Because finished compost does not burn plant roots, large quantities of compost can be applied to the soil at any time. Here are a few ways you can use your finished compost:

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Have you ever wondered how hot your composting pile should be in order for it to compost well? If so, follow along as I explain how to identify the different stages of the composting timetable of a hot compost pile.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you are using a compost bin and have a compost pile in it, you will probably find that the summer’s high heat accelerates the composting process (providing the pile is humid and it has been turned to allow more oxygen to circulate). On the other hand, perhaps your pile won’t heat up. What can you do? What are compost activators? When and how can compost activators help?

Read the rest of this entry »

Now that we’ve covered the compost recipe (see previous posts), let’s look at what must be done to build a hot compost pile.

How to build a hot compost pile:

1. Before you actually begin to build a hot compost pile, gather an equal amount of both “green” and “brown” ingredients, (see previous posts for explanation of what these are).

Read the rest of this entry »

Equally important to knowing what materials can be added to the compost pile is what materials must absolutely be left out of your compost pile — unless you’re looking for problems. Below is a list of materials to be left out of your compost pile and why.

Read the rest of this entry »

Adding assorted food materials to your compost pile is the third and a very important requirement if you want your compost recipe to work well. From previous posts you’ve seen that best results are obtained if 1) there is enough air to provide the oxygen necessary for the bacteria to carry out “aerobic” decomposition; 2) your compost pile is as damp as a wrung-out sponge, and 3) you have a mixture of both green and brown compost ingredients added to your compost pile.

Read the rest of this entry »

Checking the Moisture Level In Your Compost Pile

The second most important requirement that helps keep the decomposer organisms working just the way they should is having just the correct amount of moisture (water) in your compost pile.

Read the rest of this entry »