My Compost Pile

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:
Hey Tuxdad, adding worms to the compost pile is a great idea. Thanks for that. If I do that, then I better not use an aerator to mix my compost up.

camprn wrote:

tom if that manure is old and already composted, no need to try and compost it again. I don't know if it has what it needs to heat up a pile if it is already composted. Just a thought.

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:How deep is the compost? You might have a small problem with maintaining high temperatures if the pile is less than 3ft deep.

Although I would imagine that it might get warm in there being covered by black plastic.

Tuxdad wrote:It was my cold frame last year but I couldn't find a heavy enough plastic for it to survive the few weeks before the last frost.. So once that was over I decide to make it into a compost bin.. The reason for the heavy tarp was to keep critters out.. I had to take out 4 raccoons in a span of a month before of them going into it and scarffing scraps.. Once I added it, I had no more troubles... We still have raccoons and skunks roaming around but have yet to catch or see any around my compost bin..



I know I'll probably have to take the tarp during the day, once I put the worms in there.. It'll just go back on in the evenings is all...

camprn wrote:the tarp may be occluding O2 from the pile. It does need to get air, even if it is raining. Just my $0.03.

curio wrote:However, in order for the pile to breathe, we use one of the blue woven tarps, and we fasten it to the top of the bin, four corners and one "clip" along the back, which in our case is 6' long. That way it acts sort of like a floating row cover, keeping most of the rain off and still allowing air circulation (and allowing us to keep adding during the winter as needed). The pile gets some moisture from the sides being open, and if it seems to be drying out too much, it's a simple fix... just remove the tarp or fold it back for a rainy day, or water it with the hose, then put it back in place.

I think doing this helps keep the nutrients from washing away.

tomperrin wrote:

I picked this load up on March 2, 2012 from the free manure dumpsite. It's well aged manure from, I think, a variety of farm animals with little bedding. I'll have to add some straw or it will never heat up. I checked the site this morning and it had been wiped clean.

The stump in the background is all that remains of an old oak that collapsed last fall. It was scavenged for firewood.

Tom

tomperrin wrote:This is doing the slow cook on the manure pile, currently at 78F after I added some alfalfa pellets, otherwise it would be at 61F or so. I'll turn it again in a week or so. I still have to get the straw.
Tom

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:

tomperrin wrote:This is doing the slow cook on the manure pile, currently at 78F after I added some alfalfa pellets, otherwise it would be at 61F or so. I'll turn it again in a week or so. I still have to get the straw.
Tom

If you added enough alfalfa pellets and you have plenty of brown material added in, you should see your temps increase pretty nicely. Once you get it cooking into what's considered the "hot" range, between 130F and 150F, let it cook till it cools down to around 100F. After that, fluff it up and mix in more alfalfa pellets, possibly adding a bit of water if the material is a bit dry.

tomperrin wrote:That's exactly what the book says. It's what I preach. That said, this has been a quirky pile all winter. So I'm not holding my breath. I'm just too cheap to add yet another additive like blood meal. I also preach patience. But it's still irritating when the beasties do not march to my command.

Tom

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:

tomperrin wrote:That's exactly what the book says. It's what I preach. That said, this has been a quirky pile all winter. So I'm not holding my breath. I'm just too cheap to add yet another additive like blood meal. I also preach patience. But it's still irritating when the beasties do not march to my command.

Tom

I bought a small bag of blood meal two weeks ago and it was around 10 bucks. It was expensive but I was willing to try it since camprn recommended it.
It's a good thing that a little bit of that goes a long way.