On Nov 4, 3:33 am, "SteveB" wrote:
We recently moved out in the country. Nothing to do but we had to make a
compost pile. I admit, it's a handy place for garbage we would usually put
in the can for a week. Yech!

Does it work? How much work is it? How often are you supposed to turn it?
Do you keep it wet? Do you get enough compost to justify the work?

TIA

Steve

You'll get a difference of opinion from many people on this subject,
but here's my experience. They are a lot of work and what compost I
got wasn't worth the effort. I now buy my compost and use the time for
other more worthwhile work.

A lot of variables go into having a good workable compost pile. Like
do you have the right amount of natural rainfall to keep it moist but
not wet or dry? Do you have a source of equal amounts of green and
brown material to feed the pile? Are you physically able to turn it
every few weeks?

In my case we've had a drought for years so it took watering with a
hose on a regular basis. I had to bag grass clippings and leaves to
feed the pile rather than mulch them. It took almost 2 hours of hard
work every time I turned it. Even with all that, only about half of it
would break down into compost. Plus I once got a den of snakes in it
(guess they liked the heat it produced).

I'm sure others have had satisfactory results, but I quit trying.

Red