Just realized I had my compost pile in the wrong spot for 2 years

I set up my compost bin right next to the garden for convenience, thinking it would be easier to haul scraps back and forth. But after two straight summers of it getting way too wet and slimy, a neighbor who's been off grid for 20 years pointed out that my bin was in a low spot where all the rain pooled. He said it needed to be on a slight slope with good drainage. I moved it up a hill last spring and now the compost actually breaks down in half the time. Has anyone else had a basic setup mistake like this that took years to figure out?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyjones1mo ago

Man I did the exact same thing, put mine in a shady corner behind the garage thinking it'd be fine. Took me three years to figure out the spot was too damp and the pile was basically just rotting instead of composting. Soon as I moved it to a sunny patch with a little slope, the worms showed up and the whole thing flipped around. Only wish I'd thought about drainage sooner, that's like half the battle right there.

karenb971mo ago

Oh @blairc90 totally nailed it, I read somewhere that airflow is just as crucial as drainage for keeping that pile active.

blairc901mo ago

Hear that. Drainage is everything. I'd rather start a pile in the wrong spot than the wrong kind of wet.