"hob" wrote in message
...

"sherwindu" wrote in message
...
Hi Hob,

Sounds like you have taken the proper steps to get your mulch
pile
working. I
would guess it has shut down partly due to the cold weather.

That was the odd part - it was active and warm inside the piles in late
February, and cool inside them in early April. (Mpls)

I would wait for
the
warmer Spring temperatures for it to get started again, keeping the pile
moist.

I did water the bins today, on the chance they were not damp enough.

You
may be rushing things a bit expecting to get the fully composted nice
black
stuff this
early in the season.

I had heard it took a few months - the grass bin has been there and added
to
(no chemicals on the grass) since the first mowing of last spring. And a
lot
of it now looks like dried grass with powdery white mold.

My guess is that the pile with the leaves and grass should
work
better than the straight grass pile.

I would have thought so, too - but the opposite seems to be the case - the
cylindrical bin has the roughly 50-50 mix of leaves and grass from last
fall
and I think the bottom even has some from the previous fall, and it isn't
"as far along" as the rectangular bin which is mostly grass. Thus my
thinking some more water might help.

I have a similar mulch pile and it takes
at least a
year before it is fully cooked.
I say be a bit more patient.

It's either patience .... or having mulch rather than compost.

thanx for the advice


Sherwin D.

I think the have patience bit is the key here. Unless you desperately need
the compost leave it another few months and just observe what happens. You
can turn it as others have said or you can simply leave it and see what
develops. Some compost makers are paranoid about anaerobic decomposition
(lack of oxygen) and tell you to constantly turn and turn your pile to
encourage aerobic composting. Anaerobic breakdown will give you good compost
through it will take a time. It won't kill weed seeds (a hot compost will)
but that is a problem depending on what you put in the compost. Leave it for
a while longer and nature will likely do a decent job. A good rule of thumb,
as far as I am concerned, is check for worm life. If there is a good build
up of worms (apart from the very hot centre) indicates things are breaking
down.

rob