Appreciation post: The time my compost bin taught me a lesson

I was in my backyard last spring trying to dump kitchen scraps into my bin, and the whole thing was frozen solid from a cold snap. I spent 20 minutes chipping at it with a shovel before realizing I needed to add more brown materials like leaves to keep it working in winter. Has anyone else had their compost get too wet and freeze up like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jenny13d ago

Oh wow, frozen compost bins are the worst. Last winter mine turned into a solid block of coffee grounds and eggshells. I actually chipped my favorite shovel trying to break it apart... ended up just leaving it until spring thaw and starting a new pile in a different spot. I started keeping a separate bucket for shredded paper and cardboard near the bin so I can layer things better now, especially when the weather gets cold.

jesse77313d ago

Funny, I actually had the opposite experience with my compost bin last winter - the freeze seemed to help break things down more slowly and evenly once it thawed out in the spring. @the_jenny, maybe your problem was too much wet material and not enough browns mixed in before the cold hit. I just dumped everything in one pile and let nature take its course, and it worked fine without any special layering or extra buckets.