The before and after on my compost bin surprised me after 4 months

I started a compost pile in the corner of my backyard back in July, just tossed in veggie scraps and grass clippings. After 4 months, I dug down to see what was happening and the bottom layer looked like actual dark, crumbly soil. Nothing like the smelly, slimy mess I was expecting based on some horror stories I heard. I think the key was keeping it moist but not wet, and turning it every two weeks with a pitchfork. The top layer still looks like garbage but that bottom stuff is pretty impressive. Has anyone else seen a faster breakdown with certain materials, like eggshells taking forever?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.charlie4d ago

Yeah the eggshells thing is real, they take forever unless you dry them out and crush them into powder first. But actually you don't want to add too many eggshells anyway since they raise the pH and that slows down the whole decomposition process.

rosebennett4d ago

Three years of composting in my backyard and I still mess up the eggshell thing every time. @kim.charlie you nailed why I keep getting clumps of half-broken shells that look like they've been in there since the Bush administration. I finally started running them through the coffee grinder before adding them, but even then I only toss in a handful per batch. Too much calcium really does mess with the whole pile's balance.