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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Compost: too brown, too wet, too...?

10 years ago

So, it was finally warm enough this last weekend for our first yard work day of the season. I am fairly new to compost - I have one lovely batch of hot compost from last summer. Here's my puzzle:

I created a pile last fall with fall yard/garden cleaning and chicken coop wood shavings and droppings. It heated up once and then after I turned it it never really did again. And then it froze solid so I didn't think about it anymore. This last weekend I turned the pile, which was very wet and seemed to be heavy on the wood shavings (too much brown?). I expected it would get going again , but so far it's only bumped up to 70. It's been in high 50s, so at least there's something happening in there.

Now... We also cleaned out All the winter's chicken coop/pen shavings and droppings this past weekend. I tossed them in their own pile (18" deep maybe) in my bin and that is already up to 103 after a couple days.

Is my fall pile too wet? Does it need a hefty shot of nitrogen? Is it the nitrogen in my chicken coop browns that is getting my tiny new pile cooking?

Before I send my honey to to pee on my fall pile in the dark of the night (we're in the city), I figured I'd check with you all to see if I'm missing something basic.

Happy spring!

This post was edited by pipperee on Wed, Apr 2, 14 at 23:51

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Comments (4)

Kimmsr
10 years ago
A "frozen solid" compost mixture does indicate too much moisture since the only thing that does freeze is moisture. A mix of material to be composted that is too wet lacks the air the bacteria need to work because water displaces air.

Here is a link that might be useful: Composting Tutorial
pipperee
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks Kimmsr.

I'll get my exercise by turning it often and see if it heats back up.
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toxcrusadr
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Even if it's not quite done, it will finish eventually. The final phase of composting is a long tail rather than a fast hot process.

Now, if you're needing compost soon and there are wood chips in there, you could add some greens. Grass clippings would be good, high N plus they would help fluff the pile if mixed in thoroughly, at least for awhile until they break down. Don't turn it too much if you want it to stay warm.

Usually in spring I turn that fall pile as early as I can, and by planting season (April-May) it's ready to use.
Lloyd
10 years ago
"A "frozen solid" compost mixture does indicate too much moisture "

bunkum

Lloyd

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