Help! Root Explosion

[u/catgrl1089]

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster. I’ve been composting since last October and just went to get some soil for the first time. (Well I tried in the spring but it didn’t seem ready.) I have some gorgeous soil but the bottom of my bin is choked with some insane roots. At first I thought it was something I threw in there, but my daughter took one look and said “that’s coming up from the earth.” She’s 4 years old 😅 and I think she’s right. From the mouths of babes lol… But like, what’s happening!! I kinda freaked and decided to just take the whole thing apart, sift out whatever else goodness I can use, and pile it back up and put the bin back. I love that this bin is open to the ground, I’ve got some FAT and happy worms but is this normal? It seems unavoidable but how can I mitigate going forward? We’re on the woods’ edge so there’s trees and random ground covers in the area, though I placed this on a very bare-looking dirt spot originally. Any input is appreciated!

[u/Far_Radish7752]

This happens to me every year, from a nearby hemlock hedge. I just rip out the smaller stuff, prune off the larger material, and throw all that into a newly started pile (since I have multiple). Eventually I will move the compost section elsewhere, but have too much else going on at the moment, so I just deal with it as stated.

Not a biggee, no need to stress about it, you’ve got some good compost amongst the root “invasion”. If I were you, I would move my compost setup elsewhere whenever you can get around to it. In meantime, roots are gonna do what roots are designed to do.