photopilot,

That's what compost does. It gets hot and then it cools down. I let mine go no higher than 155, then it starts to go down and usually stays at 110 to 130 for quite some time.

The pile should be moist and somewhat dense but not dripping wet. Not sure why you added soil. It's not necessary.

To get things going back again if you wish, just add some grass clippings, used coffee grounds, and such things. Compost starters are not necessary either. Toy with the mix and find the things which will trigger the contents of the pile for you to your heart's content.

Remember that turning the pile will cool it down. I let the piles go to 150 and only turn if they continue to increase in temperature beyond that. Otherwise it is left to. well, compost, and will slowly make it's way down. At 110, I may turn if I'm in the mood. :O)

some say a lil soil will add to the biodiversity of the pile.
despite what you may think, you gotta continually add nitrogen material to your pile throughout the whole process of achieving finished compost. it's not a set it and leave it type thing, most people find it best to keep materials til time to turn, then mix the products in as you turn your pile, don't forget to still turn your pile even if you don't have stuff to add.

it helps to think of it as a recycling bin for kitchen scraps, etc. saving trashbags for you and landfill space for the earth :) find a list on the web of household stuff you can compost and have fun with it, you'll learn tons, i did.

I don't really see a need to ad dirt to the pile.

The fact that it heated up with the compost starter (another thing you probably don't need) but cooled off soon may mean that you need more N.

If you're in SLC and not one of the suburbs, there are a number of Starbucks locations where you can get grounds for the garden. You don't need to drink coffee to get the grounds. You're actually doing them a favor, because you're saving them money on trash removal. The easiest way to find them is to go to the Starbucks website and search for stores, but only choose retail locations. Even the one in the Gateway will give you the grounds, but the last time I tried, the one in Sugarhouse wasn't saving them.

If you're in the suburbs, you probably don't have as many options. I live in Farmington, so I get grounds when I go to Centerville or Layton.

Another thing that can be a problem here is that compost can dry out pretty readily. In much of the US, the problem tends to be that people get piles too wet but I've found that my compost does best when I add some water every few days.

Back in Sir Albert Howards day it was thought that you needed to add soil to compost to "infuse" the compost with the wee buggers that would digest the material, because they did no know that all organci matter has the bacteria already present that will cause them to be digested and converted into something else. The few people that do tell you that you neeed to add soil to compost have evidently not paid attention to research in the last 50 years.
If you limit the amount of air available to those bacteria (too much soil or too much moisture) that will cool you pile down as it enters anaeraobic digestion. If the bacteria that were busy at digesting your material run out of Nitrogen to work with that will slow down the digestion process. If the bacteria run out of Carbons to digest that will slow down the process and the pile will not be as hot as it once was.
Take a good look at you compost pile to determine, 1. if you have enough material left to be digested. 2. if there could be sufficient air exchange if there is enough material left to be digested, or 3. if there is enough Nitrogen to feed the bacteria as they work.

Just wanted to comment on west9491's post saying that you have to continually add materials. That certainly works but is not required. It could keep the pile warm longer, but the batch would take correspondingly longer to finish. You can run multiple piles or bins, for example, and make a batch, after it cools turn it into the next bin, and so on, and eventually you'll have a batch of nice compost that was made up on Day 1 and nothing added until it was finished. It was just turned several times. In fact, this is the way to make the fastest compost: A perfect mix on Day 1, a big enough pile, and several turns. Voila, compost.

Also keep in mind with respect to heat, that soil not only doesn't add anything heat-producing, but it absorbs heat from the other materials. As do rocks. :-o You were fortunate to get it hot in the first place!

Right now as I write there is a hurricane Fay brewing outside and I fear for my bins, but y'day I inspected mycompost bin and thought it was ready:dark brown,"like a wrung out sponge",but very heavy looking in texture, no original pieces in sight.I said OK, mb ready,then I spied little wriggling critters. Pin width, 1/4" long.

