Placing a tarp over compost pile O.K.?

12 years ago

As per my recent emails to this forum, I'm involved with a school gardening project, which includes composting in 3 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft bins using a recipe of alfalfa meal, straw, and some extra mushroom compost we had left over that had been added to the garden's raised beds.

The piles were created on a Monday and were already heating up nicely by the following Wed. Our composting thermometer malfunctioned, so I'm not sure of initial temps., but they felt hot enough to potentially burn your hand. By the end of a hot, dry week, the new thermometers we obtained showed the piles had cooled a little with temps on Friday at ~ 90-100 F with some "hot spots" of up to 150 F.

But showers over the weekend seemed to bring the piles down to basically air temp. (75-80 F) w/ the exception of a few lingering hot spots.

I was considering, and am considering again, laying tarps over the tops of the four piles to give me more control over moisture levels in the piles. But I've been concerned about the piles being unable to "breath" sufficiently under the tarps, although they would still be open on all four sides, which are composed of wire mesh fencing.

Any feedback on anyone's experience on covering a compost pile with a tarp - pros, cons, benefits, etc. - would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

John

Featured Answer

Lloyd

12 years ago

Previous (old) threads with some discussions pros/cons.

Do I need to cover my compost

Cover With a Tarp?

Lloyd

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Comments (13)

Kimmsr
12 years ago
Tarps can aid in controlling moisture in compost piles but htey also can limit the air exchange an active compost pile needs if the tarps are placed in such a way they contact the composting material. If you make a frame to keep the tarps up off the compost then they would keep that rain off without shutting off air exchange.
schrebergaertner
12 years ago
Here where we get little rain, I almost always put plastic garbage bags over my bins. When I don't, they dry out too quickly, and I end up wasting water just keeping the piles moist. I use the round, roll-up kind of bins with holes around the sides, and I've never had a problem with insufficient air circulation. I also turn them every 3-4 weeks, which helps as well.
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A few days in I felt the pile through the tarp on top, I could feel some good heat. The top of the tarp has cooled down since. Because of daylight saving time I was able to have light to turn the pile in the morning today. It's been 9 days since the pile was built. I used a flat-tined fork to do most of the work. it was quite smelly at times. There was no wind at all so the fumes wafted into my face. Not good, once the smell was intense enough that I actually could taste the fermenting horse poo. Yuk. The pile is looking quite nice. The interior was very hot, I could feel it radiating. It steamed nicely. While turning it my less-than-enthusiastic son sprayed the pile with water and occasionally broke up the chunks. A few years ago I adjusted the plumbing so I could have hot water outside, this was for the kids to play in the sprinkler on slightly cooler days. Didn't think it would be so handy for the compost. This is the original pile with the wire removed. It had sagged about 3 inches within the enclosure over 9 days. You can see the steam. You can also see the lack of wind. I wish there was a little, the smell hurt. On Halloween I added a large amount of pumpkin guts with seeds. These seeds sprouted. Pretty cool! They are now deep in the pile so they will die. I guess these seeds are now officially called "malted pumpkin seeds". Anyone make whiskey out of these ever? Here is after turning. The pile is a lot smaller, probably 20% loss.
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I was interested so I did some math on steve2416's plot. It's a tiny bit geeky so i won't go into details unless someone asks. But it's a good example of why I'm skeptical of the claims that "too much compost" is a clear and present danger. @steve brought a huge amount of leaves onto his property - which is big but not enormous. I mean, eight-ten truckloads - not pickup trucks - 250-300 cubic yards a year. But assuming his 3/4ths of an acre is all yard and spread evenly, that HUGE amount of leaves works out to ... about two inches of leaf mulch. I don't think anyone would claim two inches of leaf mulch (or any mulch or compost really) would be too much. Maybe really dense, heavy, 'green' compost, over a very long period of time, but even then probably not, and would still probably need to be much more, plus fertilizer, or some form of manure that's far more enriched than just 'compost'. The math for volumes means HUGE amounts of a dense, nutrient rich compost, not just mulch, would be needed. Year after year after year. So I think this 'too much compost' so-called myth debunking is silly. Sure, it's possible - too much is too much by definition. But if just mulch/compost, it would require major effort. It would have to be enormous volumes, which for most is unlikely. (Yes though if you pile up manure on a small bed for decades or fill an aboveground bed with just compost, that's the wrong approach.) separately there are interesting topics that come up - soil specific, what your compost is actually composed of (heavy green vs stuff like leaves and wood chips), etc. I spend some time reading for fun about cation exchange capacity, and I wish I understood it better, but the short form is adding compost/mulch/organic matter substantially increases the capacity of soil to absorb / buffer nutrients. So in reality, yes, adding compost/mulch may somewhat increase the nutrient load, but that may be more than compensated for by the capacity of the OM-amended soil to hold those nutrients. (But I admit not a chemist and it's not so simple) On a more simple basis: I have a reasonable sized yard, trees, etc. I bring in a bit of leaves and wood chips and occasional other stuff from time to time, opportunistically basically. Our kitchen compost pile is mostly stuff from 'off site' (purchased food). And even so, MAXIMUM I'm perhaps adding 2-5 cubic metres a year (probalby much less, that would be a big year). That's two inches deep for a 10m by 10m plot, and my yard's much bigger. (I'm assuming - possibly incorrectly - that OM that's generated on the plot itself doesn't matter much, no big long-term net gain, and I'm also not accounting for eg wood from my plot that I burn.) Every time I go for some finished compost, I think 'great', but it turns out to not be all that much once it's spread out. This too much compost thing is mostly a myth.
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jolj
12 years ago
Thank you, Lloyd!
We all say what we think (or read) is true.
Not you, you go out and do it over & over again.
Then you record it in photos & explain it slowly for us( some of us are slow or just hard headed).
You & a few others have taught me a lot, after many years of compost & gardening.
I will say it again You are the Compost Man!
Are the flood water down, now?
Lloyd
12 years ago
I'm not affected by the floods directly as I am up on high land. (Dear old Dad knew how to pick a good location)

