Composting Beginnings thru 2 Months

[@dezarae1984]

I've had this double composter for about three years. I love it. My problem is that I fill them too quickly. I need another.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

I guess we are going on a few years with ours now. They do fill up fast and don't empty great. The broken parts from the beginning has been a hassle. Just last week some critter has been getting into the green side ad the door is jammed up each morning.

[@redelicious78]

Wet the egg carton. Are you watering your compost? Should water it whenever it looks too dry. Spin daily to mix.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

I have wet it in the past, but I don't regularly. Thanks for the tips!

[@sandy5149]

You should not have maggots in your compost. It needs way more carbon. It will get stinky.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

Thanks for the tip. I find my compost is getting to dry and taking forever to break down lately. I attribute it to the chickens eating up a lot of the veggie scraps. I feel like it is overrun with carbon.

[@skeaterpainter7010]

If you have a 2 piece center bar it can be put in wrong this could be why your green side turns harder , the 2 short ends where the drilled holes are closer at end go to the out side not in center bonding screw in middle.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

Thanks for the info. I built it to the instructions for it, but that doesn't mean that it all went as it should've.

[@dianavalenti1464]

I found this composter works well until it's time to empty the bins. It sits 6" off the ground. You can't get a bucket under it and the splayed legs make it difficult to raise it any higher. You can't get a shovel in the small opening. It's a poor design.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

I agree, not a great design. I rock mine back and forth to dump. Still mean raking and moving. and it isn't the smoothest to dump.

[@kalliemj]

people just say to avoid meat and dairy to prevent maggots but you hav them anyways also i think for meats you want to make sure the compost gets to 130 degrees so you don't get salmonella in there

[@EverydayTexasLife]

Thank you for the info! I'm very much still learning, so I'll take all the advice I can get. I do most of my composting in a squared off bed area right now. My tumbler has just become to difficult to move for emptying and this way, the chickens help me turn over the compost and they eat out what they want.

[@redelicious78]

I have one The yellow piece should have a little space between itself and the black piece. Mines sound great.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

Good deal! Mine are still working, just gotta work harder at spinning them and i've given up on using the locks lol

[@gijoyjoy]

I'm still building mine. I have a small house, so I'm doing it whenever I get some extra time. I am not impressed so far. They didn't give me coordinating colors. I have two yellow parts on the sides of the bins where they rotate. The doors are really cheap and they have to be partially pried to slide them open. Those connector pieces are so cheap I broke off the sides of those two clips. It doesn't seal great either. I won't return it because I don't want it creating methane in a landfill. So I'll make it work. However, I will give it maybe a 2 star rating at most. Do you add kitchen scraps daily to both sides? Did you buy worms for it? I'm new to this.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

I am doing a non worm method. I add to one side at a time. Then once full I just keep rotating and fill the other side. If I happen to end up with both sides full, I empty one out. so far I just build on them mostly and then empty when super full. Im not as impressed either. They work though. My green side is soooooooo hard to turn now. Neither have the locks any more. The doors stick so that's a bummer, but they serve the purpose. My chickens get a ton of the kitchen scraps, so I have a hard time with brown vs green balance at times.

[@Dahna_]

dryer lint? doesnt the dye from the clothes and chemicals from the softeners and detergent contaminate your compost?

[@EverydayTexasLife]

I've not had any issues so far.

[@sandy5149]

And microplastics🥴

[@thenextension9160]

Yeah dryer lint is literally just a wad of plastic fibers. Last thing I would put into compost.

[@karlacrowther]

How long were you adding before your emptied it?

[@EverydayTexasLife]

I go through a lot more kitchen scraps than the average population I feel, but I think I emptied around the 2 month mark. Mind you, it was not completely broken down. I dumped it into a pile that is still breaking down. I do feel it did much better and fast decomp in the bin. I simply needed to start a fresh batch.

[@DevilBlueEyes84]

Can I ask where you emptied your compost to hold it until spring

[@EverydayTexasLife]

We have created a spot where we previously had a garden. We continue to empty and layer there. Every now and again I go turn it over with my shovel and rake.

[@luismhv]

Did anyone else got dizzy while she tumbled the composter? XD

[@EverydayTexasLife]

Sorry lol I have the same reaction on some videos.... sounds and movements...

[@deannajohnson1889]

Use your chicken poop in garden to.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

Yes, I'm layering it to compost down. Fresh can cause burning. Should have plenty by spring lol

[@debbieschroeder5832]

How do you empty the compost?

[@EverydayTexasLife]

Sorry it took so long to reply, this got lost in the comments somehow. I just open the doors over the area I want to dump it and rock it back and forth. Not the easiest emptying system by any means.

[@jackspal]

No, you should not have black fly in there it's not hot enough

[@EverydayTexasLife]

Yes, I have struggled so much to maintain a good heat I feel. With our chickens, I have mostly gone to an open compost style, just letting them dig and turn over what they dont want.

[@robertmartello9882]

Miracle-Gro should be ashamed of themselves.

[@EverydayTexasLife]

agreed at this point!

[@robertmartello9882]

@@EverydayTexasLife what?