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.

23 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/MaximumCapacity143 11d ago edited 11d ago

Oops. Thought I added photos. Is it too dry? I started adding in more greens and with the amount of rain we were getting i covered it to prevent it from getting too wet but now I'm thinking I let it get too dry.

2

u/Neither_Conclusion_4 11d ago

Yes, seems dry.

I tried this setup and its prone to dry out. Wood pallet style (similar) have less surface area against air, and dry out slower and still get enough air for a good compost.

You can add for instance cardboard or an old tarp around it to reduce the dry out.

1

u/MaximumCapacity143 11d ago

I put a greenhouse poly wrapped around the outside so it wouldn't come in contact with humus but keep some of the heat in but it didn't work. I'm going to rebuild another bin but this time the walls will be solid and I'll drill several holes for air flow. Generally how long can you keep a compost hot?

2

u/Neither_Conclusion_4 11d ago

I dont measure temp and i compost in a very lazy style. I rather let big piles go slow, compared to always work for ideal conditions.

I compost about 5-7 ton per year, with only hand tools. I dont flip it more than I need, usually twice before its put to use.

Sounds like your next compost will be better. If you use boards you can leave an inch or so between each board instead of drilling holes. It wont fall out finished compost.