composting

[aquilegia]

I don't know if you remember my thread the other day that I'd run out of compost.

Well I turned my "nearly done" bin yesterday and it seems to be the same as the previous time I dug it. Still quite lumpy, although everything is brown. I don't think it's even useable as mulch. It isn't hot, although it does have mycellium growing through the middle of it. If I dig in something green (eg, grass clippings) would it get it working faster? Or shall I just leave it?

My other bin is steaming like mad. It's *really* hot. Could it get so hot it might catch fire? I could smell it across the garden- smelled like silage. I think I might have too much green in it.

I copied Monty on gardeners' world and shredded everything with my mower. Will it damage my mower? (it's an electric one). Obviously not done anything big or tough in this way like branches!

I reckon at this rate it'll compost faster than the older stuff!

[aquilegia]

[goodlife]

What you could do..is next couple of weeks..combine your 'cold' compost in layers with your hot one and adding some grass clippings too..cook that another few weeks and it should be cooked enough for 'emergency' use.. ;)
And no..compost don't catch fire on its own..
If your mower doesn't struggle when chomping through the stuff is should not get damaged..other than blade might get blunt with soil/stones etc.

[aquilegia]

thanks. I'll do the layering thing in a couple of days. I still ache from last weekend! I did far too much.  ;D

I'll make sure there aren't any stones in it too.

[jjt]

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex10721 

yes compost do catch fire on its own.  You have to be good at it though.  It is very very unlikely.  I know someone who had a manure heap catch alight. It burned inside for a week.

[Robert_Brenchley]

We have a massive heap of grass cuttings on the site every summer, and it gets too hot to touch sometimes, when you dig into it. I sometimes find dry layers as well, so it's not hard to see how spontaneous combustion can occur. Put a load of straw in the heap, and who knows what will happen? Coal seams do it as well, and can burn for centuries.