.. Seems to me Kimmsr has a point. You gotta get the mix right. Can't ignore Lloyd though. A smaller volume makes everything harder vis-a-vis hot composting. In a smaller volume the mix is going to be more critical. I just assembled a bin for the first time without grass clippings. Just leaves and chipped sticks. 17 cu ft. Got 150 F for a very short while then 140 F for a day or so and then 130 F for another couple of days then into the 120s. Turned if after week adding grass clippings. Got a couple of days of 140 F and 130 F for the rest of the week. Just turned it again tonight in the rain. We'll see. I would expect the given mixture in a 1 cu yd to do something similar. I think the small size just hindered things some. I haven't worked with straw but something tells me it's made to be rot resistant. That tells me it will compost slowly. Couple Lloyd's experience with an observation supporting our fears plus the small volume and I think things are just going to go slower. Not a major disaster. It'll rot. Just not as fast nor as hot. to sense ..

As I recall way back when Jon Rowley wrote about the Interbay composting method here, it was another way to compost and make a material that could be used as a mulch rather then a mulching method itself. The purpose of the burlap is to aid in moisture retention which seemed to aid in speeding up the digestion of the material to compost. As I recall the finished compost was moved from where it was digested to were the community gardeners had their plots.

I saw burlap at JoAnn's the other day. There was also a coupon for 1/2 off for a few days, starting today I think?? I just filled a new raised bed with a mix involving quite a bit of horse manure. To try to make it less offensive to my neighbors (that load was a little too fresh for neighborhood living), I covered it with straw, then stapled a piece of landscape fabric over the top (I had some left from a project a few years ago). Then I ran chicken wire (had a bunch of that laying around too) over the top of that to keep it from blowing away. Of course, in a couple days, the pile had shrunk down so my fabric & wire were loose, but it still looked "neater" that way, and my straw didn't blow away. Of course, the landscape fabric won't decompose like the burlap, but in my case, it keeps it cleaner looking, and I already had it. I'm still new to the neighborhood, and so far my next door neighbors have been supportive of my gardening projects. I try to keep things looking neat. Now, when I do this to my front yard/lawn, I guess we'll find out about some of the other neighbors...

Anyone? I reallu need the input! Thx!