Compost Bins - Emptying, Mixing and Turning - Part 1 - September 2026

A couple weeks ago, I posted photos and details of how I was emptying the compost tumbler of finished compost (black gold) and top-dressing the dahlias around the garden.  And, stashing piles of compost in beds that I'd like to improve after the growing season (like the pizza oven bed that is full of clay).  

#14 on my 2026 to-do list is to be an active compost gardener.  

To be that, I need to turn the bins.  

For me, that's an annual process.  I do it in late Summer/Fall.  

And, that process was something that I recently started.  This post will cover part one (not sure how many parts there will be) of that process.  

First, let's start off with the state of play with the three bin setup.  

Left = holding bin.  The freshest material.  Not properly mixed.

Center = mixed bin.  Material that is (at least) one-year aged.  And (hopefully) properly mixed.
Right = finishing bin.   Two-year old material (at least).  Finishing before going to the tumbler. 

Below is what the bins looked like in early September.  Some good compaction/decomposition going on in the bins with the Summer heat.  

Since I emptied the tumbler for top dressing already, I began this process by opening-up the finishing bin (on the right) and pulled out (mostly-finished) compost to add to the empty tumbler.  This material is a couple of years old and is pretty close to being finished.  The passive aeration system that I installed helps move this pile along.  And, the boards attached to the frames help keep most of the compost *inside* the bins.  Instead of leaking out.  Here is a look at the pile after I took the top-half off:

I took this material and filled up the tumbler.  This will 'cook' for a year and I'll use the finished "Black Gold" in the 2027 garden.   Below is the tumbler filled up:

 

Not all of the mixed bin volume will fit into the tumbler.  Here, below is what is left-over after filling the tumbler:

This is also as far as I was able to get in part one.  

Next up, I'll pull the rest of this (mostly finished) material out of this bin and pile it into my wheel barrow.  Add some boards to the finishing bin to improve them a little bit more.  Then, I'll empty the middle (mixed) bin.  Begin the refill the finishing bin. Then, move on to the holding bin.  And repeat the process.