Appreciation post: realized my compost bin was all wrong for 2 years

I got a composting setup back in 2021 and thought I was doing great. Just dumping all my veggie scraps and coffee grounds in there, no big deal. Then last month my neighbor who actually knows what he's doing walked over and saw my bin was basically a wet, stinky mess. He pointed out I had way too much green stuff and zero browns. No leaves, no cardboard, just slop. I had no idea you needed like a 3 to 1 ratio of browns to greens. Fixed it with a bunch of shredded paper and dry leaves from the alley, now it actually smells like dirt. Anyone else learn they were messing up something simple for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley_martin19d ago

Laughing because I did basically the same thing for like a year and a half with my first bin. I thought composting was just throwing food in a pile and letting nature handle it. Turns out nature needs a little help, like a balance between the wet stuff and the dry stuff. My bin smelled so bad my wife threatened to move it to the neighbor's yard. Fixed it with a ton of shredded junk mail and dead leaves from under the bushes, now it's actually doing something. I swear composting is just a hobby for people who like to feel smart about trash.

briancarter19d ago

@wesley_martin EXACT same here, wife made me move my stink pile to the far corner of the yard.

derekjenkins4d ago

How long did it take before the junk mail trick actually started working?