You see, this is why I and so many other men don't read the instructions.

Worms and other visible creatures are not what is lacking. Something is not completing the micro herd's food pyramid. If the pile isn't smelly, maybe water or more nitrogen is needed. If it is smelly, then more air and carbon are needed. Experiment based on your nose.

And for cryin' out loud, stop reading directions.

tj

Following directions is really essential since you cannot make a good cake without closely following directions. Some may think an analogy of a cake and compost is not a good thing but both indicate the need to follow the direcions.
What is the moisture level of your compost?
Why was lime indicates as necessary, few people wil ltell you that you should add lime and they really have no idea of what they speak.
Adding soil we know today is unnecessary. Once upon a time it was thought that the soil was necessary to introduce the bacteria that would digest the material but today we know that the bacteria in soil is not the same as those that digest the material and so soil is not needed.
The only reasons a pile of vegetative waste would not compost is because the C:N ratio is off, there is too much, or too little, moisture so the bacteria cannot work. If that pile was digesting anaerobically you could easily tell because of the putrid odor eminating from it.

First of all making compost is nothing like making a cake. As you know, you previously did very little and still ended up with compost... it just took longer.

I think you are looking for worms in an active pile. Generally worms only gravitate to cool piles or finished compost. You probably won't find worms in your new pile because its warmer than your past laissez-faire pile and its still working.

Thanks a lot for all the input.
I, obviousely do not know a scrap about composting and how it works. Now, thanks to you all, I know a lot more. I think for good measure I'll redo the whole thing from scratch. It appears that I have to balance it better, make it bigger, and make sure it is properly moist. Darn, it was easier when I just piled stuff up and waited.

If cold composting worked for you, maybe that is what you should keep doing. The compost you get may have more weed seeds or pathogens, but if that wasn't a problem before, why change?

However, if you do want to hot compost, your plans to try again sound good. If you didn't do this before, I would suggest that you visit your pile every day, at least until you have mastered the process. That way you can tinker with it if it heats only a little, if it dries out, if it starts to smell, etc. and correct things promptly. Good luck!

dk., Easier and just as good. There's nothing wrong with your original method of making a pile. I make both cold and hot piles, and if that pile of yours has got some rough, brownish, too chunky, not finished compost, don't worry about it. Pile it around a tomato or a plant you are fond of and let it break down there. Start your next pile, and let your cold pile finish.

If anyone has my situation: a lot of space for bins and places to get compostables (My local dump is a cold mine.), time would be better spent gathering compostables, than breathing down the neck of the compost pile.

I am not talking about restricted circumstances or city dwellers or people who live where they aren't allowed to have compost piles (Criminal!) If you have a car, a large yard, and access to materials, you can make a lot of compost. A neighbor of mine just started composting last fall, after she saw my not revolting and disgusting, sogless piles, and I'm amazed by her talent. She hits up my local store and comes home with tons of lettuce, eggshells, and bread (which she feeds to my chickens, of course), tomato ends, onion skins, and coffee grounds from every coffee shop she passes. I introduced her to my leaf and grass supply and I may have to restrict her to one day a week. She's starting to step on my toes. I'm going to be very annoyed if I head out on Nov. 1rst and find her out on the road gathering up the smashed pumpkins.

She's got five piles going---two hot, one passive, two leaf mold. If you've got the space, the car, the inclination, you might try a month or two of super-active compostable collection. Making compost isn't as important as gathering compostables, you know, imho.

i've been watching on youtube.com about how to make homemade tumblers for composters, and there's this one woman, who made her compost and at the very last, to make it heat up and get the compost in the 14 days poured urine on it, yes urine, she didn't pee on it, so that was cool, but the nitrogen from her urine helped heat it up really fast!! i think it was like maybe 3-4 cups??? i'm not sure but i thought cool!! its no grosser than anything else!! so that's an idea. there has been alot of posts about people using urine for the nitrogen that the plants/veges needing. its pure but they said you need to use it right away and i think it was 1/10 ratio maybe. i'd have to look that part up, but its not really strong.(for watering just the plants/veges)