Are you a hottie?

Yay Meatburner, you did it!

GWN wrote:BUT THEN AGAIN..... all the snow says melted over the septic tank.
Not sure what else I could do to get this pile to stay hot over the winter.
I got it easily up to 150 degrees just by putting all of my gardening waste through my chipper/shredder, it just seems that after the snow came and it got cold, it stopped heating. I guess perhaps if I were to come across a pile of manure... that might help

I am thinking that maybe your pile has run out of oxygen and/or water and may need to be turned. I am going through that right now too Gwn and have been meaning to post what you posted. I think you are right about adding manure. That is what I was thinking for mine also. Just how do you get the manure if there is a pile of snow on the ground? Maybe there are people who have their large animals inside so it wouldn't be so messy to gather the manure. My piles have shrunk quite a bit but are not done. Awhile back I combined two but that is cold now. Should several piles be combined and moistened with water or combine them together and also add manure and water. Should they also be brought back to at least 3'x3'x3' piles?

Another thought which I am not sure would be the right way would be just let them be and start turning and watering them in the Spring. The problem with that is I need lots of compost come Spring. Boy, am I strange stressing about compost?

Another thought which I am not sure would be the right way would be just let them be and start turning and watering them in the Spring. The problem with that is I need lots of compost come Spring. Boy, am I strange stressing about compost?

LOL I will likely just wait until spring, it would be pretty hard to turn it right now. The people I talked to about horse manure also said that it was hard to get a vehicle into the barn to get manure before spring. So I will just have to focus all of my attention on my worms. I went and checked the temp of the pile today and it was 44, so I think SOMETHING is going on down there

GWN wrote:

Another thought which I am not sure would be the right way would be just let them be and start turning and watering them in the Spring. The problem with that is I need lots of compost come Spring. Boy, am I strange stressing about compost?

LOL I will likely just wait until spring, it would be pretty hard to turn it right now. The people I talked to about horse manure also said that it was hard to get a vehicle into the barn to get manure before spring. So I will just have to focus all of my attention on my worms. I went and checked the temp of the pile today and it was 44, so I think SOMETHING is going on down there

Oh I didn't look where you were! You must be frozen solid way up there, lol!

Well, I stuck my compost today. Turned and watered yesterday. So far, it's almost to 110.

I do, however, have a question.

Our compost pile is now being regularly pee'd and pooped on by our rabbits. In addition to the wasted food & waste hay being dropped into the area. I know rabbit poop is good to go, without composting, but the addition of the pee, poop, feed and hay is what I used to get this pile going good. Was just chicken poo & bedding.

Will the constant addition of all the rabbit stuff cause any issues when I turn the pile? I know the hay might cause an issue if it doesn't stay hot, but I'm concerned about when it starts cooling down. I don't really want hay growing in my garden beds. >.< I could always cover the active pile with a tarp to keep all the added stuff out.

What do you guys think? Should I just turn & not worry or should I cover it?

At some point you will need to stop adding to the pile and let it complete its process.

Okay. This is what it looked like before I turned the compost. Notice the pile on the left side.



I turned it yesterday and put it all on the right side, it's taller and not as spread out now. I think my best bet is to find somewhere to relocate the working pile. I've got it going pretty well right now, so when I "turn" it in a couple of weeks, I'll just relocate it at that time. I have plenty of pallets laying around here so I can build an additional compost area not too far away.

that is so cool.. ... are there doors on the other side for the bunnies to come in and out.

that is what my compost is lacking in....

Thanks GWN!

Nope, poor rabbits are stuck in their cages allll day long. I've only had them for a few weeks but they're growing fast! Soon most of them will stop growing though. After all, freezer camp has a tendency to do that.

I'll be keeping 6-8 of them for future breeders though, so it's going to be a continuous stream of pee, poo, feed, hay dropping down there. Well, until I get a rabbit barn built. But that's all another topic.

Glad you like it!

wncsohn wrote:Okay. This is what it looked like before I turned the compost. Notice the pile on the left side.



I turned it yesterday and put it all on the right side, it's taller and not as spread out now. I think my best bet is to find somewhere to relocate the working pile. I've got it going pretty well right now, so when I "turn" it in a couple of weeks, I'll just relocate it at that time. I have plenty of pallets laying around here so I can build an additional compost area not too far away.

Yes, at some point you're going to have to make the separation.

After all, freezer camp has a tendency to do that.

OOOOHHH so this is a sad bunny story

You will not get any poop or pee in the freezer....

GWN wrote:You will not get any poop or pee in the freezer....

OMG I hope not!

And it's really not a sad bunny story. It's a story of renewal and the circle of life! The rabbits that will be retained will have babys of their own!

And the pee & poo from them and their mamma's and pappa's will renew the garden!

So see? Not sad at all!

ETA: Oh yeah! When we went out to feed the rabbits this morning, we noted that the pile was almost a balmy 160 degrees!

It's a story of renewal and the circle of life

so is it the circle of life, or more like "hacuna matata"
Or is it "all we are is dust in the wind"
Boy you can tell I had a LOOONNG day at work today

From Janet who is going out to check the temperature of her compost even though she knows it is only 57.5

From Janet who is going out to check the temperature of her compost even though she knows it is only 57.5

Comfort pile

Well that just GOES to show, you cannot count on anything, it has gone down to 45.

Well come on down here to Arkansas and I'll give ya both rabbit & chicken poo & bedding to heat that puppy up!

And I'd say it's more the "hacuna matada" kinda circle of life! After all, they were carnivores like me.

