Are you a hottie?

Thanks for the advice.

All is fine. I took some mental time off from gardening after last summer. I was rather discouraged following a second year of disappointing results -- disease and bugs wiped out my garden last year and a good number of plants just didn't seem to do well or produce much even if they didn't get diseased or bug-infested.

This year I've regrouped and am doing things differently. I'm trying to grow some plants from seed (my first attempt), keeping them on a warming blanket with lots of sun exposure. It was the only way I could get a variety of disease-resistant tomato plants, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I am also focusing more on the few plants that have done well for me in the past. Frankly, it's cheaper to buy some things than to raise them - brocolli is a good example. I haven't resolved yet whether to continue to try to be completely organic or not. There's just no way to keep ahead of the bugs unless you're out there picking them off by hand all day.

Micro fleece covering allow sunlight in and keeps lots of bug out.

Mel& the foundation has a " Square Foot Gardening Answer Book ", ISBN Code 978-1-59186-541-4
In it is an excellent area dealing with garden pests perhaps that might help you out.
I found it useful even for somethings over on this side of the pond .

I used tulle over my non-flowering plants last year and it seemed to work fairly well. It was my squash, zucchini, and cucumbers that suffered the most from bugs, particularly cucumber beetles and shield bugs.

I'll check out Mel's book.

Does this make me a Hottie?! I was able to turn my truckload of chicken poo and bedding into a nice pretty heap, and finally today, the stench is gone and we are cookin!

And so it begins, again........
Time to turn the monster pile.


It took two hours to just turn and fluff half the beast!


Wish I had one of those sweet little bucket loaders.

Got half way done and had to stop, because my back hurt and I was battling ice.

because my back hurt and I was battling ice.

funny Camprn, I have had a sore back ever since the last time I turned my compost pile and I have been USING ICE
Last week I convinced my son to turn the pile and it is now up to 95, a far cry from 140 though

I'm finally a hottie!

I started a compost pile last year when I started my SFG. It decomposed some, but not a lot. We added more all winter and with such cool temps I couldn't get it going this spring. I tried adding more browns after reading about hot composting and some blood meal, too, and of course wetting it. Still nothing.

But we started a second pile a couple of months ago so as not to be adding to the first any more. A week ago my son cleaned out the chicken coop for me and dumped it all in the second pile - manure and pine shavings. 2 days ago it was really stinky. So I added a LOT of leaves from last fall, lots and lots, mixed it up, wetted it and sprinkled in a little bloodmeal. I checked it today and it was smoking! Wish I'd thought then to take the temperature. I mixed it up as well as I could (just couldn't quite get the very bottom) in the limited time I had. That smoke just kept it up, blowing in my face as I worked . I had to shower and get clean clothes because I smelled like a smokey, stinky compost pile. 2 hours later I did take out the kitchen thermometer which is about 6 inches long and it read 140 degrees F.

So, I'm happy. Just hope I can keep it up. I don't know if I should mix it tomorrow or in a couple of days. I'm guessing if it's much above 140 tomorrow I should do it then. Is that right?

Wish I could figure out how to get the other pile going. Don't know what I'm doing wrong.

Kate888 wrote: "......" So, I'm happy. Just hope I can keep it up. I don't know if I should mix it tomorrow or in a couple of days. I'm guessing if it's much above 140 tomorrow I should do it then. Is that right?

Wish I could figure out how to get the other pile going. Don't know what I'm doing wrong.

Wow! Sounds like your new pile is doing great! I would definately turn it if its smoking, and also, any time the pile reaches temperatures above 150 the heat can actually kill the good microbes. My understanding is, any time the temp dips below 100 or goes above 150, it's time to turn it

Could be a few things with your old pile, assuming it is not finished compost. Maybe too wet but if you added more browns to it maybe it could use some nitrogen. If you have more chicken poop, that is a great source!

At 150F you could pull it apart a bit, but I wouldn't turn it until the temp came down to 100F.

camprn wrote:At 150F you could pull it apart a bit, but I wouldn't turn it until the temp came down to 100F.

+1

Congratulations Neeco and Kate888 on becoming hotties!

Thanks, Brenda and camprn for the help! I just finally turned it today as it was just a little over 100. Still haven't got the other going. I might be able to get a little out of the chicken coop to add and help, Brenda, but it'll be a while before I have much.

Trying hard to reach "Hottie" status, but so far it's a no go. I have cow poo, leaves, kitchen scraps (including paper towels and paper towel rolls), yard waste. Original pile was 3 x 3 x 3, watered, turned, stacked, fussed with, turned etc etc to no avail. Went to turn it this morning, same thing, nothing. It does seem quite wet in the middle, and there are oodles of wormies, but by golly I wanna be a hottie. I think today I am going get more cow poo, clean out the deep litter in my chicken coop, line the bin with cardboard and mix it all up. Could I have it too wet?

Minerva, when did you originally build this heap? Maybe it's done.... Would you be able to post a photo?

camprn, i started it last fall, no poo, just yard waste, kitchen bits. since we have had such a looooooooong and coooooooool winter and spring, i didn't really "build" it until a month ago, adding the poo and turning. i've turned it twice since then, but everything is still recognizable so i don't think it has heated up much if any. sure are loads of wormies too, another reason i don't think it has gotten hot. i have about three wheelbarrels full of chicken coop deep litter, bottom layer is about compost, top layers are short pieces of straw and about another five gallon bucket of dry cow poo. should i just add it all in at once, building yet again? maybe the straw will make the moisture level better too because i think it is too wet.

hm,,, I would build it again, and use a fork to turn it if you can, break up any clumpl. Try making the layers of exhisting compost matierial about2 inches thick then put a 1 inch layer of the chicken litter , so on and so forth. It sounds like it's moist enough. Get us some piccys when you can. Nice to see you on the forum again!

Not quite a hottie yet, but I started my first compost pile a few weeks ago. I'm up to 88ºF! Took me a while to get the right ratio of greens to browns, plus to get it wet enough. I was afraid of over wetting, but I guess that wasn't the issue.

camprn wrote:hm,,, I would build it again, and use a fork to turn it if you can, break up any clumpl. Try making the layers of exhisting compost matierial about2 inches thick then put a 1 inch layer of the chicken litter , so on and so forth. It sounds like it's moist enough. Get us some piccys when you can. Nice to see you on the forum again!

I agree, rebuild it. But also add in urine, used coffee grounds, alfalfa pellets or some fresh manure.

Lindacol wrote:

camprn wrote:hm,,, I would build it again, and use a fork to turn it if you can, break up any clumpl. Try making the layers of exhisting compost matierial about2 inches thick then put a 1 inch layer of the chicken litter , so on and so forth. It sounds like it's moist enough. Get us some piccys when you can. Nice to see you on the forum again!

I agree, rebuild it. But also add in urine, used coffee grounds, alfalfa pellets or some fresh manure.

+1 and maybe my favorite, a sprinkle of dried blood.

Thanks for the input. My girls and I have rebuilt it, like you said camprn, putting a few forks of old stuff then a few forks of the chicken coop litter. I use the deep litter method so there was a lot of it, the bottom layer had already started composting lol. The hens are better composters than I . I also added a couple of cups of bunny poo and a couple of cups of bunny feed they had ruined. So, if this doesn't heat up, I'm thinking a blowtorch maybe .
On another note, thanks for the welcome back, life has been busy. Mom is settling into widowhood pretty well, the kids are keeping me busy which i didn't expect as one is married, one is a college graduate and one is only a year away. The greenhouse is coming along post by post, I think I found a lead on well weathered concrete blocks to make my beds next year.
Which leads me back to "I Wanna Be a Hottie!" so there is plenty of compost to put in them!

I think I have achieved "hottie" status at last. Last weekend I re-worked a pile I started during the winter which was just sitting there doing nothing and built it up to a very full 3X3X3 and covered it before the rains came this weekend. Added lots of grass clippings, new leaves, previous compost made from all kinds of good stuff, watered and fluffed it good. Today I went out and wallered out some air holes with a piece of re-bar and steam started coming out from everywhere. At the time, the outside temp was 80* and dry, so for there to be that much steam, that pile had to be one heck of a blazing mass of breakdown. I was so proud to finally get that heat build up going.

As though all of that was not enough, I found a very close and unlimited source of composted horse manure and just returned with a pick up truck full which should last me a very long while. You should see some of the night crawlers in that stuff, they were like small snakes. Of course I had to share with my new pullet chickens and was that ever fun to watch.

I am pooped after all this work today, but wish you could see the smile on my face.

Bob if I were you I'd put the composted horse muck through a couple of my own hottie cycles to kill off as many seeds in it as posible.

Even my four year old cold composted horse muck still had weed seeds that germinated in it . It took me nearly a year to get rid of them with almost daily weed pullings.

Thanks Dave..... Yes, I have heard that the horse muck can be problematic with weeds. This stuff has been piled up for a couple of years and is pretty well broken down. I plan on using it sparingly and hopefully in very hit piles like you said.

fluffed

Like a fine meringue Congrats BoB on your newly achieved "hottie" status! I have several pieces of rebar and some tree limbs that I leave sticking up out of my piles. Every few days I remove one or two for vent holes. I can also gauge the temps by touching the end of the rebar. It's surprising how hot the steel can get!
Congrats on that newly acquired horse poo too

Hey... thanks Rooster! This composting thing becomes a real addiction and I'm loving it.