nadcarves wrote:
Four days ago, I took all the leaves piled out back , added bass wood
saw dust, mixed in a bunch of dried molasses, and dumped a 1 to 5
ratio of "tinkle" in hot water on to the pile...This morning, the
pile seemed to have diminished in size.. Took a ground thermometer ,
pushed it in to about a foot. The temp is at 44oC. or 110 o F ..
Seems to be cooking. My question is , should I fluff it up a bit with
a hay fork, or just let the pile cook...

Fast composting requires air, so turn it if you want it to go quickly.


I duplicate carvings and this
is the greenest way possible of getting rid of the saw dust...The
soil bacteria just love the wood, as do earth worms. I had an
"authority" on composting come over some years ago when I was
rendering just the wood. He scooped up a double handful, dropped it,
and said he had never seen such a concentration of worms.. I
understand if the pile gets too hot, it goes out. Any advice?

The heat of the pile will depend on the ingredients and the size, bigger
heaps get hotter as they have a higher ratio of mass to surface area. As it
warms up the thermophyllic bugs take over from those that like normal
temperatures, this becomes self limiting.

D