so I have two compost bins similar to these that came with my house. but i understand you need to turn the compost? so when I moved in, there was lots of good dirt in the bottom and I started adding to the top, both paper stuff and kitchen scraps. but the stuff on the top hasn't changed in like a year so im really unsure. google says to turn it, but mine only opens at the very top and very bottom, so turning would be like pulling the whole thing up and shovelling everything back in which feels really inefficient
thanks so much
by Gold-Negotiation-329
6 Comments
Dump it out the bottom and see what you have? Read the directions? Leave the country and begin a new life in a new place? Leave it in there and never speak of it again?
I have a similar one (two, actually). Leave it and it will eventually do its thing. Could take years, could be less. Otherwise turn it once or twice a year and add green/brown at that time as needed.
You can take the finished compost out of the bottom and use it. Do that with both and then merge the two together.
Hi there, check out the beginner guide and the wiki. It will help your understanding a lot!
Air and moisture will speed up your decomposition, but none of us can tell you how long it’s gonna take. Yes, turning it (aeration) will feel a bit more inefficient than just doing nothing. That composter is pretty small though. It will only take a a couple minutes (as regularly as you like) to mix it around with a small pitchfork. Add water every time. Keep it as moist as a wrung out sponge. Balance out the food scraps with plenty of dry leaves or cardboard & paper bags (i.e. “browns”).
I have a couple bins that are open at the bottom, and I lift them up and off the contents. Then sift what I can, toss anything that needs to break down more back in the bin, and start adding to it again.
I have something similar. I have a pitchfork that I use to mix up the contents every few days, sometimes more, sometimes less. It’s not the easiest, but it works and helps add more air.
I started with kitchen scraps, still doing that mostly. To this I add shredded up news paper that gets delivered and coffee grounds I grab from work. I add whatever leaves I can find.
I am no expert and still learning. Learn more about the brown to green ratio. As long as you are somewhat close and have enough browns, you can put as much or little work into using the bin as you want. You can just put food scraps to keep out of trash and some leaves/newspaper and just let it sit or you can go deep down the rabbit hole and pee on that thang