Compost: Berkeley 18 day [hot] method

grownsunshine wrote:

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:Only in California... I turned my pile this morning... In flip flops... In my tinker bell Jammie's... At 45 degrees!  

I am of course my hubby's chief source of amusement, and thank goodness it didn't occur to him to grab a camera and document the occasion!

Tinker Bell?! Nice! Full body/1 piece pajamas...is my guess.

Nope! 2 piece, mismatched, well-worn, LOL!

Tigger, Pooh and Snowmen here. Summer and winter jammies are my gardening attire unless I have to do something in the front yard. I'm going to search for a funny pic of Californians dressing for winter.

My Hugel-Berkeley-BTE compost is up to 148*F from a base of 60*F, 36 hours ago, when I built it. Thank goodness the rain has been holding back.

How is DH's hand?

He's as good as can be expected when they peel back your skin, scrape the arthritis off of the joint, shave the bone a bit and then fuse it... YIKES I hurt just writing that!!!

He's seeing the doctor for a follow up visit today.

I have 2 turns left to go on my pile. I had to wet it today so it's down to around 100 degrees. It usually takes almost the entire 48 hour cycle to reheat after that. Is that what you experience?

We got some hard rain here last night what about you guys? We were sparkling sunshine this morning (above the fog line) but it's creeped up and we're socked in now. The rain really finished the wetting of the peat moss in my tables. I pre-moistened and pre-mixed the vermiculite and peat while waiting to add the compost. It's really moist now!

Ouch!

Yes, it takes a couple days to heat up (not that 100*F isn't hot at this time of the year!) when the pile is near the end.  When it's newish (1st and 2nd turns, it can really heat up even higher than before turning!!  No rain last night, thank goodness.  This was how the lawn looked 2 days ago.

Now just the blue tarp is left to clear of the ready compost.  I guess I will just pile it on each resting bed and top dress the planted beds.  I've run out of storage containers (33 gallon garbage cans) and room.  When DH gets back from LV, the last bed can be raised!  I've got MM and compost waiting to fill it up to the new height of 10."

You have been so industrious! It's been really fun watching your yard come together. Seeing your front yard pictures, you must wish they had set your home more forward on the lot! It seemed like you had lots of room out there

Once this batch is done, I'll probably keep making compost all winter. I need to figure out storage, I have plenty of space but I'm not sure how I want to store it. I could just pile it with a tarp underneath and one above in a hidden corner of my yard. I use a LOT of compost now with all my gardens

Keep  a tarp on top weighted down as well ...... Done to stop rain washing the nutrients out and stop the weather & wind blowing the fine particles away for you've worked hard to get it made , no sense in throwing it away .

I've got one pile ready to bust a seam, ( not in pic )
Since I've beed up grading my beds I can't seem to find time to tend to my compost piles yet.
I put up a couple of shed roofs, keeps the rain deluge off.
They are easily removed just byuntieing some cords.

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:He's as good as can be expected when they peel back your skin, scrape the arthritis off of the joint, shave the bone a bit and then fuse it... YIKES I hurt just writing that!!!

Ouch!! Also hurts reading that. Hope HD is doing okay. Hope to get my next pile started this weekend.

grownsunshine wrote:

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:He's as good as can be expected when they peel back your skin, scrape the arthritis off of the joint, shave the bone a bit and then fuse it... YIKES I hurt just writing that!!!

Ouch!! Also hurts reading that. Hope HD is doing okay. Hope to get my next pile started this weekend.

Add to that list driving a screw into the finger!  He just saw his X-ray and saw the screw.  We didn't know about that.  Poor guy!

Ha always says the theory of evolution can't be true, because if it were you would get the good things from your parents and all he ever has gotten from his parents is their problems! The arthritis is from his mom :-)

So, I've never had this happen before, my compost has not risen after this turn.  It's at 90-100 depending where in the pile. It 's 3 days early, does it mean it's done already?

It looks pretty finished.  Most of the seaweed is unrecognizabe, a little straw is left.  Guess that hot start took care of things pretty quickly.

Winter compost: I wonder if the cold air prevents it from rising as high as it does in the hot summer. I've never started one when the nights are in the 40's. Maybe I should loosely wrap the cage in plastic so it doesn't lose as much heat or get chilled on the outside, whichever way one wants to look at it. Also, this is the first time using green leaves and twigs plus manure and Starbucks. This one only got up to 148*F. I need to turn it today. As far as your 90-100*F pile, it seems like it is still decomposing. If it was done, wouldn't the temp be more like 60-80*F?? My beds are 60*F as a comparison.

