I'm pretty proud of this

gtnate · May 9, 2014

I started this.compost bin last Fall. I must be doing something right!

RayR · May 10, 2014

That heated up nicely. How big is your bin?

gtnate · May 10, 2014

It's an open-top cylindrical plastic bin. The county gives them away for free where I live. It's probably about 3.5 feet in dynameter and maybe 3.5 or 4 ft deep right now. I have found that making the pile deep is very challenging as the material tends to break down and compact very quickly. This pile will probably be down to 2.5 feet deep in a week. I'm really not sure what to do at that point. Do I add more material to get the heat back, or do I just let the stuff that is in there decompose?

kath · May 10, 2014

Turning the pile will heat things up again and more material can be added at that time, as described here:

http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html

There are lots of different ways to make compost, depending on the amount and type of materials you have, how fast you want a finished product, etc.

It's great stuff, and you can never have too much!

kath

May 10, 2014	#2
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	That heated up nicely. How big is your bin?

May 10, 2014	#3
gtnate Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Maryland Posts: 88	It's an open-top cylindrical plastic bin. The county gives them away for free where I live. It's probably about 3.5 feet in dynameter and maybe 3.5 or 4 ft deep right now. I have found that making the pile deep is very challenging as the material tends to break down and compact very quickly. This pile will probably be down to 2.5 feet deep in a week. I'm really not sure what to do at that point. Do I add more material to get the heat back, or do I just let the stuff that is in there decompose?

May 10, 2014	#4
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Turning the pile will heat things up again and more material can be added at that time, as described here: http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html There are lots of different ways to make compost, depending on the amount and type of materials you have, how fast you want a finished product, etc. It's great stuff, and you can never have too much! kath