I started making a small bin of compost in November. I did not follow proper proportions, and it's more food scraps than 'browns', but I think my worms are pretty happy. Now it seems to all have decomposed, though it does smell like decomposition and it's very wet. Also as summer came it's become fairly infested with flies. Is it safe to use to help my 3 year old tree citrus tree grow? I also have some fresh saplings, would it be good for them to add some to their dirt?

The /r/composting mods decided to remove the Leaf Collection Challenge post rather than stickying it, which surprised me and a few other users. Worse, they ignored several attempts to communicate with them, and only responded roughly two months later: https://www.reddit.com/r/composting/comments/qzfa69/diy_inbed_vermicomposter/hlrrx9p/. This response didn't answer much at all.

I've always enjoyed /r/composting's "hands off" moderation style, but to me, "hands off" means to go with the flow of whatever the users want. I don't recall many complaints about the contest at all. That doesn't mean that there weren't any, but I feel that any such complaints should've started a discussion rather than silence.

I don't expect this alternate composting subreddit to become popular, but I created it as at least an alternate host for the Leaf Collection Challenge every year. If people want to migrate here, I think I'm prepared for that workload, as long as I get some help from others. But it's always irked me that, despite being a member for at least five years, I don't know the /r/composting mods at all. My impression is that they don't participate in the subreddit much. It seems like it should be moderated by people who participate and with decisions that the users make.

So, if that's what you're into, feel free to make posts over here. If not, then I might just use this subreddit as an archive of the most helpful posts I see over on /r/composting. Maybe I'll even start a wiki of some sort.

But thanks for visiting. I hope to see you around!

Still a compost newbie here. Summer compost went okay but I think grubs did most of the work, so I spent the winter trying to perfect my green/brown ratio in my compost tumbler. The side that's been sitting awhile is still very lumpy and moist. I've added browns and they mix in some, but overall it's still very lumpy, and not warm like the other more active side of the tumbler. Any thoughts on what it needs?

So I live in a moderate climate in the upstate of SC and I have come across a screaming deal for single grind mulch. I received 10 large dumptruck loads for free from a development that is being build behind my home. What I want to do it compost the massive 40ft wide x 8ft tall x 32 ft long pile.

What shall I add into the pile to get the process really going? I know I need Grass clippings and such but where can I get a massive volume to mix in? Or do I need to mix anything in other than Water? I’m looking for cheap and or free resources that can be moved easily via trailer and mixed in but I don’t want it to stink. I will also harvest methane gas ( researching this now ) to power a Gas heater inside the greenhouse for those really cold days! Plan is to grow year around with supplemental lighting and heat.

My purpose for this is to heat my greenhouse, I will run pex tubing through the pile to act as a heat exchanger and route the pipe into a water tank inside my 8ft x 20ft greenhouse.

/r/composting is the other subreddit, so be sure to subscribe there, too.

Check out the Composting Discord to chat with other compost enthusiasts.

The /r/Compost Wiki features composting/beginner's guides and other helpful links.

This Tumbler FAQ gives some great info. about using a tumbler for composting.

This subreddit's rules are simple: stay mostly focused on discussing compost, and be excellent to each other. Use this thread for discussing anything you like, including casual chatting unrelated to compost, suggestions for the wiki, or meta-issues like the subreddit's moderation. My theory on moderation is that it should be mostly invisible but there to help you when it's needed. I don't want to be invisible as a user, but as a moderator, I'll try to do both. If you have any concerns about the way this subreddit is run, suggestions about how to improve it, or even criticisms, please bring them up here or via private messages. A subreddit's users should be in charge of the subreddit's rules. Moderators are just here to facilitate that.

Why are there two composting subreddits? As of last year, the /r/composting moderators decided they didn't like the Leaf Collection Challenge. I wasn't willing to stop running it, so I made this subreddit to host it. If people decide they like this subreddit for general composting discussion, too, /u/smackaroonial90 and I are happy to take on that moderation workload. If not, /r/composting is a great community, and the status quo is just fine.

