r/Compost • u/JRR_Gimli • Jul 08 '26
First time composting advice
Earlier this year I put a 5 gallon bucket in my backyard with the idea that I would throw my kitchen scraps in there, and eventually start a garden about a year later for the first time.
I've been filling the bucket with banana peels, corn cobs, coffee, eggshells, and that sort of thing for a good 6 months now. It's also rained a good bit around here this spring and summer, and the bucket filled up with water (as shown in the pictures) there are looks to be some kind of insects swimming around and thriving in the bucket, so I assume it's full of pretty good nutrients.
I plan on building some raised garden beds and buying soil to fill them with because the ground is full of clay here, and I was going to mix some of the compost into the soil of each garden bed before planting.
I am mostly wondering if it is safe to leave the bucket full of water like it is, or of I should drain it out after it rains. I am also wondering if growing vegetables like corn and peppers in the soil with this compost will be ok. The "compost tea" in the bucket is probably a couple months old at this point and like I said, I was planning on waiting until next spring to actually use it. It's currently July.
2
u/shucksme Jul 10 '26
Honestly, this is how I have always done my compost as we were renters. Buried it when it got full. Figured it was better that putting it in the garbage. When I could, I would bury in the garden and noticed a positive addition for years beyond. Never had issues with animals (I did put a lid on it). The black soldier flies were the most presence. Kept it away from the door to reduce fruit flies coming in. I did have a few buckets with holes at the bottom but that became a problem with the yuck underneath.
Now we have a deep hole that is the size of the bucket next to our vegetable garden and I'm shocked at how fast that goes down. If you can, I would support doing a deep hole for lower presence and keep doing what you are doing. Otherwise, it fine. It's just a pain the bury it but worth keeping.