I was thwarted by heavy rains as I attempted to build the compost heap. My initial attempts at composting were VERY soggy for a while.

Needless to say my pit flooded but I persevered. My only option was to create a drainage trench

The long strip of bright green grass is where the runoff from my compost heap/pit drained away.

I can't wait to use my compost in the spring!

M

PS after I dug the trench I fluffed my soggy compost up with straw.

Im VERY proud. This is my first compost pile.

Soggy is NOT good. Although too much water is better than no water at all, organism activity is lowered. So, decomposition is lowered. You want it to be just damp.

Turning the pile will feed it oxygen which will help.

It's nice to see you have a tarp to cover it when a downpour comes along.

My first pile was in a vacant backyard pond and it got soggy also. I had to keep adding alfalfa pellets to it to heat it back up. It eventually broke down to some good compost, but it was slow going.

Good luck.

Kevin

Hey, if early days soggy compost run off does that what will my veg look like next year :-)

M

Where did you dig the drainage trench? To preserve the run-off a lateral ditch parallel to the fence, filled with sawdust would collect it. You are losing good nutrients in that run-off that you could keep and add back to the pile.

Question, how fast did the liquid flow out? The reason I ask is because I was wondering if most of it was absorbed into the lawn before it flowed away.

Lloyd

My compost was soggy the first two weeks of August. The drAinage ditch was used for the first great flood. The drainage ditch has retired and is defunct.

I live on a tiny, stoney, boggy mountain. My garden in on a slope i use the sawdust to absorb the "Boggyness". That area of my garden was full of large stones (the smallest at least 8" x 4" x 4"). So put the kids to work and we cleared the area armed with gloves and a shovel.

I'm delighted with my new bed.

M

Initially, when I built the drainage ditch, the water came rushing out. However there was unexpected heavy rain the next few days. Then I built up the compost pile which essesntially filled the pit and solved the problem.

I'm sure there was a bit of residual run off afterwards, but not much. I'd say it got 4-5 days of compost run off.

M

Clearly, though, there is too much leaching.

Curt

I like larger but low compost piles. Easy to turn, maybe some folks #1 concern. And digging a little into the soil adds some volume to the pile without making it any higher. Could make it easier for worms to move in and out of the pile during hot or cold periods. Tarps are laid on top when too much rain or snow threatens.

@ Ceth K & curt grow - Thanks! Im doing my best and am learning as I go.

@robertz6 - I'm a American girl who hasn't learned to think in metric. I have to dig a pit. the rocks around the new bed came out of the pit as I dug. I live on a mountain. There are worms to the sides of the heap.

...

I had just filled the pit with browns and grass clippings the day it rained. The pit became a pond of wet grass. The run off bled onto the area where the grass clippings came from. This is what the 2-3' deep pit looked and hour before the week long rain storm...

Ive requested the clipping from the large green near my home. The field grows wild without chemicals or fertilisers.

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I use the clippings to create compost piles as quickly as i can. My biggest problem is filling the holes with compost befor the rain creates little lakes in my garden :-) its a problem but I'm not complaining. I enjoy the work.

M