Compost Bins (and Tumbler) Status - Early Fall - October 2024

The leaves are falling from our trees, which means I have to start thinking about what to do with them.  My thoughts naturally turn to our compost bins.  We have a three-bin setup plus a tumbler to finish that I've used over the years.  In normal years, I turn the compost once per year and move it along in the process.  

The three-bin setup is (from left-to-right) a storage bin (mostly leaves), a semi-mixed bin and a mixed bin.  I normally move the finished compost out of the tumbler and re-fill it with the material from the right mixed bin.  This year...I didn't do any of that.  

What is normally pretty 'lazy compost' was even more lazy this year.  How did it work out?  

What do they say?  "Nature finds a way."  And that's the case with our compost bins.  We've seen compression and decomposition in all three bins.  And, a full load of BLACK GOLD in our tumbler.  

Below is the current state of the bins:  the finished bin on the right has shrunk and is spilling out.  Same with the middle bin.  The storage bin has shrunk down, too.  

My bins are fence, so leakage is a thing that I'm seeing.  Below is a look at the bottom of the mixed bin showing the composted material leaking out.  I might need to think about adding some planks to the sides of the bins to hold this in.

I began to scoop up this compost and apply it to my beds in the front.  

But...that's nothing.  Have a look at our tumbler.  This is the VERY definition of BLACK GOLD.  Rich, loamy, non-clumping with ZERO odor.  This is perfect compost.  

I tossed a few scoops of the Black Gold compost into some buckets and ferry'd it up to the new beds in front to add to the biosolids.  See below for the finished compost in buckets.

If I find the time this Fall, I really need to empty out the full tumbler and turn over the three bins.