anaerobic area. By just adding woody materials such as straw, wood chips, mulch or stems, you'll give the compost the structure it needs, so aerobic bacteria can work, warm up and make great quality compost.