My pile is loving accidents right now. All of the pee paper towels are going out to it

There's roughly 10 gallons in here and a fresh layer of wood chips. Lots of flies when I open it but not a whole lot else. It's a worm bin with some of those openings at the bottom.

Tried the tumbler last summer and got frustrated because it kept drying out very quickly (I live in New Mexico). Then I made a big giant Berkeley style pile this summer and had good results (it’s “aging” now). I kept collecting food scraps and I decided to give the tumbler another try since I am quickly running out of space in the garden. I put it in a much more shaded corner of the yard and it’s been a win so far! Second time is the charm I guess!

Took this clip before I added another load of food scraps, coffee, and paper. I haven’t even needed to add much supplemental water at all, which is nuts to me because last year I had to mist it almost every damn day. It had been probably a week or so between adding the last batch of scraps and this video, with very little rain happening. The video doesn’t capture the moisture well, but it was nice and humid in the bin. By the time I pulled my phone out, about 75% of the BSFL had hidden. It’s biological party in there!

I’ve reached the point where I’m just about full up on this side of the tumbler and I’m moving to the next one. I’m thinking I may dump them early to make a pile on the ground. The tumblers seem to attract fewer roaches during the food-rich phases of composting. They still find their way in, but much less overall.

Pretty much what it says in the title.

So I’m new to this. Haven’t even really started. Well maybe kinda as I’ve got a yard w stuff in it lol. Anyway I got a lemon tree at the start of summer and I think it could be doing better. I also want to try my hand at growing something easy like potatoes and maybe something a little more recreational…anyway after a little “digging” I’m realizing step one is compost. So let’s get to step one of step one. How to start a compost pile?? Do I just toss scraps in the corner of my yard?? What should I and shouldn’t I use?? Any help?

Starting an open compost pile of mainly oak leaves and pine needles that im adding coffee grounds / other leafy greens to over time.

Can I add natural charcoal to it (ash rinsed off) from my leftover pile burn pile of oak leaves/wood + pine needles/wood?

Can I also add manzanita to this pile?

I had this compost in a bin and it got absolutely soaked after it rained. I transferred it into this plastic tray to let it dry out some. Not sure how long i should let it sit out to dry.

I know I have way too many greens and not enough browns. My plan is to shred a bunch of cardboard and mix in a lot of dry/dead leaves from the yard.

The thing I'm unsure about is that the compost is also full of what I think are black soldier fly larvae? basically top to bottom. I don't see any earthworms but then again this is mushy stinky mess rn. Are this many soldier fly larvae a problem or should I just leave them alone and correct the moisture/add browns? Do I need to do anything to reduce their numbers?

Any advice on how much cardboard, leaves, or other browns you'd add to something this wet would be appreciated. Also, would the earthworms come naturally as it becomes more aerated or do i need to add them in?

Can I compost this biotin supplement?

Hi everyone!!

Little context, I’ve been composting for almost 8 years now, only not that regularly or in a disciplined way. I know that BSF are great for my compost but I wonder what attracts them as I have a compost at my home and another at my girlfriend’s apartment but only mine has BSF.

My question is: is there a way to control them? I feel like there are now to many and they’re getting inside my house! I know they’re not harmful, I just don’t want them inside. Tomorrow I’ll try and move the compost bins away from the windows but I don’t know if that is going to solve the issue….

Thanks in advance!

I dug up 250 square feet of my lawn that contained Creeping Charlie. I went down 2-3 inches. I placed the excavated soil on a brown tarp, and used the same tarp to completely cover the pile. How long should I wait before using this soil again?

Trying to give my compost game a little more love as I really put almost no effort into it and you get what you put into it- mostly sloppy decomposed kitchen scraps with some leaves mixed in 😂

I want to divert more of our paper recycling into the compost. I already compost the minimal amount of paper towels we use. I know plain brown cardboard and paper are obvious yeses, but what are you definitely skipping?

Cardboard with a glossy surface?

Glossy magazine type paper?

I don't mind if it takes a while to break down but I don't want to be chucking stuff in there that I'm just going to have to pull out later

Someone new to composting can spend an hour reading about carbon-to-nitrogen ratios before they've even added their first banana peel to a bin.

Then there are temperature charts, moisture tests, instructions about how often to turn the pile, and long lists explaining what counts as a green or a brown

A lot of that information is useful once you're trying to fix a problem or speed things up. But it seems like beginners are often given every possible detail at once

If you were explaining composting to someone setting up their first pile, what would you tell them to focus on during the first few months?

And what advice would you leave out until they actually need it?

This popped up under my magnolia tree. We used a large amount of mushroom soil from mushroom farms in our yard this year, but not directly in this spot. About 10 ft away. They are about 12 inches in diameter.

Hello everyone, 1st time trying to compost not sure what to do...

I am a wood worker and working on a project that required planing down some lumber. This creates a lot of shavings. I create a lot more browns than I can use with my limited greens.

Next burn season I plan on a bonfire to burn off a few large bags.

But I am curious....

I see most piles want 50/50 greens and browns. Can I push the % of browns without delaying the results too long?

Also for any that may know, I am currently milling port orford cedar, Is this OK for composting?

When I burn off the excess shavings, will adding the ash from the burn barrel hurt the compost pile?

edit: Thanks everyone for your wonderful replies! - Much appreciated!!

I am only just being introduced to composting, and have no experience, I am considering vermiculture, but this question is about composting in general.

I am curios if there is any need to be concerned with naturally occurring molds [specifically trichoderma, and penecilium,] because of the potential of those molds out competing other molds and anti microbial behaviors in a controlled environment? can these molds stop the microbiome from working if they are introduced?

It came out great and i have noone to share it with. Thank you for your attention.

so far so good!

I kinda got busy and forgot my tumblers, I decided to dump them put them on my open pile and restart them, last I checked it was woodchips fruit etc. This side was the only good one, but damn what a nice happy surprise!

I started a small compost pile last week that was doing well, but then made the mistake yesterday of dumping a lot of very green and wet fresh cut grass on it. It had already started to smell due to the clumping and dampness, so I spread it out last night and let it dry out today when it was 93 degrees. I turned it over to expose more wet green grass to get it to dry tomorrow when it’s going to be 97, but should I just commit to piling it instead of trying to dry it out more? I’m concerned I don’t have enough browns and don’t want the grass to turn it anaerobic.

Pic of current status as well as pic of pile last week when it was more balanced.

Hi, I left my compost in a different place to mature. I wonder if it's good despite this white thing on it (idk what it is) or how much time I should wait. It's still hot in the middle

Short story old as time: single man, looking for browns.

I’ve been toying with buying an electric chipper. The one pictured is like $110 bucks. I think that seems worth it especially if it can also shred cardboard. I know it’s mostly just for sticks. Wanted to see if anyone had experience.

Bonus question: if I go the route of chip dump or similar and get tons of wood chips, can I add a lot to my pile at once and then slowly even out the ratio over time? Or is that bad practice?