Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Hot and cold composting
On 11/11/2020 10:48, Martin Brown wrote:
On 10/11/2020 22:57, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote: Usually my compost heaps run cold, but I've currently got one running hot. I've also got one built last autumn and winter which was a cold heap, which has a lot of material (roots, grass leaves, even some moss) that hasn't broken down. What is likely to happen if I mix some of this in next time I turn over the hot heap. Once a heap is hot you can mix other stuff into it and the combination of heat and the enzymes sees it off pretty quickly. They don't stay hot for very long and particularly not at this time of year. It seems that the question is moot. I turned it over this afternoon, and while there were a few hot spots left, most of it is now running cold. For what it's worth I added some shredded paper. It had self-compacted, and was rather wet, so perhaps the added aeration of the turnover might give it a bit of a boost. My experience has generally been that if you add enough stuff at once it doesn't really matter what it is provided that you don't compact it then it will go hot in 3-4 days. About 1m^3 in a single day does it for me. Getting 1m^3 in a day is the difficult bit - I got mine hot this time by adding that in a few weeks, rather than a few months (and shredding all the material before adding it). It has a very characteristic short chain fatty acid smell not unlike BO when it really gets going. I have had mine smouldering internally a couple of times over the years - which gives a small volume of grey ash instead rather than a decent volume of compost. It doesn't always go hot every time for me. I am lazy and really only turn a compost heap when I absolutely have to. Twice a year at most. I don't like leaves in my compost heap - I make leaf mould separately in the green bin (officially for garden waste). Many common trees have fungal inhibitors in their leaves so it slows down the heap. Worms and creepy crawlies seem to do a better job composting leaf litter. YMMV I have 3 2m cubic bins filling one, letting one mature whilst growing courgettes on them. The 3 year old one is ready for use. Any thick branches or bits that aren't quite gone get put onto the new heap. -- SRH |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Cold composting | United Kingdom | |||
Cold, Cold, Cold | United Kingdom | |||
Hot hot hot hot! | Australia | |||
Composting anything was Composting ivy | United Kingdom |