My neighbor's 3 word critique fixed my compost bin mess

For months I was tossing in citrus peels and coffee grounds without balancing the browns, and it smelled awful. My neighbor Linda finally said 'too much green,' so I started measuring 2 parts leaves to 1 part scraps each week. The pile in my backyard in Denver went from a soggy mess to actual dark soil in about 6 weeks. Anyone else had a simple tip that completely turned their compost routine around?

1 comments

1 Comment

riveradams29d ago

too much green" is spot on but nobody talks about the moisture factor that comes with it. I was doing the same thing with my kitchen scraps in Ohio and the pile was basically a swamp. Once I started paying attention to how wet the greens made everything, I realized I needed way more browns than the standard ratio people toss around. I started adding shredded cardboard and dead leaves until the pile felt like a wrung out sponge, not a sopping mess. That simple texture check did more for my compost than any measuring ever did. Also, stop turning it so much, that was aerating the stink right into my face every weekend. Let it sit and do its thing, just fluff it when you add new stuff.