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jd
28-07-2015, 07:26 PM
No, this is not some 'R' rated horticultural thread. Hey, hey don't walk away, come back.

Has anyone tried hot composting? With all the greenwaste/deciduous leaves i collect i thought i would give it a go. The idea is to make a pile 1.5 x 1.5 with the normal layering and ratio. You turn it on the fourth day and then every second day and after 18 days you should have lovely compost. My pile wasn't quite that big and only up to day 6 so will see how it goes. A little on the nose i might add. :eek:

seliment
29-07-2015, 10:10 AM
I can tell you that this nice hot pile of compost (its at about 65C) is a nice place to park a big piece of meat (well sealed up in a cryovac bag etc) for about 36-48 hours. Comes out the perfect slow cook. Yum.
Have done it a few times on some large piles of fresh chip I had.


On a serious note, adding a source of nitrogen to the mix (urea, ammonium sulphate, manure etc) will speed up the process as afaik the microbial breakdown of cellulose consumes nitrogen.

brodie
29-07-2015, 09:23 PM
We compost all the green waste that is produced through jobs. We have a slightly bigger compost pile that yourself ( 4m wide x 10m long x 3m high) we turn once a week and add water at the same time.

We are producing compost ready to be screened in about 2 months. Hot composting for 30 days then resting for 30 days.

I'd make sure that your ratios are right. No doubt you will have plenty of lawn clippings and as you said leaf material. To that I would be adding wood chipp and a manure of some sort. Keep in mind if you are adding manure let it sit and compost in a different pile for a while. The fresh manure can have residual worm treatment that is still active, that will kill all micro and macro organisms causing the pile to stop decomposing.

If it's a bit smelly I'd be turning it more regularly and getting as much air in as possible. You may have to much moisture in your pile. For your size pile I would recommend some ag line running through the pile with ends sticking out to pull air into the pile.

jd
05-08-2015, 04:02 PM
I can tell you that this nice hot pile of compost (its at about 65C) is a nice place to park a big piece of meat (well sealed up in a cryovac bag etc) for about 36-48 hours. Comes out the perfect slow cook. Yum.
Have done it a few times on some large piles of fresh chip I had.


On a serious note, adding a source of nitrogen to the mix (urea, ammonium sulphate, manure etc) will speed up the process as afaik the microbial breakdown of cellulose consumes nitrogen.

Seriously seliment, i have a stove and a bbq so not a hope in hell i would put my dinner in the centre of that stinking heap. I have read that you can put road kill in the middle.

jd
05-08-2015, 04:08 PM
We compost all the green waste that is produced through jobs. We have a slightly bigger compost pile that yourself ( 4m wide x 10m long x 3m high) we turn once a week and add water at the same time.

We are producing compost ready to be screened in about 2 months. Hot composting for 30 days then resting for 30 days.

I'd make sure that your ratios are right. No doubt you will have plenty of lawn clippings and as you said leaf material. To that I would be adding wood chipp and a manure of some sort. Keep in mind if you are adding manure let it sit and compost in a different pile for a while. The fresh manure can have residual worm treatment that is still active, that will kill all micro and macro organisms causing the pile to stop decomposing.

If it's a bit smelly I'd be turning it more regularly and getting as much air in as possible. You may have to much moisture in your pile. For your size pile I would recommend some ag line running through the pile with ends sticking out to pull air into the pile.

Thanks Brodie, all good points. My pile is probably 8 by .75 metres. Being so narrow was probably the reason it hasn't quite gone to plan. Turning it with the garden fork every second day hasn't been a lot of fun but will persist. Smell has subsided gradually.

edbeek
05-08-2015, 04:59 PM
I've also been thinking about this. The trouble for me is when I get most of my grass/hedge clippings, I get very little brown matter to mix with it.

At present, I just dump it in a heap (I'm on acreage) and in a year or 2, I get a bit from the bottom that's composted enough for my gardens. No turning, no water, no worms but not very efficient either.
I was hoping to tidy the show up by building some bunkers but want to make sure that I can make the effort worthwhile.

Had a look at the landscape supplier and they had some tea tree or cypress mulch that looked like it might be ok to use instead of brown leaves?
They also had mushroom compost that I thought might kick off some microbial activity?
I have access to plenty of horse manure.

Any thoughts?

brodie
05-08-2015, 06:10 PM
I've also been thinking about this. The trouble for me is when I get most of my grass/hedge clippings, I get very little brown matter to mix with it.

