Compost: Berkeley 18 day [hot] method

I was so tempted to try just one sip of the cold apple flavored beer. It smelled so good, sort of a beer version of a wine cooler. Chemically, I can't drink even a sip without affects. Karma from college years?

Update on the Berkeley pile built in August.  I made a mistake and called it the 1st pile of 2015; it was the 2nd pile.  Everything was nicely shredded with the mower or chopped up.  Even the horse manure was in smaller poo balls.  I pulled it all out, lined the wire mesh liner with commercial weed fabric so the smaller bits wouldn't keep falling through every time I turned it.  It's all back in and covered for the winter.  The best I have ever made, finally!!  Won't even have to screen it.  

PS  The stuff that looks like wood is alfalfa stalk.

Jimmy and Yolos, Thank you. Audrey, how is your back?

Grownsunshine,  I moved this into the Berkeley topic. I'm sure you're not the only one who has built a BF compost pile.    I've built half a pile forgetting to add the coffee grounds I collected.  

How big is your pile?  The minimum 3x3x3' or the big 4x4x4'?  In a pile or in a cage?  Did you maintain the ratio of 1/3 fluffed peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 total compost ingredients?  I ask because from personal experience, my finished Berkeley piles are only 1/2 the size when finished, so you won't have Mel's Mix when done.  Do you have a compost thermometer?

The following are just my suggestions.  Others may differ.  Your finished product will be short on compost unless you double the amount of compost ingredients now.  As much as you have invested in this batch, bite the bullet and add the ingredients now.  

The pile will still be short on organic material so add light sprinklings of blood meal to "start it".  Turn on the 4th day after you rebuild it.  Depending on how wet it is, the perlite may survive the 7 turnings without breaking up much.  I say 7 turnings because I have never managed to turn more than 7 times.

If you rebuild it, you might be able to remove much of the layers of pure peat moss and perlite intact and set aside for blending with the finished compost.  May have to use a shovel instead of the fork for the fine perlite and peat moss.

I only have room for one 3x3x3' cage.  When I turn, I use a blue tarp for the material as it is removed.  The outer, top and bottom 6" of cooler, drier material go in one pile.  the hotter, wetter inner core goes in a second pile.  I fling and mix up each pile as I work so the ingredients keep getting broken up and mixed.  Then I rebuild using the hot inner material for the outer, top and bottom materials and the colder, drier for the new core.

All said and done, doubling the compost volume is the most important if you can't/don't want to remove the peat moss and perlite.  The temps may never get really hot like usual Berkeley piles, but extra time will eventually compost enough for you to use it.  A hybrid Berkeley/cold compost.

PS I quit using bedding hay and now use alfalfa hay as it breaks down faster and doesn't have wheat seeds. It's shredded with the lawn mower, just like the leaves are.

I know I posted this under No. Cal topic but as it is a Berkeley pile, I thought it should go here also.  I had to remove finished compost before I could build the new one, aka Pile #10.  It took four 33-gallon rolling garbage bins for less than half a bin!!  Visually judging the volumes between conical, cylinder and cube containers is hard to do.  The built-base temp last night was 50*F, This morning at 10 AM it's 80*F.



The material spread on the tarp was not quite enough to fill the 3x3x3' cage.  Judging conical volumes for a cube can be hard.  Husband is standing there say, "You'll never get this all in."  Then he had to mow/chop up some more!     I used the following 5-gallon quantities:  28 mowed wet leaves, 1 bale or 27 mowed alfalfa hay, 1 of Starbucks, 8.5 small crumbled horse manure and total of 3/4 cup of blood meal sprinkled on 3 layers.  Gallon-wise, this totals over 27 cu ft, but as it is built and watered, everything compresses.  When it's finished in 3-4 weeks, it will be down to 18-20" in height.  I generally get temps as high as 160-170*F for a few days, so most of the seeds and contaminates are killed.

My neighbors have yard services, so the only things that would be spread on the lawns are fertilizer and maybe rye grass seeds for winter.  I carefully, lightly rake up the leaves, being on the watch and sniff for doggy doo and twigs. I hope all of this helps.

The temp slowly increased today; now it is 115*F!

Marie,

Jimmy, Thanks, yep, my little dwarf naval.

PS: The compost is up to 140*F this morning (Day 3). I count the day it's built as Day 1, so tomorrow I'm supposed to turn it. Hope it stops raining tomorrow long enough to turn.

It relieves me to know someone's pile shrinks besides mine. Hot steamy

All of my piles are about 50% when finished.     I would turn it now and introduce oxygen.  It should heat back up. Try to get the inside to outside and top to bottom.

I turned the pile on Sunday, Day 4, when it was 160*F.  Today is Day 6, back up to 160*F again, but we had showers all day, so I will turn it tomorrow, Day 7.  The nights are in the 30's with day temps in the 40-50s.  In the summer the day may be over 100* with the night at 75-80.  Just saying, ambient temps don't seem to play that much into a well built pile.  It's all about the C:N ratio (24:1), moisture, oxygen and microorganisms.