Are you a hottie?

The bin was on sale for $40 through our extension service...it also came with a free compost thermometer. I may need to pick up another one as I think my temps will go up compared to just a compost pile on the ground...a more compact mass. I just hate to give up the ease of turning the pile when it's just on the ground.

landarch wrote:The bin was on sale for $40 through our extension service...it also came with a free compost thermometer. I may need to pick up another one as I think my temps will go up compared to just a compost pile on the ground...a more compact mass. I just hate to give up the ease of turning the pile when it's just on the ground.

Landarch: Are the sides of your compost bin rigid enough where you could push it over and stand it upside down? In other words, leave all the stuff in it, and completely turn it over with all the stuff in it? Might be too heavy or the sides might be too limp. I've always wondered about that It sure looks nice and tidy!

southern gardener wrote:

landarch wrote:The bin was on sale for $40 through our extension service...it also came with a free compost thermometer. I may need to pick up another one as I think my temps will go up compared to just a compost pile on the ground...a more compact mass. I just hate to give up the ease of turning the pile when it's just on the ground.

Landarch: Are the sides of your compost bin rigid enough where you could push it over and stand it upside down? In other words, leave all the stuff in it, and completely turn it over with all the stuff in it? Might be too heavy or the sides might be too limp. I've always wondered about that It sure looks nice and tidy!

This would indeed turn the pile upside down, however the purpose of turning the pile is to aerate it. For composting to take place there needs to be oxygen, so basically everything in the pile needs to be fluffed up.

I use a hoop similar, the nice thing is you can undo the side and move the wire hoop next to the pile then turn the compressed pile by hand into the newly placed bin.

no, the sides are not rigid...you can see the flex/ bowing-out in my pic. The corners are held together by a wire coil that can be "unscrewed"...an extension agent says that they've found that you can take out one coil, then simply swing the mesh to enclose the opposite direction, leaving the compost alone on the outside...then shovel it back into the newly configured bin...this aerates and turns the pile.

Some just open one side, then use that as access for a shovel or pitch fork, then close the gate again.

My compost is fairly heavy as one of my components is aged horse manure. I don't think I am getting the heat I should as I think it is already half composted when I pick it up. I may collect some fresh cow, chicken, horse, rabbit, and emu manure when I'm home for the holidays.

I think I'm going to work in batches. How will I know when the first batch is done? When it cools down? When I see worms?

When it is done, can I store it in a clean trash barrel until spring?

gardenertaylor wrote:I think I'm going to work in batches. How will I know when the first batch is done? When it cools down? When I see worms?

When it is done, can I store it in a clean trash barrel until spring?

It's usually finished on the third turning .. a few weeks after that when the temps drop put it in the storage container ...don't add any more to the heap as it wil carry in composting so never becomes finished.

I have made up my MM and stored it for 5 months in heavy duty poly sacks adding a pint of water to each sack once it is filled to make sure there is plenty of moisture .
During this time the worm eggs have hatched in each bag and the worms have worked their way through the Mm making it very good as well as adding their casts to the mix .
I have also got 14 poly sacks of composted manures , leaves and garden veg stood on concrete in the back year ( no mother earth ). They too have had the worms working in the sacks again giving a better product .


Last week I used four sacks of the seasoned MM to top up my front garden flower beds .... oodles of worms & eggs and so evenly mixed with not a trace of smell ... Luvely Jubbley

One thing ......I folded the top of each sack over then laid a heavy plank of timber over them to keep the tops closed and the rain out .

I've been taught that compost is done when you can't really identify the individual components you put in...it looks like soil and has an earthy smell.

I don't think compost needs heat...the heat is from microbes doing their job. So if your compost does not look broken down all the way and the heat comes down, you need to bring your browns and greens back up to ratio, aerate, and add moisture to keep things going.

The only thing I can identify in my finished compost are leaf petioles (stems)...I use bur oak leaves...the leaves are really big and have a thick woody petiole that takes a long time to break down.

plantoid wrote:
One thing ......I folded the top of each sack over then laid a heavy plank of timber over them to keep the tops closed and the rain out .

I always wondered about this when I bagged my compost and closed the top...do worms need to breathe? If so, once the bag is closed won't they run out of air over the coming months?

CC

I started my compost pile on 11/7/2012. I turned it on 11/14/2012, today the temperature was 160*. Is that too hot? If so, how do I cool it down?

TexasTracy wrote:I started my compost pile on 11/7/2012. I turned it on 11/14/2012, today the temperature was 160*. Is that too hot? If so, how do I cool it down?

I think if you wait a couple of days and it should start cooling down.

Kelejan wrote:

TexasTracy wrote:I started my compost pile on 11/7/2012. I turned it on 11/14/2012, today the temperature was 160*. Is that too hot? If so, how do I cool it down?

I think if you wait a couple of days and it should start cooling down.

160*F is pretty darned hot, if it gets any hotter you can pull the pile apart a bit or dig down through the middle. Probably the best thing to do is turn the pile...... Optimum temps are 120-160*F.

there are a few suggestions.

Thanks! I thought it was a bit too hot too

water helps cool it too..

Became a Hottie this afternoon. At first I didn't get a high temp, but then realized I had just watered the 4 heaps so put the thermometer down in the lower part and wallah - Hottie status!

Yay a new Hottie! Welcome to the club!

TexasTracy wrote:I started my compost pile on 11/7/2012. I turned it on 11/14/2012, today the temperature was 160*. Is that too hot? If so, how do I cool it down?

By the way, congratulations on becoming a "hottie" if you haven't been congratulated yet (better late than never, lol)! Hope your composting is going well! I bet that pile is done or close to it by now!

Just built my winter pile this past weekend from my saved components: horse manure, alpaca manure, chicken litter, kitchen waste and old pumpkin rinds with a few leaves mixed in. There was a LOT of wood shavings in the chicken litter, so I'm afraid I may need some additional nitrogen. I'll check the temp after a week to see if it's beginning to warm up, and if not, I'll work on adding more nitrogen when I turn the pile.

I sure would like to see my compost pile perform right now, but no matter what I do it will only go up to 50 degrees, I guess that is good since the ground is frozen.

GWN wrote:I sure would like to see my compost pile perform right now, but no matter what I do it will only go up to 50 degrees, I guess that is good since the ground is frozen.

On the farm our eight foot tall muck heap would be steaming hot at around blood heat or just above even under a couple of feet of snow once you took off the top 18 inches or so .
I suppose that having used the front loader on the tractor to shape up the heap for covering over in mid Dec it also added more oxygen so gave the bacteria and fungi a big boost thus producing the extra heat.

Two days ago I rebuilt my compost bins. The one that is nearly finished was 60*F yesterday and 70* today. The working one was rebuilt with the stuff from my bin(where I had just been piling stuff in) that had been hot for a while & cooled off plus the used coffee grounds I picked up monday and fresh horse manure. Yesterday it was 85* and this morning it was 130*. I still need to top this one off.
We had our first real freeze last night - lost my pepper & tomato plants. The tomatoes still had lots of toms but they did not taste anywhere near as good as they did a couple of months ago. I was ready to pull them.

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

we are done to the 30's and we are cold!

here is our big compost bin



we think its breaking down pretty well....can't wait for it to warm back up again and see how close we get to finished compost

happy gardening
rose

Think I made it.

Yes you did! Congratulations!

Thank you camprn. I just figured out how to post pictures today is why I waited so long. lol