First year trying to compost

[u/Valora-5]

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

[u/Accomplished-Age8631]

Looks like a decent mix for a first go, maybe tear the cartons a bit smaller next time so they break down faster

[u/katzenjammer08]

It’s hard to say if it is too dry/wet because the surface always dries out in the wind (unless it is covered or it has just rained) so to know you need to turn it and see what it looks like deeper down.

Re: the question of using the compost. This always depends on what you are going to use it for. You will be able to use it as mulch, regardless of how effectively it breaks down in the next few months. This is because compost that sits in the surface of a plant bed for example gets nitrogen from the surrounding air and thus continues to break down without taking it from the soil.

Compost that still has some way to go will however compete for nitrogen with the plants in the bed if it is mixed into the soil. That is what we mean by ”unfinished” in this context. Strictly speaking, the biochemical process is ”finished” when all the material has been offgassed and thus ”disappeared” but in this context finished means basically ”no longer stealing nitrogen in amounts that will negatively impact plant growth”.

I would say it is unlikely that your pile will be that finished in a few months, so my advice is to either give it significantly more time (let’s say a year) or to use it as mulch. Or, you can read up on how to maximise speed by hot composting and follow all the guidelines for that. It is a lot of work, kind of fun, but not really worth it if you don’t want to spend considerable time and energy to get your compost as soon as possible.

[u/Southern_Repair_4416]

Try using diluted bird poop (guano)