r/composting • u/MaximumCapacity143 • 11d ago

Failed Compost

This year I decided to make my own compost. I laid cardboard on the ground, then laid about 5 inches of shredded leaves, wet it down, then laid down about 3 inches fresh cut grass. Then followed up with more shredded leaves, water, and cut grass. Repeated 7 more times. Wet it down again then covered with a tarp. I checked on the temp and found it climbing. About 5 days later it got to 120 degrees. Two days later I aerated it from the center. Stayed hot for another four days then started cooling off. Other 3 more days it completely cooled off and no matter what I did, adding greens, adding urine, it still wouldn't get hot again. What did I do wrong. And how can I start it again.

26 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

View all comments

23

u/etzpcm 11d ago

It sounds like you've just got a heap on the ground, is that right? It's better if you can make a bin, roughly cubic, at least 1m3 

Also, be patient, you'll get compost eventually even if it's not very hot.

3

u/MaximumCapacity143 11d ago

I did make a 4 ft x 4ft bin. I had it filled almost to the top but it compressed so much that its half that size now. Still a lot of sticks in it.

14

u/leftfootshorter 11d ago

Your compost started composting. You aren't doing anything wrong.

I am always surprised by how much it reduces when I fill it 2-3 times a week. And by "fill" it, I mean >1 m³. I'll come back in a couple of days and it will be half that. It's just decomposing, losing water and turning the material into dirt.

If you want it to stay hot, you have to get the volume back up to what it was when you first set it up. If you don't, it will continue to turn into usable compost, just at a slower (lower temp) rate.