Hi Guys,
I'm living in Florida, Started my first compost bin 5 weeks ago, and i cant get it to work.
Half of it was half and half grass clippings dry/wet, another 50% Food scraps, I also added some Sawdust/Wooden palettes
I also added some kind of granulated compost starter of amazon.
I've read, watched bunch of videos, still cant figure it out.
Can you tell me what's wrong base on The photos?

Regards

mike

Welcomed Michalsz2

Five weeks isn't very long, but it sounds like you're short on carbon ingredients, aka "brown." Can you obtain dry leaves or non-sprayed dried grass clippings (completely dry like straw)?

You might not have adequate volume...generally the minimum volume for heat generation is at least 3'x3'x3'. I can't tell volume from your picture.

What do you think looks wrong?
Not sure I understand: the sawdust was from wooden pallets ?

Thank You for your answer,
Not sure what's wrong , It doesn't seem to be to wet or to Dry.
Wooden pallets are Compressed Dry Pine tree chunks/ kind of wood shavings.
Yes I can try to add dry grass clippings.

Like animal bedding? That seems too coarse to me...it will take too long to break down. Leaves or dry vegetative matter is preferable.

What is the volume of your compost ingredients?

One more question: you say it isn't working — can you be specific? What exactly seems wrong? With good ingredients, ideal proportions, optimum water and regular turning, a three to four cubic foot bin might take three or four months to cook...most home bins take longer. After five weeks, if you can't see kitchen waste in its original form then you know "something" is going right!

I don't think anything is actually wrong. First time compost piles take longer to get started than established piles because the microorganism need to get established. Hang in there. You might want to also add a bit of shredded/torn up newspaper. Just the black and white newspaper, not colored. And maybe a bit of torn up cardboard. The earthworms will invade your pile and feast on it, leaving worm castings. Once it is established and you use that compost, leave a little bit behind for the new compost pile.

I think /agree nothing is really wrong.
Composting how-to's are overall misleading about how quick and easy the process is.
Fork into the middle, open it up- is it moist? or dry and crumbly?

agree, we need more detail- what volume now etc?

Compost is a form of gardening. Your crop is all the life forms that live in compost. They all need proportions of water, air, and nutrients to grow well. Nutrients you somewhat manage by your material. Air and water content are ever changing, need to be managed, and you will develop a feel for a good level of those. Higher total volume can help stabilize moisture and temperature and makes a big 'ecosystem' which helps stabilize, too.

Naming things as greens and browns is two very broad categories. Kitchen waste adds a lot of moisture, but calling it 'a green' is NOT AT ALL like the same volume of grass clippings is 'a green'.

Best to regard compost as a many-months long process.