Dormant Compost Bins Check-In - January 2026

The compost bins were filled up this Fall.  Sort-of.  Or...I suppose it is better to say that they were filled up *partially*.  

The last time I checked-in on the bins was in August of 2025.  At that time, I mentioned that I still needed to 'turn' the bins over for the season.  However...I never was able to get to that job this Summer/Fall.  I also have - either through sheer laziness or genuine desire to improve the soil conditions - been adopting (to a greater degree than in the past) the whole 'leave the leaves' mentality to Fall cleanup.  Combine that approach with the super-early and heavy snowfall we had that cut Fall short, there are still tons of brown leaves scattered in our beds and on our lawn.  

Despite that, when I look at the photo of the bins below, I see plenty of leaves that I piled in this season.  Both in the holding bin on the left and the mixed bin in the middle.  That comes back to the lack-of-turning that I mentioned above.  Normally...I empty out all three bins.  And the tumbler.  

I move the 'black gold' that the tumbler has created out and use it in the landscape.  Then, I take the mostly-composted material in the far right bin and fill the tumbler to "finish" it.  The middle bin gets turned out and fills up 2/3rds of the right bin.  Topping it off with the bottom of the 'holding bin' on the left.  Lastly, that 'holding bin' that isn't balanced gets a proper mix and piled into the middle bin.  That, typically leaves the left 'holding bin' empty ahead of the fall leaf gathering season.   This post from the Fall of 2024 (the last time that I turned the bins) shows that outcome. 

That means that right now, all three bins are filled up and topped-off with fresh fall leaves.  And, with the cold temperatures the past 45-or-so days, these have stopped moving and gone mostly dormant.  Below is the current state of our three-bin compost setup:

A few notes:

1. The boards that I attached to the inside of the right (finishing) bin appear to be working to hold in the compost.  But, if you look at the base of the middle bin, you'll see that problem has appeared and I need to add boards to the base of this bin the very next time I turn the bins over.

2.  The passive aeration pipe system is still in place and in the finishing bin, it appears to be having little impact, but it is creating large gaps in the middle bin.  The gaps that were present above the top pipes have been filled in with fresh leaves this fall.  

3.  That's a big fern carcass on the top of the holding bin on the left.  I need to get my spade out there to break that up.  There are also some larger pumpkin pieces that need a chop once the weather warms up, so they can more-easily break-down.

4.  Nat produces a heavy volume of coffee grounds.  She makes them on a daily basis and is good about composting them.  Add in our normal volume of kitchen scraps, the 'holding bin' is loaded with a higher amount of nitrogen than is normally present on top of the fall leaves.  I've been using my compost turning fork to try to work some of it in over the past couple of months to try to accelerate the breaking down of the leaves.   Not sure if it is working, but I feel good about the the materials when I move them to the center bin. 

5.  There is A LOT of leaf litter and 'leaky' compost out in front of these bins.  There is no hardscape surface in front of these, but they need a good clean-up to tidy up this whole area.  That is a winter job that I should get-to before Spring clean-up.

6.  My 'Feed Me' compost bin sign is still hanging up there and I like it.  It was my first attempt to add some 'personality' to the garden.  I should do another sign:  "Cooking. Do Not Disturb."  Along with adding boards to the inside of the bins and thinking about a hardscape in front of these, that makes 3 2026 projects I should include in my 2026 to-do list.  

7.  I can't help but think that I want to go into the compost business as a second act in my retirement.  I just need to find a source of free input materials.  A boy can dream, right?