Is there such a thing as too wet?

Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:58 am

Hi everyone,

I've started my first composting pile (built the 4'x3'x4' bin myself based on photos posted here!) and have a composition of 2/3 browns to 1/3 greens, just because it's what I have at the moment; I'm working on getting a better balance in there....

However, it's been raining nearly non-stop here for the past week, and the contents of my bin are completely saturated, though without standing water. Is this a bad thing or just part of how it goes?

Thanks for your advice,

Pam

Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:18 am

I always covered the tops of my bins, during the rainy season here in Oregon, but I left the sides open to the air. Air needs to be able to get into the pile to allow aerobic bacteria to do their thing.

IMO, it isn't necessary to try to keep all the water out, just the majority of it. I wouldn't bother to cover a bin just for a day or two of rain, but I would if 3 or more consecutive days of rain were expected. But that's just my opinion.

Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:47 am

Thank you for your advice, Kisal.

Will cover the top soon, since tomorrow will be dry but then more rain for the next five days. Ugh.

Pam

Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:28 am

A very rainy spell can soak your pile. If that happens before it heats up, it can slow a new pile down. A red hot pile should stay cooking through all but a Noakian deluge.

A tarp or plastic sheeting is what there is if you think things are getting too wet.

On the up side, this too shall pass.

Sat Apr 23, 2011 11:36 am

Rain will not hurt your compost. Sprinkle some dirt on the top from time to time there is something in dirt the compost needs it speeds it up. We have been having rain every day for months too my compost has been working all winter even in 17 deg weather it goes down about 1" every week. I keep filling it up about 6" each time.

Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:00 pm

Thanks Tom. My pile isn't close to being hot yet. The tarp is covering the bin today... with all the rain we've had and a good chance of rain every day but Friday this coming week, I needed to do something to keep it from complete saturation.

Pam

Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:04 pm

Thanks Gary.

Currently, my pile is just compost-to-be. I will take your advice, though, and put some dirt in it; I really want to get this thing cooking.

Pam

Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:34 am

MI-FG spring is coming, bacterial activity will kick up. If it was alive, it'll rot.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 1:58 am

Tom... help the slow girl. What?

Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:24 am

MIfarmgirl wrote:Tom... help the slow girl. What?

Slow compost, If I misspoke I applogise.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:01 am

It may be soaked now, but give it time and keep adding to it. After the rain stops for a few days, go turn the pile to help dry it out. Composting is such a easy thing to do, I don't know why people get so worked up over this subject. Just keep throwing stuff into it and let nature do it's thing. My summers are very hot and very dry, I have to flood mine every week to get it to work. As they say, don't worry about it!

Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:19 pm

Tom, no, you didn't misspeak. It just took me a bit to figure out what you said.

greenstubs, I thought composting seemed like a pretty easy thing, too, but then I got to reading about how people's piles went bad, etc. As a new composter, it seems like I have been over-thinking things a bit. lol Thanks for your advice.

Pam

Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:21 pm

rain, snow, hail i don't cover my pile at all. i just turn it after the storm lets up to bring in some air. my best compost comes from mid winters batch.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:35 pm

I have an old plastic kiddie pool I use to keep the pile from baking in the sun, but I try and remove it before a stretch of rain.

I get some good "cooking" after a solid rain and then throw the pool back on as a cover. It has been hot enough to warp the pool.

Fri Apr 29, 2011 3:13 pm

MIfarmgirl wrote:greenstubs, I thought composting seemed like a pretty easy thing, too, but then I got to reading about how people's piles went bad, etc. As a new composter, it seems like I have been over-thinking things a bit. lol Thanks for your advice.

Pam

I don't know if you could really call a composting pile "going bad." They might slow down if you don't give them proper attention, but it's really not going bad per se. Even if you "over green" and get a nasty soup, you can mix in a lot of browns and get it back to a good compost. You can almost always salvage something that, in the end, you want to decompose...lol