At present, I just dump it in a heap (I'm on acreage) and in a year or 2, I get a bit from the bottom that's composted enough for my gardens. No turning, no water, no worms but not very efficient either.
I was hoping to tidy the show up by building some bunkers but want to make sure that I can make the effort worthwhile.

Had a look at the landscape supplier and they had some tea tree or cypress mulch that looked like it might be ok to use instead of brown leaves?
They also had mushroom compost that I thought might kick off some microbial activity?
I have access to plenty of horse manure.

Any thoughts?

Might pay to find your local tree crew. They are always looking for somewhere to dump a load. If it's more than you can use in the compost pile you can always sell it to a job

seliment
05-08-2015, 06:42 PM
.... in the centre of that stinking heap. I have read that you can put road kill in the middle.

If it is 'stinking' ... then something is seriously wrong (wrong mix, too wet, not aerated enough etc) and you are having anaerobic decomposition (black, slimy and stinky).
A good / proper composting heap has a nice sweet smell, just like a green chop / silage dump on a farm - molassy sort of smell.
So nice smelling that cows go mad after it :)

Fred's mowing
05-08-2015, 07:59 PM
A lot of people think they can simply buy a compost bin, throw pretty much whatever they want into it &, in a few short weeks have sweet smelling, nutritious compost.
On more than one occasion, I have had customers request I turn there bin.
Lift the lid & I almost chundered!
F#$k off!:the bird
Cheers Fred.

seliment
05-08-2015, 08:39 PM
Fred +1
Your comments are spot on!

BSD
05-08-2015, 10:24 PM
Usually full of cockroaches and absolutely slimy gunk, then I get a pest control spray for the whole house = extra $$$$.

Stump
06-08-2015, 08:11 AM
All my veg gardens are made of decomposed soft fall mulch from my kids play ground area. I then mulch all beds (most of my yard) with grass clippings and I let the worms work it into the soil. The soft fall (euchamulch) breaks down over about 2 years. If you add mushroom spoors it will break down much faster. This year I have also layered grass clippings with the mulch area.

steveo
06-08-2015, 09:59 AM
A lot of people think they can simply buy a compost bin, throw pretty much whatever they want into it &, in a few short weeks have sweet smelling, nutritious compost.
On more than one occasion, I have had customers request I turn there bin.
Lift the lid & I almost chundered!
F#$k off!:the bird
Cheers Fred.

Yep, and they seem too think 1 inch thick branches, egg shells and dog **** will all somehow magically turn in to compost.

Fred's mowing
27-08-2015, 08:36 PM
Ironic eh ?
Today a very good customer of mine asks me to spread the compost in her bin around the garden as the bin is almost full.
She's a very good customer who always shows plenty of respect but, she definitely hasn't thought this through.
I open the lid & :wtf

I tell her Im almost finished today & will deal with it next time.
She's fine with that.
Suppose my only option is to bring the rubbish bin over & shovel the top layer of garbage into that. then spread (hopefully)the somewhat decomposed matter along the back of the most out of the way garden bed on the property.
This is a 5 mill+ property on Brighton beach & I think that spreading it all over the prominent garden beds, will only be a loose/loose situation.

She's only trying to do the right thing environmentally but ...................... sometimes ya gotta wonder ............:i dunno:
8478 8479

brodie
27-08-2015, 09:07 PM
Ironic eh ?
Today a very good customer of mine asks me to spread the compost in her bin around the garden as the bin is almost full.
She's a very good customer who always shows plenty of respect but, she definitely hasn't thought this through.
I open the lid & :wtf

I tell her Im almost finished today & will deal with it next time.
She's fine with that.
Suppose my only option is to bring the rubbish bin over & shovel the top layer of garbage into that. then spread (hopefully)the somewhat decomposed matter along the back of the most out of the way garden bed on the property.
This is a 5 mill+ property on Brighton beach & I think that spreading it all over the prominent garden beds, will only be a loose/loose situation.

She's only trying to do the right thing environmentally but ...................... sometimes ya gotta wonder ............:i dunno:
8478 8479


Why don't you make this "looses loose" situation into a "win win". You can easily do some quick education and get the bin working correctly. This should be an easy process considering she wants to compost, she may just not know how to do it properly.

Fred's mowing
27-08-2015, 09:31 PM
Why don't you make this "looses loose" situation into a "win win". You can easily do some quick education and get the bin working correctly. This should be an easy process considering she wants to compost, she may just not know how to do it properly.

Unfortunaetly because it requires more than educating. It requires doing.
She may like the theory but, Im not so sure about the other part ?
Cheers Fred.

steveo
28-08-2015, 09:31 AM
There is more chance of the actual bin composting than there is of the contents composting. That should be in landfill.