Finally figured out my compost pile wasn't heating up because I was using way too many leaves.

I've had this three-bin setup for about two years and it always just sat there cold. My neighbor, who's a master gardener, came over last weekend to borrow my post hole digger. He took one look at the pile and said, 'Shane, that's not a compost heap, that's a leaf collection.' I was just dumping all my fall leaves in there with the kitchen scraps. He showed me the proper green-to-brown ratio with his hands, basically a 1:2 mix. I turned it, added a few bags of grass clippings from his place, and three days later it was steaming. I feel like an idiot for not looking it up sooner. What's the one thing you were doing totally backwards in your yard?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera2915d agoMost Upvoted

Happens all the time, people get the basic idea for something but miss the one key rule that makes it actually work. I see it with people trying to grow tomatoes in way too much shade or watering their lawn every single day. The internet gives us just enough knowledge to be confidently wrong. Glad your neighbor sorted you out.

the_elizabeth15d ago

Reminds me how @vera29's point explains why so many diet fads fail completely.

the_spencer15d ago

Used to believe more info was always better, but you're right about that confidence trap. I'd watch a few videos and think I had the whole skill figured out. My own garden was a mess until someone showed me the actual timing for watering. That missing piece changes everything.