Hi Gary,
You have articulated your composting process very well .
You have also described your ingredients in such a way that shows you have done your homework...Good Job

As soon as you can't tell what the original ingredients were, you can spread that product as mulch or incorporate it into your soil. at that point it is "finished" and your use of it is only restricted by your imagination, It sounds as though you are going to do very well.

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Jon, thanks for the affirmation. From the looks of things, you've got a successful (and impressive) enterprise going there. But in addition to the "look" test for finished compost, would the fact that the piles have cooled down be an indicator of readiness/usability, at least to some degree? Put differently, would you say there's a "temperature" test as well? I'm less concerned with what in time might be the ultimate product, but rather at what point the capacity of fresh cow manure to burn plant roots has been neutralized. Thanks. Gary

Hi Gary,
After it has gone through that Heating /Cooling process , it it ready to be used, BUT.... That being said.... I am currently fully planted (Cantaloupe,Watermelon,Honeydew,Butternut),on an "extra" compost pile that is comprised of 1500 lbs of Bolted cabbage leaves,Steer Manure and Horse Manure that was topped off with 6 yards of my own homemade Compost,(but is still "freakin' HOT, I will of course let you know how it turns out, but so far ,it looks very promising ;-)

Gardening is all about experimenting... I Love This ;-)

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All I can say is: Amazing. You're a gardener and composter after my own heart. Sometimes I feel that making the stuff, as opposed to using it, is the whole point. Anyway, you're right, experimentation is part of the fun. Gary

I have used the Solvita Respiration test to ensure my compost is mature and will not cause any damage to anyones plants. Cool down by itself is not the best way to judge maturity of compost, too many other variables could cause cooling. Having said that, a decent, sustained hot composting period followed by a respectable curing/maturing phase should satisfy most people.

The stuff I put in my own fields doesn't get tested because it gets a very long time to break down in place.

Lloyd

As a general rule of thumb, for most of us, when the compost looks and smells like good rich earth and is cool to the touch it is ready for use.