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Soil, Compost & Mulch

How can I heat up my compost?

16 years ago

What can I add to my compost to get it heated up? It seems to be decomposing fairly well but there is no heat. Should there be? Composting is new to me so I need all the help I can get. I have plenty of wheat straw that I put on the pile from when I clean out my chicken coop, also old potting soil, leaves, coffee grinds, eggshells and vegetable scraps from the kitchen. Is there something I can add to speed up the process?

Comments (6)

pablo_nh
16 years ago
If it's too small, or dry then it will be slow. Unshredded leaves and maybe straw can slow it as well. Barring those conditions- you need greens. Chicken poop would work.
gardenfanatic2003
16 years ago
Grass clippings get things rocking in a hurry.

Deanna
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From the Mantis web page "The Mantis ComposT-Twin dual-chamber composter holds almost 25 cubic feet of raw material" that's 10 bushels in each chamber!" 14 lbs X .29 is 4.06 lbs total Nitrogen that I added using just the lawn fertilizer. Compost density - Who knows? Assume it's 30% water, and the organic matter weighs almost nothing. The tumbler is now about half full, now that it settled about 50%. Water weighs 62.42 pounds/cubic foot. 62.42 X .3 X 25 X .5 is 234 lbs of compost, before the N was added. That means that I added 1.735% Nitrogen by weight. Or a 57.6:1 C:N ratio, ignoring any N from the Starbucks Coffee grounds I added much earlier. So from this simple math, my addition of the fertilizer does not seem to me to be out of line at all. In fact, had I done this calculation earlier, I ought to have added twice the fertilizer than I added! Thanks for indirectly suggesting that I do this simple math as a double-check on my "ongoing experiment". Jim Since the core temperature was only rising slowly, perhaps a degree F or two a day, today I added 4 lbs total of Urea. I've yet to do the math on that, but mentally I'm not out of line with this addition, since it's about twice as strong as the lawn fertilizer. Here is a link that might be useful: Mantis ComposT-Twin page
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grayentropy
16 years ago
Urine, pet food, grass clippings, weeds, urine, urine, urine?

I keep my pre compost in a 55 gallon trash can outside the deck. Easy to add kitchen waste, paper and after hour urine. When it goes in the bin, it steams for a week.
Kimmsr
16 years ago
There are three things that get a compost pile to heat up.
Volume, you need to have enough material to encourage the bacteria to get to work.
C:N ratio. The ratio of carbon (30) to Nitrogen (1) needs to be pretty close. One easy way to get that is to pile up 3 parts of vegetable waste to 1 part of a high Nitrogen source. While most all manures are usually a good source of N if they have not been handled well or are too old and have not been well stored they may not have any N left.
Moisture: Just enough and not too much. The material should be just slightly damp, about like a well rung out sponge. If any moisture drips when the material is squeezed it is too wet and to wet compost will not heat up.
captaincompostal
16 years ago
Volume, Moisture, Balanced Carbon & Nitrogen levels, and Aeration...
mmqchdygg
16 years ago
I've heard a good dose of seafood scraps will do it. Check with your local grocery for the time they cull and if you can have it, then bury it deep in the middle.

More coffee grounds- hit your local Starbucks for a good dose.

Other greens: check the Produce department while you're at the grocery for their cull, too.

If you don't usually rake your lawn when you mow it, that might glean you a good shot of greens, too, for the time being. (Personally, I leave my cuttings on the lawn...nice & lush...but if I NEEDED the greens, you betcha I'd be raking some for the pile).

Got a farmer's market stand nearby? Hit them up.

Lawn maintenance company around? Maybe they'd be a good source. Or any neighbors that might have a bag-attachment on their lawn mower.

Good luck!

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