5 Hot Composting Mistakes to Avoid

Hot composting is one of the fastest ways to break down food scraps and garden trimmings into an amazing fertilizer for your garden...but managing a compost pile can be tricky if you're a beginner. Here are the 5 "composting 101" mistakes I see most newbies make!

0:00 - Intro
0:48 - 1. Not Turning
2:02 - 2. Wrong Ingredients or Amount
3:22 - 3. Too Wet or Dry
4:13 - 4. Not Enough Material
5:12 - 5. Not Considering Seeds
6:10 - Outro

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[epicgardening]

Any other compost topics you want to see more of?

[t.dig.]

Tip 6. Don't let perfection become the enemy of good. Composting "wrong" is still better than getting overwhelmed with rules and not composting at all.

[susanparker]

I made a composting mistake this season that I haven't seen anyone talk about. I have a three bin system and used the compost from the third and final bin to top up all my raised beds this Spring. Apparently my compost was full of sow bugs and they took down almost all of my seedlings. In doing some research I learned that I should have spread the finished compost out on a tarp in the sun (all the sow bugs will either dry up or run away) before adding it to my raised bed.

[JWKlutz]

My dad built something like this when I was a kid. A couple of design tweaks I learned from him. 1) mesh sides for more air. 2) hinge 2 corners and latch the other 2 corners so you can "unwrap" the box from the pile, set it right next to it and flip the whole pile back in.

[TackleboxTommy]

You can easily do this with just four pallets. I was lucky that the local appliance store was throwing out 2x4 s screwed together with particle board. I simply unscrewed them then built three side that could be simply screwed together. I made a fourth side with the slats connected which can simply slide up like you individual slats. Didn’t even have to cut anything and was able to reuse the screws I took out. Cost of building 5 of them was around 10 dollars. Some Tips

1. Only use heat treated wood (HT) not chemically treated lumber

2. You can use cardboard on top to check rain out or moisture in

3. A pitchfork forks better than anything

4. If you have a rodent problem just don’t add food scraps

5. My bins sit on the ground with no bottom. Keeps from getting to wet in the bottom and the worms love it

6. Coffee grounds, egg shells, and ash from your fire place are excellent to add. Just don’t to heavy on the ash. Determinate tomatoes planted with a cup of ash in the bottom of the whole will love you

7. Turn frequently

8. Give your neighbors a bucket and a list of things they can save for you

9. Shredded newspaper and cardboard are great

10. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Things will breakdown differently depending on where you live

11. Try to repurpose materials for your bin and garden. This is my favorite part when I make something for the garden at no cost

12. Add some finished composite to your new compost pile to kick start the process

13. Adding old potting soil to the compost will recharge it

14. You can take a five gallon bucket of wAter and add grass or weeds to it. Let it sit for a couple weeks. This is better than any water you can use especially if it’s collected from rain water. It can also be directly applied around plants when watering.

15. Be patient and let Mother Nature do her job

[MidnightSunshine]

Hi, I'd like you to know that your videos helped me through these pandemic times in so many ways! I really want to thank you and I hope you know how appreciated and valuable you are! All the best 🥰🥰

[JannineHadid]

As cold composters, we don't add a lot of weeds, but happily toss in whole pumpkins at the end of halloween, pepper cores, etc. The next season's 'volunteers' are always a fun surprise, and we make space to transplant them into different areas when they come up.

[Nexus-ubhs]

Hehe ... out of desperation for compost, I took some not fully composted soil out of the bin for my rhubarb...and pumpkins (ran out of ideas on where to put them). Yes, Hmm., , it’s now a tomato, cucumber, courgette bed too with some additional pumpkins and butternut squash 🤣🤣 ... no weed seeds though, winning 😁👍

[rijobaabojir]

I would suggest mixing in a shovelful of soil occasionally to supply the necessary bacteria to aid with decomposition.

[ikigai]

Regarding your 'in a perfect world you'd turn the pile every day' comment. From what I've read (I'm no expert) you can turn it too much. Here's a random excerpt off a quick search: _Turning too often (every day) disrupts the formation of the fungi and actinomycetes that do much of the composting work and may prevent the pile from heating up completely._ If I'm wrong please correct me. I used to turn mine every day but noticed slow results so now I do it twice a week and it's gone much faster.

[MichaelJosephJr]

I recently built a double bin compost bin with pallets and it came out great. It's super efficient to use a pitchfork and move the compost to the adjoining bin which is same as turning. However I now realize I need 4 bins so I can always have a finished compost ready while making a new.

[irenesutherland]

So excited third year composting. Have one turning bin I’ve had since beginning which gives me a small amount, but now I’m six months in with three large black bins. I lifted the lids to add something the other day, and they are heating. I’m so excited - compost made my day 🤣🤣🤣. So my hubby ordered me a compost aerator for my birthday - what a great gift seriously 😃.

[xxindigoAphrodithexx]

It can be fun to find the mysterious seeds sprouting though ;) 🌱 We often let them grow a little and replant somewhere in the garden.

[Jorduan]

Immediately after watching this I went and gave my big smelly bins so love and attention, cheers mate!

[AlAnGi]

I add a lot of clay in my compost barrel (roof gardening) and the results was amazing
I use it as my potting mix
It hasn't the best texture but if you choose the right plant it will be great
My tomatoes can't stop producing
Greetings from Greece

[adamkrasneski]

Oooooh, im diggin that compost aerator. My neighbors are 10ft away so i compost in old soil bags with tiny holes punched in to manage the odor. Doesnt give u much room to mix. Thanks for sharing.

[masonlee]

I built this exact dimension for a compost bin with cedar, which it looks like you used as well. I built with slats in the side too, but wasn’t getting quite hot enough. So I tried Charles Dowding’s technique of putting cardboard in the sides to help maintain heat and moisture. It also takes way more material than you think to fill these dimensions to the appropriate size to get them cooking. It’s taken me a couple of tries, but now am able to get it consistently to 150 Fahrenheit after watching numerous composting videos 🤣🤯 thank you and Charle’s for all of your tips!

[jorgecanales]

I personally compost in place. I do the natural compost process but in pots. I just do layers of greens, browns and the top layer is native soil.

[RichGardenLife]

I’m really considering getting a compost bin for my garden but I don’t have the space for one at the moment these tips was very helpful thank you 🙏🏾.

[haggard]

Just want to let you know I just discovered your channel today and really enjoy it. This is my first year having a garden so there was a lot of trial-and-error but it actually came out really good. I did a lot of research last winter to gain as much knowledge as I possibly could. Some mushroom compost, plant food that contains mycorrhizae, organic fish and seaweed plant food, compost tea, and some tender loving care. It's been a really hot summer where I live with not much rain so I've made sure to water it when needed. I'm happy with how everything is growing. Glad I discovered your channel cuz your channel seems very informative.