After 3 years of neglect, my backyard compost pile finally gave me something to brag about

I started a compost pile 3 years ago in my backyard in Portland, just throwing veggie scraps and yard waste into a corner. Honestly, it was a wet, smelly mess for the first two years and I almost gave up. Last month I finally turned it over with a pitchfork and found rich, dark soil at the bottom. I used it to top dress my raised garden beds and my tomato plants look insane now. The weird part is how satisfying it is to see that stuff break down after all that time. Has anyone else had a compost pile take forever to actually work?

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simon_wood721mo ago

Three years is about right. My pile in Salem sat there looking like a wet garbage dump for two solid years. Thought I was doing everything wrong. Then I stopped messing with it so much. Just let it sit and rot. Turned it last spring and found gold at the bottom like you. My peppers went nuts after I mixed that stuff in. It's weird how patient you gotta be with that process. But once it breaks down, nothing beats that black dirt. Worth every stinky month.