Topic: Speedy Compost

[Moggle]

Built my compost bin on the weekend from old pallets.  ;D

Between some tomato plants from home, some pulled up weeds, and a lot of strimmed weeds, I managed to fill it by around 2/3rds.

Is there anything I can do to speed it all up at this time of year?

[sandersj89]

Cover it with something to help the heat build up, carpet, layers of bubble wrap ot whatever.

Also get Mr M to "water" it for you if you have the chance.

And add a few fork fulls of farm manure if you can get some. Mix it in well to act as an activator. Ask if anyone has any delivered to your allotments or get some from a nearby stable or if all else fails buy some from the garden centre.

HTH

Jerry

[aquilegia]

Also - when it cools down, turn it.

Husband water definitely helps - mine (my compost that is!) rots down really quickly!

[ina]

A few shovels full of soil, hopefully with some worms, will help too. Make sure the stuff in the compost is mixed well, after it has sunk in, turn it over to give it some air.

I summer I 'turn' mine every 2-3 weeks, I do it like double digging the soil by starting with a deep hole and shove the top from next to it into the hole and doing that, digging a new hole to be filled.

It may not compost as fast as you would like, I know I was disappointed in the beginning, thinking it should go much quicker. Eventually you will have compost, just one trick: Too dry and it does nothing, too wet and it might start rotting (you'll smell it).
Good luck.

[windygale]

Hi Moggle,heres a webpage that might help you
http://www.crocus.co.uk/alanshowto/moreflowers/
click on it and on the righthand side you'll see sections on allsorts, click on the one you want
hope this helps,
PS, its about time we had pics update on your allotment
later
windy  :) :)

[Moggle]

Jerry, Mr M has 'watered' it, was wondering if anthing else might help, especially at the moment with the colder weather. As to manure, our site seems to be a manure-free zone, or perhaps it's just a delivery free zone. The 'road' through it is very windey and narrow, with a bridge over a tiny stream on a corner, and then the back half where my lottie is gets very wet and boggy. I have to park and then walk a couple of hundred yards at the moment cause it's so wet down there. Not sure if I fancy barrowing a delivery of manure. Bubble wrap might be possible though.

Thanks Aqui, will turn it before I take off to Aus for the whole of December.  ;D

Ina, will try soil as well, already re-located a couple of worms from my digging to help. Gave it a good water on saturday in addition to 'husband water' and I'm trying to make a mix of dry and wet ingredients.

Thanks for that link windy, I hope to post the updates in the next couple of days.

[Doris_Pinks]

Don't know if it is of any help to you Moggle, but I have an old duvet doubled over keeping mine warm n toastie! :) So if you have any old ones lurking in your loft........................

[Wicker]

Ours takes ages - two to three years in fact but after the first couple of years that's o.k. as we have a bin ready every year - and it is beautiful stuff, dry and crumbly and not "smelly" or wet so we don't mind the wait.  'fraid there's no man (or woman) water in my compost - each to his own tho  ;)

Doris I have a couple of old duvets (hollowfibre) which I was going to throw out but I'll take them down to the lottie and use one in the g'house and one on the compost!

[Moggle]

Don't think I have a duvet, but will have a look. Chucked out a sofa a couple of months ago, cushions would have made a great cover - perfect size.

[wivvles]

Just a thought - wouldn't a thick layer of straw covered by a plastic sheet keep the heat in effectively?  And compost itself over the course of the winter?

[Wicker]

Yes straw is good in compost making - I use straw for the strawberries (!) and when finished put most of it in the compost bin and dig the rest into the strawberry bed before replanting the runners etc. Not keen on plastic on the compost - others may disagree but I just feel it makes for sogginess and prefer breathable topping - even carpet

But, Moggle, youa re wanting speedy compost and mine isn't - sorry!! :D

[ina]

Just once in my life I would like to see steam rising from my compost heap.
It's been warmish in summer at times, could have just been from the sun, but never in winter.

[Kerry]

do you know what, ina, (i'm sooooooo sad!!!) one day earlier this year in spring i was stirring the heap, and it was warm to my hands. and there was STEAM rising from the middle.
i came in to tell my other half but i'm afraid he thought i was mad. :-\
at that point i thought 'now i've made it as a gardener if i can make a steaming compost heap'!!! ;D (told you i was sad!)

[ina]

Sad? What sad? You had a steaming compost heap, you're a champion! I wouldn't even think your were sad had you ran up and down main street shouting "it's steaming, it's steaming!!!!!!!".

[Kerry]

 ;D but it takes another gardener to appreciate this, i guess!
telling other people who are not impressed and look at you with a raised eyebrow makes you feel kind of .......deflated... :(

[Wicker]

Ina, I've never experienced steaming compost either  :'( What an achievement that would be!  :D  But here's a man who has a web page about his steaming compsot - with piccies!

http://www.mastercomposter.com/leon/compost.html

[ina]

Yeah, did you see the size of his compost heap? He even uses one of those giant digging machines to turn it hahaha. I don't think I stand much chance with my 1X1X1 meter heap. Never mind, I get good compost every year but I'll throw a party if it ever does steam hehe.

[derbex]

My 'big heap' sometimes steams in the winter, might be easier then as you'll see it at a lower temperature. There's a lot of hedge trimming, and shredding, to be done over Xmas -so maybe then this year.

Jeremy

[Hugh_Jones]

Jeremy, if you have a shredder then you should have no difficulty in getting your compost to a high temperature, although this will obviously be easier in a bin than in a heap.
 The whole process of generating heat depends on the activities of the mesophylic and the thermophilic bacteria, and, particularly with woody materials, the speed of their activity and the generation of heat depends on the proportion of cut surfaces on which they can proliferate. In other words the finer you shred the more quickly the stuff will heat up and the hotter it will get.  Basically the mesophylic bacteria will start work within a couple of days, and will induce a gentle rise in temperature.  This extra heat then allows the thermophilic bacteria to become active and this will bring the stuff up to a temperature of around 150dF where it will remain for some days or longer (depending on the materials) before slowly losing heat again.

I do most of my hedge cutting in March (mainly laurels) and midsummer (rhododendrons) and within a week after stacking the shredded material is almost hot enough to fry eggs on. The same happens with the annual rose prunings.