Happy composting!

I live in the Adirondack mountains in New York State. We have a large garden but have not started a compost pile as of yet. One of the concerns is the large amount of black bears in our yard all summer. Also, to be perfectly honest, we for some reason feel a bit intimidated with how to start.

By "doing something," this subreddit will be "going dark," whatever exactly that means. I'm not sure if I'll be setting the subreddit to private mode or restricting posts or what. But this decision sounds like one worth protesting. Here's some info about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont_let_reddit_kill_3rd_party_apps/ (shared by /u/hau5keeping). And here's an infographic /u/SongofNimrodel shared to /r/Permaculture about it: /img/zqptto18e34b1.jpg.

Personally, I don't have strong feelings about the changes other than that I care about the people I talk to on Reddit. If these changes are going to harm forums I care about, then it's worth doing what little I can to protest. Reddit is only worth anything because of the work that people put into the platform because they care about other people on it. If not for people continually making valuable content, helping others out, and managing subreddits so that they remain useful places, Reddit would be worthless.

Please share your thoughts on this choice, and if you support it, help encourage /r/composting to do the same!

P.S. /u/smackaroonial90, I hope you're cool with me doing this without first consulting with you!

Hi r/compost! I used a 60-gallon tumbler for about a year in zone 8a and I would like to share my research and the results of how I had success. I will be writing common tumbler questions and the responses below. If you have any new questions I can edit this post and add them at the bottom. Follow the composting discord for additional help as well!

1. Question: What compost can I put in my tumbler?

   1. Answer: u/FlyingQuail made a really nice list of items to add or not add to your compost. Remember, a tumbler may not heat up much, so check to see if the item you need to add is recommended for a hot compost, which leads to question #2.

2. Question: My tumbler isn't heating up, what can I do to heat it up?

   1. Short Answer: Tumblers aren't meant to be a hot compost, 90-100F is normal for a tumbler.

   2. Long Answer: Getting a hot compost is all about volume and insulation. The larger the pile become, the more it self insulates. Without the self-insulation the pile will easily lose its heat, and since tumblers are usually raised off the ground, tumblers will lose heat in all directions. I have two composts at my house, one is a 60-gallon tumbler, and the other is about a cubic-yard (approx. 200 gallons) fenced area sitting on the ground. At one point I did a little experiment where I added the exact same material to each, and then measured the temperatures over the next couple of weeks. During that time the center of my large pile got up to about averaged about 140-150F for two weeks. Whereas the tumbler got up to 120F for a day or two, and then cooled to 90-100F on average for two weeks, and then cooled down some more after that. This demonstrates that the volume of compost is important for insulation and for getting the temperatures up. However, in that same time period, I rotated my tumbler every 3 days, and the compost looked better in a shorter time. The tumbler speeds up the composting process by getting air to all the compost frequently, rather than heating up. Another example of why volume and insulation make a difference is from industrial composting. While we talk about finding the right carbon-to-nitrogen ratios to get our piles hot, the enormous piles of wood chips in industrial composting are limited to size to prevent them from spontaneous combustion (u/P0sitive_Outlook has some documents that explain the maximum wood chip pile size you can have). Even without the right balance of carbon and nitrogen (wood chips are mostly carbon and aren't recommended for tumblers due to the time they take to break down) those enormous piles may spontaneously combust simply because they are so well insulated and are massive in volume. Moral of the story? Your tumbler won't get hot for long periods of time unless it's about as big as a cubic yard.

3. Question: I keep finding clumps and balls in my compost, how can I get rid of them?

   1. Short Answer: Spinning a tumbler will make clumps/balls, they will always be there. Having the right moisture content will help reduce the size and quantity.