I thought they wd have died by now that process is done? Suppose I add to plant media, will they harm the veggies. Will they wiggle up into the potatoes and corn? Why are they still alive. The bins have lids, and have holes drilled all over them. Whenever I turn I leave lids off while doing so, flies come buzzing around, but I shoo them away, close when I am done. Maybe some of them got in, but they shd be dead by now, right. And suppose I put unfinished compost on soil, will it burn the roots?

The hurricane winds are making a racket outside. Hope it will be over by t'morro. My plants are soaked!!

I havae been working those bins for months. They are sitting in the hot sun all day, I turn once or twice p/week. Use veggie scraps, brown leaves, shredded paper from office, and some organic soil.

I think I just made a boo-boo. I think I have just added to someone's email. Maybe I shd have started a new email re my compost problems. Apologies to all, but after I finished, the thought struck me. I hope someone reads my email and responds. Sorry, again!!!

No sweat catlover, next time you can start a fresh thread.

Compost is full of insects, they do a lot of the work. I wouldn't worry about them unless you know for a fact that they're a harmful insect. But mostly the ones that live in compost don't chew on live plants (although the major exception in my yard is sow bugs or roly-polys which do both!).

As far as burning plants with compost, that would only happen if the compost is very hot temperature wise OR maybe if it's anaerobic (stinky) and loaded with ammonia. Nice brown compost, even if only half done, is fine.

One thing to keep in mind, is that the pile doesn't have to be hot to compost. The pile will still decompose while cool, it just happens at a slower rate. Their are benefits to a hot compost operation, but there also benefits of a cool compost operation.

One benefit of a cool pile is that you don't worry about it when its not hot. ;-)

Forget the dirt and the compost 'starter', they are not needed.
The starter is a unnecessary expense, and the soil reduces the highest temp. possible as it is not an ingredient.

Turning provides air. Water may not be necessary at the beginning, but the composting process uses up the moisture and adding water to most piles is a necessity.

Thank u, thank u, all for the responses. I turned over the soil this a.m. when the squalls and wind let up, and did not see any squigglies on top, mb they are below, but the rain came down again, so I had to run back inside.Fay is still around. Antyway, will look again on Thursday, shd be calmer then.

Tks again for comments, and will start my own "thread" next time I have something to say.

Its a little to late on the dirt, its already in there, now I know no dirt in my future compost piles. Also the compost starter is already purchased, so I have that as a resource, next time I will add coffee grinds for a Nitrogen source.

Any suggestions on getting the pile heated up again. I would like to do this so I can get an expedited compost. I am also concerned about seeds and weeds, most of the dirt I used in my compost pile was from an area of lawn that I dug up for my first garden, it was all the grass roots and soil. Is there a way to ensure no weeds or seeds without hot composting?

If there is no way to get the pile hot again, how do I go about the cold composting? Do I need to still turn it, how often? How do I know when it is done?

What you want in your compsot to digest it is bacteria, wee microscopic buggers, not insects that you can see with your eye unassisted by a microscope. The presence of larger insects can indicate a pile of material that is too wet since most all of them require a fairly high moisture level where they live.

photopilot,

To heat things up again, mix in a source of nitrogen and make sure the pile is moist. I have a push reel mower which is close by so if I need something other than UCGs (used coffee grounds), I just give the mower a few turns and add the clippings.

There is no guarantee that even a hot pile will kill all weed seeds although it will get quite a few at temps over 135F. You also have to consider that some seeds will be in the outer edges of the pile so they won't get the heat. I often have tomato plants growing in my perennial gardens because of this, and pumpkins, and cukes, and... Not a massive number though.

Sometimes I throw in a handful of alfalfa pellets to get things really going. I buy it as an amendment to the soil around needy perennials such as hibiscus, roses, etc. Since I purchase it in a large quantity at my local feed store, it's very inexpensive compared to anything else, but I wouldn't purchase something to replace it if it wasn't there.