Winter Compost Idea: Will it work?

11 years ago

I am trying to build a hotbox with active compost surrounding the sides so that I can move already started seedlings outside-making room for new ones to germinate inside. My question/problem is getting the compost to begin heating up. Now, I know the ratio of ingredients I began the compost pile with is ideal; around half green and half brown material with a few hands fulls of fresh cow stuff mixed nicely throughout, damp but not moist and contained in a 2'x3' pile well ventilated. I've been stirring for the past several days, but it is not generating ANY heat.

I live in CT so it's still cold here, around 35-40F. I was wondering, if I placed a small coffee cup hot plate next to the compost pile to heat up the temperature around the compost to really get the microbial activity started, can the pile continue to generate a fair amount of heat even if I removed the hot plate? And, will increasing the surrounding temperature help to begin heating up the compost pile via the microbes?

Is this a crazy idea? I just need to get the compost pile producing heat soon. I want to begin germinating most of my plants outside in a hotbox (made of glass and heated by the compost pile surrounding it), without using lights or heating mats.

Thank you so much for taking to the time to read and think about this. It's greatly appreciated.

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Comments (2)

lonmower
11 years ago
Hot plate is a bad idea!!!
Add more greens like manure...it will heat in the center even if the ambient is low.
However, when you spread the 2'X3' pile around your cold frame it will lose its' heat capabilities.
I would dig out the cold frame floor several feet and put the unfinished compost at the floor of the space and heat from the bottom up

This post was edited by lonmower on Fri, Mar 1, 13 at 0:13
lazy_gardens
11 years ago
Won't work ... the classic "hot box" used a DEEP bed of fresh manure under the box as a source of heat to keep the soil warm for the seeds. Because heat rises - it won't go sideways into your box.

If you have well-germinated seedlings (from indoors) you can keep them growing in a "cold frame" which can be straw bales with some sort of glass over them.

After they germinate they can get by with less warmth.
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You deserve two gold stars, one for ingenuity and another for optimism. :) I'd aim for what's in there to be as close as possible to 'as wet as a wrung out sponge' with lots of 'browns', then leave it alone until next summer. In the meantime set up some other composting system. A trash can with a lid and holes in the bottom + worms, or an indoor worm bin, or just a pile outdoors, or get an earth machine. Our county subsidized these so they cost $30. Is there a similar offer where you live? IMO a small precious limited space like a tumbler or earth machine is too important to fill up with cereal boxes, which can go in the recycling bin, assuming there's a program in your area.
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Winter Compost Idea: Will it work?

Comments (2)

lonmower

lazy_gardens

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