My wheat is all seeded and now I can get back to composting. :-)

Lloyd
lisa_decker_yahoo_com
12 years ago
My mother loves composing since we are in preschool because aside from it's environmental, it is the best way to plant vegetables and it's very healthy that why i'm a vegetarian. My mom uses a tarp to cover the compost pile since then, according to her it's very natural to use tarp instead of some other stuff. I'll gonna share this link to you where you could find high quality tarps that you could use to your compost file.

http://www.tarpsplus.com

http://www.tarpsplus.com/canvastarps.html
samantha_miller2236_yahoo_com
12 years ago
It's okay to use tarps but make sure you pick out a tarp that is well made and will stand up to years of use and will stand up to harsh weather conditions in case the weather should turn bad.

Here's the link where you can find High quality tarps:

http://www.tarpsplus.com/heavy-duty-poly-tarps.html
emmers_m
12 years ago
wow, Helen, Samantha, and Lisa all seem to have different ideas about what kind of tarp to use - perhaps I should just purchase all three types from the purveyor of tarps they have all linked to - what a happy coincidence!

I'm sure the merchant in question must be a fine and reputable establishment to have garnered such unprompted endorsements from three upstanding composting citizens within the span of a day or two!
novascapes
12 years ago
I am a big experimenter. I first had my compost pile uncovered. The internal temps were about 150 degrees. The outer foot was much cooler. I then covered the pile with clear plastic, 8 mil., in direct contact to about a foot from the bottom. Thus far, for about 3 weeks, the pile has maintained temps. from 150 to 160 degrees all the way out to the surface , with the exception of the outermost layer at the bottom. I have another pile which I have a low volume fan forced air tube in the bottom and covered the same way. The results are about the same. I think this is mainly due to the wind blowing rather constantly and forcing air into the bottom of the pile without the forced air. The air blowing over the covered piles will also lift it periodically which I also assume adds air to the pile.
Helen0101
12 years ago
emmers_m-

I know about Lisa she's my friend, we've been purchasing a clear tarps since then because we love gardening with her mother. I don't know Samantha, but i will be glad if we became friends.I will give Credit's to this forum.

Regarding placing a tarp to compost file, It is okay. It can never limit an air to the compost because their are tarps that meant for agricultural purposes. I suggest TarpsPlus.
albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
12 years ago
I haven't seen a tarp in years that was organic or natural. All the tarps I see these days are blue plastic, artificial, manufactured chemicals.
Helen0101
12 years ago
albert_135-
There are tarps that used for agricultural purposes. Covering plants in a small garden shelter from wind and extreme conditions can help protect them for better health, not to mention more comfortable working conditions.

Check this out: http://www.tarpsplus.com
http://www.tarpsplus.com/clear-tarps.html
curtludwig
12 years ago
Wow, tarp shills on GardenWeb? I have no doubt Helen, Lisa and Samantha are the same person and all in league with tarpsplus.

Based on that I will NEVER buy from Tarpsplus.

Placing a tarp over compost pile O.K.?

Lloyd

Comments (13)

Kimmsr

schrebergaertner

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jolj

Lloyd

lisa_decker_yahoo_com

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emmers_m

novascapes

Helen0101

albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.

Helen0101

curtludwig

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