Problem solver

Compost too dry

A dry pile is a stopped pile. The microorganisms doing the work need moisture to live, and when the pile dries out, they go dormant and everything just sits there.

The check: grab a handful from the middle and squeeze. It should feel like a wrung-out sponge, damp with maybe a drop or two of water. If it is dusty, crumbly, and light, it is too dry.

The fix: add water gradually as you turn the pile, not all at once on top. A dry pile sheds water like a thatched roof, so dumping a bucket on it soaks the outside and leaves the middle bone dry. Turn a layer, sprinkle, turn the next layer, sprinkle again. Fresh greens like vegetable scraps and grass clippings also carry water in with them.

In hot dry stretches, which Texas knows plenty about, check weekly and consider a cover. A tarp or a layer of cardboard slows evaporation without shutting off air.

Done right, the pile wakes back up within days and you will feel it warm up again.

Back to the learning center →