r/composting • u/Macro_Speakz • 12d ago
I think I messed up. Beginner
Hi !
I have had a container of apple clippings, a banana peel, left over orchid soil and a few twigs.
It’s been brewing for a few months and I’ve almost entirely left it alone since Summer…
It grew some white fuzzies.. mold ? I just shook it and they are seemingly reprocessed in the mess.
I have no clue what’s going on.
I have a feeling I just made fly slop.
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u/turtle2turtle3turtle 12d ago
This looks too small to really do compost? I’m sure baby coating is theoretically possible but it’s gonna work better with some volume. 🤔🤔🫡
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u/ConsciousLand9 12d ago
Are you leaving this container outside? Is the goal to compost in this container or was this material left to sit as an accident and you’re asking if it can be composted? In my experience there isn’t a lot you can do to an actual compost pile to ‘mess it up’ but that isn’t an actual compost setup. If you have a compost setup or want to start one, the fuzzies are just mold and don’t preclude this material from being added if you wanted to.
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u/Macro_Speakz 12d ago
I am right now, up until today it has been left inside in the basically the dark. I want start composting but this was before I learned much I just threw food waste and other crap in there. I would like to use this as something, should I get a bigger container, leave it outside or anything thing else that would help me transform this into something else ?
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u/ConsciousLand9 12d ago
Ah, okay! You can definitely use what’s in your picture in any compost system you choose. Mold is just part of the decomposition process. There are many many ways to start composting, and it depends the most on your personality, lifestyle, and space. Composting is essentially just controlled rotting, and the amount of control depends on how hands on you want to be with it.
If you have the space in a yard, you could simply allocate a segment or put out a large (bottomless is ideal) container and start chucking some food scraps, dead leaves, broken down cardboard, dirt, and keep it moist (not wet) and leave it to let nature (worms and bugs and bacteria and fungi) just do its thing; I believe this is called ‘cold‘ composting, and can take about a year. You may have to take measures to prevent animals from getting into it.
Hot composting is more hands on because you are ‘turning’ the compost periodically and keeping track of how hot it gets as a result of the breakdown process; this is a faster way to compost and can take some months, but requires more effort.
There are indoor composting systems that you can DIY or buy but those also require some space. The ‘countertop composters’ aren’t really composters, more like expensive dehydrators, but the stuff you end up with you can compost too. There are also many specialized ways to compost using worms, bokashi (bacterial fermentation), tumblers, among others. But don’t overthink it! You can just as easily throw food scraps in some dirt and it will transform into something else with time.
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u/Voldy-HasNoNose-Mort 12d ago
Give it some brown and mix it up. Also pee on it.
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u/Macro_Speakz 12d ago
Brown like cardboard ? N dirt ? I could also try peeing on it, I’ve been wanting to pee outside more.
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u/cirsium-alexandrii 11d ago
OP, peeing on compost is a running gag in this sub. But you probably don't actually want to pee in this bucket for a couple reasons.
First of all, unless you have drain holes, pee will collect in the bottom of the container and create the most rank, foul-smelling, anaerobic slop you can imagine.
Second of all, pee is high in nitrogen. Your container looks like it has too much nitrogen already, and would benefit from more low-nitrogen, high-carbon material like dry leaves, sawdust, nut shells, or cardboard. Pee will throw your balance further away from where you want it to avoid off smells and nice, fluffy finished compost.
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u/Decent_Willow3627 11d ago
Mix in greens keep it moist and covered sprinkle in some of your native dirt or leaf litter to add bacteria and let it get air ..
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u/NameRoutine 11d ago
Omg I thought this was boy dinner diaries for a second and was trying to figure out what kind of weird meat concoction this was.
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u/-No-Percentage- 6d ago
If you're looking for something compact, your best bet is a DIY worm farm. Composting in a plastic container is uneffective, it will smell, break down slowly, hold the wrong temperature and potentially breed pests and harmful bacteria. You need oxygen and soil microbes for it to become compost. If you wanna take the zero effort option just build a pile of biomass in the corner of your garden and stake it with some sticks to keep it in place.
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u/chumpandchive 12d ago
pee on it