I'm pretty sure I've come close to the 30:1 C/N ratio and have included aeration and damp spongeness wetness but . . . after 5 days still no rise in temperature. Daytime hi's probably average out to daytime in the 50's and night time lows in the 40's. Is it still to cold? I've included a picture as I'm proud of my pile.
How big's the pile? If it's under 3 x 3 x 3 feet, it will have a hard time retaining heat.
Either the pile is too dry, not enough greens or too small - small piles can heat up but cool down very fast. From your image and discription, it looks like you need more greens and little damper pile. Covering a pile with a tarp also helps.
Sarahn,
Is that a straw bale garden you have there? Never saw one so close up. Your bales look narrower and more manageable than others I've seen.
Love the walkway 'round the back side.
Thanks Gymgirl! I took the photo that way as a way to reference my compost pile size.
I'm newbie gardener so I'm trying straw bale gardening, too! I took everyone's advice. I turned the pile, added 3 lbs of blood meal, watered, and mounded up to a 3'x3'x3'. It smelled like spring woodland soil, and I spotted a few earthworms and beetle like beings.
It's covered with 2'' of rotted straw and sits in full sun for 9 hours, so---. Since were heading into warmer weather I'm not about to insulate, I may have to be satisfied with a cool pile, which is okay I'm in no rush.
Again, thanks for the suggestions. Pile temp between 90-120 degrees F, air temp only reached 63 degrees.
Ain't it great to see steam? Happiness is a hot compost pile.
My friends think I'm a little nutty taking its temperature everyday! It's kind of like the "dark-side of gardening". I know I'll be saving green keepin' it green.
I don't think taking the temp is as bad as it is as a veterinarian, so I think your neighbors aren't going to say much behind your back. I keep track of my pile by using an outdoor/indoor temp guage that has the outdoor sender in a gortex wrap buried in the pile. You can't go too deep or it won't send too far.
My friends think I'm a little nutty taking its temperature everyday! It's kind of like the "dark-side of gardening". I know I'll be saving green keepin' it green.
Gee I thought I was the only "Green" republican. LOL
Right, Sofer.....there's more than you can imagine.
Compost whatever is available - do what you can with what you've got. Don't get in a sweat about the "right" or "proper" methods. Every region has gardening differences, which would extend to composting as well. Basic principle is: it all rots. The main idea is to feed/improve the soil. There are ways to do this that won't break your back or the bank. Time/energy-saving practices are great, and hopefully shared. I use a variety of them depending on - exposure - water - space - visibility - when do I need the finished product.....etc.
Let the worms do the work - keep them happy, and they will perform miracles with the soil.
Plus, there is the advantage of the connection to the slice of earth you occupy.
I don't view chemicals as evil - they should be used with caution & moderation when needed.
They are rarely used at my place, but when they are there is a sound reason; eradicating the ivy that has escaped my neighbour's backyard as a prime example, as it is killing my conifers. The ivy is going to lose.
Conservation, conservative, hmmm, an interesting connection! I'm looking at trash in a whole new way. I found a piece of very old and rottted shoe leather in ground I was digging in which has inspired me to start another pile with my worn out leather gloves. In restoring our old house we've got lots of paper and wood. And we've always got coffee grounds and bananas. With a little labor and curiosity I'll be making more of my own tailored compost. Any way my pile has cooled down, so I'm turning it this weekend. I'm excited to check on the worms and other beetle like critters!
I started my pile 2 weeks ago and admitidly it was warm for 2 days but the pile is 104.7 today. Cooking well.
Sofer - can you elaborate a bit on the gauge & sender? How far away is it from the gauge? How did you set it up & this sort of info. I am very curious about this & perhaps I could engage some of the engineers I work with in their own personal experiments with compost piles.
Conservation, conservative, hmmm, an interesting connection!
Exactly, P. Pirate: I take stewardship seriously - I alone am accountable for the care of my slice of earth.
The investment of time & energy yields great benefits for all involved.
My neighbors drop by for the occasional wheelbarrow of compost when they're putting in new plantings. They drop off bulbs and other goodies, so everybody's yard ends up looking nicer. Win/win.
oh that's a very nice exchange!
OK here it is I buy a $24 dollar type that has a sending distance of 100'. Then I dig a hole in the compost pile about 1 to 2 ft deep (the width of a 5 gallon pail) My pile is 4 to 5' total depth. Then I invert a white 5 gallon pail with the sender hanging from the invereted pail. I then seal the bottom with compost. The sender will last from a month to a season depending on compost activity (assuming active hot compost lasts less time-acids? or something eats the sender electronics) It is supposed to take moisture so I assume something else. This sender tells me from my sun room approx 50 ft from the compost pile the relative humidity and temp of compost. I have tracked the temps below with a probe thermometer and the sender is about 5 to 30F below the center of the pile. But it lets me know the time I need to soak and the success of how much N I need to add if it is not hot. Mine went from 43 (ambient) to 105F in less than 5 days of sun and heat that went up to 80 one of the days. It is now steaming in the morning of 33F this am. It records 86f. This is a picture of the pail with sender in it.
Got it, Sofer. I am more like 125' from my pile...no moisture worries here, though.
Thanks for the link, Puddlepirate. I'm slowly transforming our little slice of the earth to a wildlife friendly and yet edible landscape. I've been learning so much from the process itself. Soil is the key. My pile is keeping a steady 80 degrees so I'm keeping it a cool pile and I'm contemplating starting anothe!.
No such thing as too much compost, I say.
Agreed.
Caveat: never too much until you have to move it to various parts of the property...which is why I started sheet composting. Thank goodness it doesn't weigh as much as gravel!
Yowza. Five days ago I filled my Biostack (I refuse to call it by its new, longer name) with shredded paper, blood meal, some spent potting soil, a 5 gallon bucket of pulled weeds, a pound of rabbit poo, and about 5 pounds of lime.
http://brainshavings.com/gardening/2010/05/time-to-get-back-in-the-saddle.htm
Today it had compacted by 1/3 and its core was a touch above 140 degrees. When I lifted the lid to fluff it I got a snootful of ammonia stench. Lesson: go easy on the blood meal, cowboy. I added a lawn size trash bag full of shredded paper to top it off, balance out the excess nitrogen with some more carbon, and absorb some of the stink.
One thing's fer darn sure: the weeds will be well and truly cooked by this weekend.
that definitely puts a different spin on "fluffing".
I have met that odor a number of times...
By the way, I have 4 - 32 gallon trashcans filled almost to the brim with weeds, the final harvest from last fall.
I mixed up a brew of water, Bokashi, Molasses & alfalfa meal & filled each trashcan about 1" over the top of the weeds. that was Nov/Dec. Curiousity got the best of me back in March - no foul odor escaped when I lifted the lids. It looks pretty funky, though, and a little foamy around the edges. lol. Bokashi suds...
However, I am a bit apprehensive about dumping it into a prepared bed. So I've decided to create an area where I can dump all the residual matter. This way I can watch to see if any of the rhizotomous grasses and creeping ranunculus resurrect themselves. I hope it works, as this will provide a tremendous amount of biomass for me.
all digits are crossed.
You're either going to have a bountiful supply of bokashi juice or 128 gallons of foul rankness. Hopefully it'll be the former.
no odor whatsoever. I stirred it to see if i could get something to rise to the top & emit unearthly aromas: nada.
It smells kind of vinegary, with a hint of molasses.
Bokashi is supposed to pickle whatever it's used with. including seeds/roots.
I am more concerned about the weeds not being "pickled" long enough & then have them come back to life.
Scary - & worse than any odor...
