MY hot Compost Pile!

[desertgirl]

Careful with those weeds, though. Sometimes they don't burn all the way down and they use your compost as a way to sneak back into your garden. Brilliant system, but frustrating!

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

Careful with those weeds, though. Sometimes they don't burn all the way down and they use your compost as a way to sneak back into your garden. Brilliant system, but frustrating!

Thanks for the tip.

Most of the weeds were dandelions that haven't gone to seed.


This morning, I was sent outside to put a large bowl of kitchen scraps in the compost pile. So, as advised in my research, I dug a trench in the center of the heap. I added all the materials (which consisted of pineapple skin and top, strawberry tops, eggshells, banana peels, and an entire papaya) into the trench and covered it.

The pile was very, very hot today. It was like touching metal that was in the sun all day.



~Rio

 

[desertgirl]

Imagine how hot it will get in the heat of an Arizona summer!

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

Yesterday the pile was blazing! 2" down and I couldn't go further. It was the hottest I had ever felt it. Yet, today it wasn't warm at all. I'm scheduled to turn it tomorrow, so that should get it fired up again.

I've noticed there is mold growing on the material. It's dry mold. All of the material it was growing on was dry and under the surface.

Could this be a concern?


Thanks,
~Rio

 

[boggybranch]

Yesterday the pile was blazing! 2" down and I couldn't go further. It was the hottest I had ever felt it. Yet, today it wasn't warm at all. I'm scheduled to turn it tomorrow, so that should get it fired up again.

I've noticed there is mold growing on the material. It's dry mold. All of the material it was growing on was dry and under the surface.

Could this be a concern?


Thanks,
~Rio

Don't worry about the "mold"...it's ok. Just turn it, maybe add a little more "green" and get it back cooking. When you start turning it and get about half way down, check the "hotness" at that level.....should be hot, there, I'd think.

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

I finally uploaded the pics of when I was turning the pile.




This was the second time turning the pile that has been cooking for 2 weeks.

I started off by taking off the garbage ties holding the chicken wire together and taking it off from around the pile. So now I had this tower shaped heap. Then I took a couple hacks at it with my shovel.

I proceeded dismantling the tower until I had a dark, earth-smelling, pile. While I was doing this, I noticed the pineapple skin was infested with little white worms(...?) So I grabbed the chickens to help me turn the compost. Oh, man! They were having the time of their lives tearing it apart. During this time, I kind of went inside because they were taking forever. By the time they were done, it was already time for them to go to bed, so I took over again.

Finally, I dumped all of the material back into the chicken wire, hoping it would fire up once again.


This morning I put my hand in the pile to find it was warming up again. A couple more weeks and I'll (hopefully) have compost!




~Rio

 

[lesa]

Good job! Isn't it fun to watch the chickens helping!! I've been doing serious weeding and the chickens stand by the fence complaining, until I throw them some!

 

[hoodat]

Isn't it amazing how involved we can become with our compost? It's almost like a hobby on its own.
I decided to retire my rotary composter since I have room for a larger heap on a concrete slab. I just dry stacked a bin out of concrete block. As soon as the rotary gets done with the batch its working on now I think I'll turn some red worms loose in it. It should make a good worm bed for them.

 

[boggybranch]

Isn't it amazing how involved we can become with our compost? It's almost like a hobby on its own.

For me.......it's an obsession. Once you start, I don't know how you could, or want to, stop.

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

Isn't it amazing how involved we can become with our compost? It's almost like a hobby on its own.

For me.......it's an obsession. Once you start, I don't know how you could, or want to, stop.

Yeah, you should probably work on that.



The compost is finished curing and I currently have it in a pot with the chickens. Its not feeding any plants right now but the chickens are feeding it.


Thanks for the tips, guys. I hope this helped some people who are interested in making their own compost.

BTW, I'm kidding, Boggy.

~RLAZ