"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

Are both your piles in full sun? I compose in fairly heavy shade and I
don't expect this year's additions to be ready until next year. The amount
of sunlight on the pile makes a big difference.

Jim