We have heat! (Composting!!!)

[Stephanie]

I went out to the compost bin this morning to add and turn and grabbed a handful of composted material to find that it was FINALLY hot! I picked back up on the composting last year but was very relaxed about it and it never got warm (that I could tell). I'm landscaping the yards this summer and will be needing quite a bit of compost, so I was going to give hot composting a go and it's working! I'm stoked.

:rassberry:

Any other composters out there??? :lafhard:

[device]

Well... any good websites for beginners? We might start composting, but we haven't really invesitgated yet. :notsure:

- Device

[birdiefu]

Isn't it cool when you find out it really does work? I used to compost years ago when I still lived with my parents on our mini-farm. It was quite fun!

[dancingbarefoot]

That's cool (er, hot)! :lafhard:

I really want to compost, but since I don't have my own place, it's not really feasible. Glad it's working for you, though. How much does it produce for mulching?

[bowie]

Yep, me. I love composting. It gives me great fertilizer for the veggies. I just used an old garbage pail with a lid and layer old compost, kitchen scraps, dried grass/leaves....repeat. Breaks down real quick. Also, urine works well. Tried to get the men in my family to pee in the composter....they refused (sillly boys). I Certainly can't do it!! Urine helps with the breakdown process amazingly. I used my son's porta potty when he was being potty trained and used the #1's in the composter. Swear it works so well!

Find some construction workers around town,...they'll love to pee in the composter!:whoohoo:

[notjomama]

I just used an old garbage pail with a lid and layer old compost
I'm so glad to hear this!! Does it matter if it's a metal or plastic garbage pail?

[bowie]

I'm so glad to hear this!! Does it matter if it's a metal or plastic garbage pail?

I don't think so. My g. pail was plastic and the lid was chewed out by a voracious squirrel, so that's why we decided to try it out as a composter. It has a chewed out hole in the lid about 3 inches by 3 inches--enough to let the rain in. The lid locks on each side so the raccoons cannot pull it off and get in......so they just destroy my birdfeeder instead:evileye:

We keep it in the sun and hopefully it will break down quicker.:eureka:

[Hairstorm]

Great job, Steph! May your composting be bountiful!

Bowie, I've never heard of the pee thing before!:lol:

The only composting I have going right now is a worm composter, but it's not very productive.

[Lady Godiva]

Years ago when I had a large backyard garden, I had a large, fenced-in compost pile, which I stirred about once per week, even in the winter. One night, I had a dream that I went out back to stir it, and lo and behold, there was a homeless man living inside it. Apparently the heat generated in the pile was preferable to the winter snow and wind. :cheesy:

[Wind]

We have a compost pile, but it's more Dad's terrain. I participate by dumping kitchen scraps. :happy: But I do know enough to get all excited with him when he discovered tons of worms in ours. :whoohoo: I think he's working on the heat thing.

[truepeacenik]

re: urine: take yours out. Use a crafting/ barf bowl that won't be used for food (urine is sterile, but humans are wiggy creatures)

[wavebaby]

Our compost is coming along nicely now, I took a few years off but picked it back up last year...the yard & gardens (or as hubby jokingly refers to it "the back 40") are looking lush this year because of it.

[notjomama]

My g. pail was plastic
That is sooo good to hear! This might be my last question; do you get your shovel or whatever into the pail to mix it around every once in a while?

I've been tempted to get one of the plastic ones that's on its side and you just turn the handle each week to turn the contents.

[Dulci]

I compost in two side-by-side bins we made out of wooden pallets. The pallets are held together with clothes hanger wire LOL. One side is finished and one is cooking. They get turned and stirred occasionally with a bent garden fork.

Evidently my compost didn't get hot enough last year, I had a pumpkin vine volunteer in my gardens this year, it is huge! I've already harvested three little round pumpkins, I need to find a recipe for them...

[Karen]

We have a compost bin that is at the back of our property. I always forget about it.
I'll have to try that urine trick!

[bowie]

That is sooo good to hear! This might be my last question; do you get your shovel or whatever into the pail to mix it around every once in a while?

I've been tempted to get one of the plastic ones that's on its side and you just turn the handle each week to turn the contents.

I use a pitchfork to turn it every few weeks. Kind of ignore it actually. :geek:Oh, forgot to mention, DH drilled a few holes in the bottom for drainage--very important!

[bowie]

Years ago when I had a large backyard garden, I had a large, fenced-in compost pile, which I stirred about once per week, even in the winter. One night, I had a dream that I went out back to stir it, and lo and behold, there was a homeless man living inside it. Apparently the heat generated in the pile was preferable to the winter snow and wind. :cheesy:


That's a riot!:lafhard:

[Arcticpixie]

re: urine: take yours out. Use a crafting/ barf bowl that won't be used for food (urine is sterile, but humans are wiggy creatures)

Excellent suggestion! To keep the ammonia smell down while collecting, fill the bucket with sawdust before adding urine. It will absorb the urine and add carbon, a necessary ingredient for thermophilic composting. It hides the odor quite nicely and allows you to spread the contents evenly on the pile.

[notjomama]

I compost in two side-by-side bins we made out of wooden pallets.
Dulci's pallets made me decide to tell ya why I'm so excited about using a garbage pail.
I've collected some wooden pallets. I put them outside by the side of the house so my teenage son could move them for me and put them together. Yeah, right. He won't move them because there's yellow jackets and wasps living in them.

Ok.

So, we also have a huge pile of cinder blocks that I'd like him to move so I can use those as a compost area. Nope. They have spiders living in them. Argh!!

[Lady Godiva]

Evidently my compost didn't get hot enough last year, I had a pumpkin vine volunteer in my gardens this year, it is huge! I've already harvested three little round pumpkins, I need to find a recipe for them...This happened to me once, too. We were careful not to mow the vines, but it never gave me a single pumpkin. :raisedeye: Looked kind of cool growing up and over the wire garden fence into everything else. :cheesy:

[Lalita]

You guys always seem to know what i want to ask about!
I have been interested in starting a compost in my backyard but i was wondering if you continue during the winter months? I live in Canada so would i only compost during the warmer months or can you do this year-round?

[bowie]

You guys always seem to know what i want to ask about!
I have been interested in starting a compost in my backyard but i was wondering if you continue during the winter months? I live in Canada so would i only compost during the warmer months or can you do this year-round?

Year round is fine. You will find that the compost freezes, but not a big problem. Just keep it in some sort of sun for continued breakdown, I suppose.

[Arcticpixie]

You guys always seem to know what i want to ask about!
I have been interested in starting a compost in my backyard but i was wondering if you continue during the winter months? I live in Canada so would i only compost during the warmer months or can you do this year-round?

Composting works even in cold places. The pile can freeze solid, come spring it will thaw out and go back to work just as before. Here (http://www.uaf.edu/coop-ext/publications/freepubs/HGA-01022.pdf) is a link to a PDF from the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service on composting in Alaska. I imagine that most of the tips will be useful in any cold weather climate.

Just remember that composting is just as much art as science. Every compost pile will be a little different and following your instincts usually works better than a set formula. The worst thing you can do to a compost pile is never start one!

Best of luck!:grinhappy: