PSA: Stop throwing all your cardboard in the compost pile like I did for 3 years

I used to just toss pizza boxes and shredded paper into my compost bin without thinking, but after my pile turned into a slimy mess last summer in Austin I learned cardboard needs to be balanced with greens. Now I layer it with grass clippings and coffee grounds and it breaks down in half the time. Anyone else have issues getting their carbon ratio right?

2 comments

2 Comments

allen.cole1d ago

Man yeah the carbon ratio is a beast to figure out. I started weighing my greens and browns separately with a cheap kitchen scale and that made a huge difference for my pile. Once I got it close to 3 parts brown to 1 part green the smell disappeared and everything started breaking down real smooth.

jesse7731d ago

Right, because who doesn't love playing mad scientist with their kitchen scraps and a scale? I started weighing everything too, and now my wife thinks I've lost my mind because I keep a little notebook out by the compost bin. She'll see me jotting down "half a banana peel - 30 grams" and just shakes her head. But you know what? The pile stopped smelling like a dead animal, so jokes on her. Now I'm the one getting the good dirt, she can keep her pristine kitchen counter.