Sanderson, the pile makes its own heat. No worries with wrapping, it would just compromise air flow. Find something else to do. 
The bin with a lower temp is good to just sit and age some. It will eventually get to ambient temp.

And I have plenty to do!

I turned on for the second time on Tuesday, watered well and added a 1/2 cup of blood meal. Today it reached 155*F. I will turn for the 3rd time tomorrow, Saturday. If nothing else, I will have great mulch for the front yard

Good going.  I have to get another pile going - but the holidays keep getting in the way, LOL!  Our daughter was here for Thanksgiving and is heading home this morning.  

I have to gather stuff together for it, perhaps later this week!

I didn't get it turned for the 3rd time until Sunday.  This is what I found when I removed the top 3-4".


I hope this is the good mold ???

Yes

It will keep - just turn it when you can and it will continue to do its magic 

Hello,

Our non profit has a SFG mini farm and have built 3 compost bins side-by-side.  We would like to use the Berkeley Method.

We have plenty of chicken manure (from 30 hens) to use and not alot of green waste. We have wood chips on property.

What are some suggestions as how to get started  and some good sources of materials to use. This farm is staffed mostly by people with developmental and intellectual disabilites.  

We are in northern California, Half Moon Bay

Thank you!

If you go into the"  Berkley 18 day hot composting " site there are a lot of clickable areas that expand into big lists .
 
In these list there are zillions of suggestions as to what you can use and how to keep the ideal balance of greens & browns in the compost heap
 

Also if you go onto our home page on the left side there is a bobbly creamish line going down the left hand side ...... that opens up to some useful composting threads as well.
" Composting 101 " is especially useful.

Then there is the section shown on the home page in the central columns  if you run down through the first six there is the title " Composting ".

 To give you a general idea , almost anything that rots down can be used in making a decent compost if you follow some of the simple rules given in the Berkley method .

 Whatever you decide to do ,feel free to keep coming back to us ANSFG'ers with any questions or ideas you may have.

 If you look to my straplines I mention some books that we use as our guide in  Square foot gardening .

You could do worse than get hold of copies and give them a real good reading through , then you'll be nearly as wise as the rest of us

 Dave

Here is a general compost tutorial.  It is not the Berkley method, but the Berkley method differs predominately by turning frequently.  Someone else will be a long and give you a link to the Berkley method.

http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/compost-info/tutorial/index.shtml

Here's just a short, quick list. These take weeks to compost:

Starbucks spent coffee pucks
Micro-brewery spent grains
Stable manure and used bedding straw
rotten fruits and veggies from farmer markets
Llama, goat, dairy manures
Dry leaves (no black walnut, eucalyptus)
Fish and seafood processing plants (crab, lobster and shrimp shells)
Seaweed washed up at high tide

Wood chips plus greens take months to decompose. You may want this one for long term and the items above in the fast, hot Berkeley method piles.

I am guessing you are bedding the hens in wood chips?  That might be your mix right there.  Poultry manure is very hot 'green' (nitrogen supplier) and wood chips are a very high 'brown'.  How long it takes the chips to compost depends on their size, small enough and they 'might' work for a Berkley pile.  But no matter what they will eventually break down.  Otherwise get some not certified weed free straw/hay (best are the kickouts that can not be fed).  Ask about what was sprayed on hay especially, there are some long lasting herbicides used out there that do not break down during composting for many years.

Poultry composting smells until the first heat up has passed.  Just a warning.  But composting is the best way I know to deal with it.

Seeing FG's pictures of her hens working the wood chips made me think of jonyosh.  I wonder how their hens are housed.  It will matter a lot in how they compost.

I just spent the afternoon gathering extremely "fresh" cow manure patties from our pasture and mixing them in with my last Berkeley pile. It's been sitting through the holidays after I turned it the first turn (temp was just under 160) and it went stone cold.

So two wheelbarrow loads mixed in with the remaining pile and we'll see how it's cooking. If it isn't hot enough by time to turn it, we'll add another load until it is.

In the summer the "fresh" patties are rock hard by the end of the day and are tough to work with, winter sure is better, LOL!