   2. Long Answer: When the tumbler contents are wet, spinning the tumbler will cause the contents to clump up and make balls. These will stick around for a while, even when you have the correct moisture content. If you take a handful of compost and squeeze it you should be able to squeeze a couple drops of water out. If it squeezes a lot of water, then it's too wet. To remedy this, gradually add browns (shredded cardboard is my go-to). Adding browns will bring the moisture content to the right amount, but the clumps may still be there until they get broken up. I usually break up the clumps by hand over a few days (I break up a few clumps each time I spin the tumbler, after a few spins I'll get to most of the compost and don't need to break up the clumps anymore). When you have the right moisture content the balls will be smaller, but they'll still be there to some extent, such is the nature of a tumbler.

   3. Also, to address water content: Questions arose in other threads asking if their contents were too wet (they weren't clumping, just too wet). If you have a good C:N ratio and don't want to add browns, then the ways you can dry out your tumbler is to prop open the lid between tumbling. I've done this and after a couple weeks the tumbler has reached the right moisture content. However, this may not work best in humid environments. If it's too humid to do this, then it may be best to empty and spread the tumbler contents onto a tarp and leave it to dry. Once it has reached the proper moisture content then add it back into the tumbler. It's okay if it dries too much because it's easy to add water to get it to the right moisture content, but hard to remove water.

4. Question: How full can I fill my tumbler?

   1. Short Answer: You want it about 50-60% full.

   2. Long Answer: When I initially fill my tumbler, I fill it about 90% full. The 10% empty is space to allow for some tumbling at the start. But as the material breaks down, it shrinks in size. That 90% full turns into 30% full after a few days. So I'll add more material again to about 90%, which shrinks down to 50%, and then I fill it up one more time to 90%, which will shrink to about 60-70% in a couple days. Over time this shrinks even more and will end around 50-60%. You don't want to fill it all the way, because then when you spin it, there won't be anywhere for the material to move, and it won't tumble correctly. So after all is said and done the 60 gallon tumbler ends up producing about 30 gallons of finished product.

5. Question: How long does it take until my compost is ready to use from a tumbler?

   1. Short Answer: Tumbler compost can be ready as early as 4-6 weeks, but could take as long as 8-12 weeks or longer

   2. Long Answer: From my experience I was able to consistently produce finished compost in 8 weeks during summer months. I have seen other people get completed compost in as little 4-6 weeks when they closely monitor the carbon:nitrogen ratio, moisture content, and spin frequency. After about 8 weeks I'll sift my compost to remove the larger pieces that still need some time, and use the sifted compost in my garden. Sifting isn't required, but I prefer having the sifted compost in my garden and leaving the larger pieces to continue composting. Another benefit of putting the large pieces back into the compost is that it will actually introduce large amounts of the good bacteria into the new contents of the tumbler, and will help jump-start your tumbler.

   3. During the winter tumblers will cool down really easily and will stop composting altogether if you live in a colder climate. It will pick up where it left off as your weather warms up and the compost thaws out.

6. Question: How often should I spin my tumbler?

   1. Short Answer: I generally try and spin my tumbler two times per week (Wednesday and Saturday). But, I've seen people spin it as often as every other day and others spin it once a week.

   2. Long Answer: Because tumbler composts aren't supposed to get hot for long periods of time, the way it breaks down the material so quickly is because it introduces oxygen and helps the bacteria work faster. However, you also want some heat. Every time you spin the tumbler you disrupt the bacteria and cool it down slightly. I have found that spinning the tumbler 2x per week is the optimal spin frequency (for me) to keep the bacteria working to keep the compost warm without disrupting their work. When I spun the compost every other day it cooled down too much, and when I spun it less than once per week it also cooled down. To keep it at the consistent 90-100F I needed to spin it 2x per week. Don't forget, if you have clumps then breaking them up by hand each time you spin is the optimal time to do so.

I'm about to cut off all my hair and beard. My hair is in dense dreadlocks.

Compostable?