Compost wellness check following flash floods

Whenever it rains, I become concerned about my compost piles getting too wet. Over the past two weeks, it's rained an estimated 12 inches in the greater Austin area. Time to do a wellness check to see how my compost piles have fared.

My most rain-protected compost bin fared much better than expected. While it's a bit too wet, it's definitely not drowning in water. The photo above shows that the compost, while very coarse, is nearly done breaking down -- the pile's mass has reduced by about a third (notice the dirty fill line along the walls), and the material smells mostly of soil, but there is still a hint of sourness. I'll harvest this pile in the next few weeks, returning to the bin any large chunks I sift out.


I found this bin on the side of the road. I'm guessing the previous owner discarded it because it has a hole near the base of the back wall where it's likely a rat chewed its way in to enjoy a safe place to live and eat. The walls fit together snugly, letting little water in or out compared to my other bins.

The compost bin I have attached to the chicken run fared the worst. It's open at top with only hardware cloth and a small piece of plywood to prevent water from pouring in. The side walls, made of pallets, have gaps that also easily let water in and out. The compost is definitely flooded and is a stinky mess underneath, but I'm not breaking it down until it stops raining. Meanwhile, the girls enjoy veggie cuttings and table scraps.

In the middle is this compost tower. It has vents along the top and side that help keep it aerated, but also let in loads of water. In the future I'll probably cover it with a tarp when it rains heavily. The wire ring is where I store chicken litter until I'm ready to mix it into the compost pile as I add "green," or nitrogen-rich material. It's also soaked, which is bad news for me because adding dry chicken litter, which is mostly "brown," or carbon-rich material, is one of the best ways to dry out a compost bin that's too wet. I'll have to rely on turning and finding a new temporary source of dry, brown material.

The top part of the compost tower isn't too bad, the moisture level was right about where it should be, moist like a wrung-out sponge.

The compost tower is a flow-through system, meaning you add compostable material to the top and it breaks down as it passes through to the bottom. A slip cover at the bottom comes off, which allows you to harvest finished compost. This minimizes the need for turning, but there are some downsides. The compost tends to be coarse and it easily becomes water logged. I may have to partially empty the tower, mix in some dry brown material, then load it back up. We'll see after the weather dries up some more.