Compost pile is still around 155 degrees! Looks like it's "cookin with poo"!

We started feeding the rabbits a little bit of whole oats each day too. They, of course, spill some down below, which the chickens are happily scratching around for. So looks like they're going to help keep the top of the pile clear of too many additions!

Sounds great...
I only have MOOSE POOP that I gather from the forest.
I know it sounds weird, but there is tons of it out there, and.... why let it go to waste?

Bump

I'm not sure why my compost pile isn't staying heated. It is sufficient in size (about 4'x4') and is composed of horse manure, chicken manure, alpaca manure, kitchen waste (fruit/veg), leaves, alfalfa pellets and dried garden clippings/waste. It is well aerated - I turn it about once every 2 weeks and I have aeration holes throughought the pile every 8 inches or so. Several bags of the chicken manure were admixed with more wood shavings and corn cob chips than I expected, and at first I was convinced that there was too much carbon in the mix (especially when the pile remained at ambient temperatures), so I added in the alfalfa pellets and some bone meal. Afterwards, the pile heated up to 155 degrees for about a week, but then it cooled down fairly rapidly to its current temperature of 70-75 degrees. The pile is appropriately moist, and in this rainy weather I have kept it covered to keep it from becoming too saturated. There is no strong ammonia smell, and the components are breaking down, but I don't see much of the white/silvery evidence of bacterial growth in the pile.

Any suggestions?

If it were my pile, the next time I turned it I would lightly sprinkle some dried blood every 4" - 6" as the new pile was built. If it a bit dry, sprinkle with water every 4" - 6". That should get it heating again.

1airdoc wrote:I'm not sure why my compost pile isn't staying heated. It is sufficient in size (about 4'x4') and is composed of horse manure, chicken manure, alpaca manure, kitchen waste (fruit/veg), leaves, alfalfa pellets and dried garden clippings/waste. It is well aerated - I turn it about once every 2 weeks and I have aeration holes throughought the pile every 8 inches or so. Several bags of the chicken manure were admixed with more wood shavings and corn cob chips than I expected, and at first I was convinced that there was too much carbon in the mix (especially when the pile remained at ambient temperatures), so I added in the alfalfa pellets and some bone meal. Afterwards, the pile heated up to 155 degrees for about a week, but then it cooled down fairly rapidly to its current temperature of 70-75 degrees. The pile is appropriately moist, and in this rainy weather I have kept it covered to keep it from becoming too saturated. There is no strong ammonia smell, and the components are breaking down, but I don't see much of the white/silvery evidence of bacterial growth in the pile.

Any suggestions?

Isn't that enough heat? Or were you wanting it to heat up a second time? If so, do as camprn suggests. Otherwise it might be ready to do its finishing. With out having seen it, it sounds ready to have squash/melons planted in it for a summer of mellowing.

I was under the impression that the elevated temps needed to be sustained for a while in order to kill off pathogens and seeds. Previously, my hot compost stayed warm (not quite at 155, but at least 125) for a couple of weeks, and the typical silvery-white evidence of bacterial colonies worked its way through the entire pile. That just hasn't been true of the current pile.

Do others believe it is sufficient to see the pile temps peaking up to 155 and then staying elevated at a much lower tem (75)? I am hoping to add all the product ito my beds this spring to fill them back up again.

1airdoc wrote:I'm not sure why my compost pile isn't staying heated. It is sufficient in size (about 4'x4') and is composed of horse manure, chicken manure, alpaca manure, kitchen waste (fruit/veg), leaves, alfalfa pellets and dried garden clippings/waste. It is well aerated - I turn it about once every 2 weeks and I have aeration holes throughought the pile every 8 inches or so. Several bags of the chicken manure were admixed with more wood shavings and corn cob chips than I expected, and at first I was convinced that there was too much carbon in the mix (especially when the pile remained at ambient temperatures), so I added in the alfalfa pellets and some bone meal. Afterwards, the pile heated up to 155 degrees for about a week, but then it cooled down fairly rapidly to its current temperature of 70-75 degrees. The pile is appropriately moist, and in this rainy weather I have kept it covered to keep it from becoming too saturated. There is no strong ammonia smell, and the components are breaking down, but I don't see much of the white/silvery evidence of bacterial growth in the pile.

Any suggestions?

Hi Air Doc long time no posts ..everything OK ??

How many times have you turned the heap since you stopped adding new material ?
Could it actually be that you have reached the point where it is all but fully composted and does not need any further additions ?

Re the covering and moisture content .
The heap still needs a fair amount of moisture to keep the heap humid so that the rot /decay with fungi and bacteria on the nitrogen etc. in the heap can take place , so don't get the heap dessicated / too dry

I'd be different to Camp and just turn it one final time without adding anything else .
Giving it a fair wetting with a spray head on the hose pipe every three inches depth of my rebuild , then cover it to let it sweat and rot a bit more... if there is enough nitrogen left it will re start the bacteria and fungi produced heat up .

If there is no increase in temp after two days to speak of , it suggests to me that....... You Sir, have a finished heap of compost ready for some serious SFGing action.

plantoid wrote:
Giving it a fair wetting with a spray head on the hose pipe every three inches depth of my rebuild , then cover it to let it sweat and rot a bit more... if there is enough nitrogen left it will re start the bacteria and fungi produced heat up .

If there is no increase in temp after two days to speak of , it suggests to me that....... You Sir, have a finished heap of compost ready for some serious SFGing action.

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