jay - you want it to breath and get air. If you do cover it, then do so loosely with a tarp or something similar just to keep excess rain from soaking the pile. Hitting 130 ðF is good. If your mix and moisture are right, then with a pile ~ 3' high you should be reaching a bit higher - 150-160. But 130 is fine. A good pile ~ 3' high will only hold that high temp range for 5-7 days, then it will start to cool. When it starts to coll, then it's time to turn. After turning it should reheat. That will continue until the thermophiles have done there job, then it won't reheat much. For a pile your size that's probably ~ 3-4 turns if you had a good mix and keep the moisture about right. Then it's time to let is sit and cure, and start a new pile. If you don't want to turn it that often, no worries - it still works just fine, it will just take longer to get to good finished compost. A consideration is how patient you can be waiting for the product. At some point you will need to stop adding new material to it, and let it cure, while turning it maybe once a month, or never if you're really patient. It's a bit a personal thing - patience vs. need for speed. This post was edited by TXEB on Mon, Sep 2, 13 at 9:31

Most of us just freeze them whole. You can do all the peeling adn chopping stuff after they are thawed. They will hold their consistency better if frozen whole rather than chopped. Just search 'freeze tomatoes' here for more discussions on it if interested. Dave

I have granite on my outer counters, and I am in the process of getting marble for my island...I had my fabricator make two nice big extra pieces of my slab, and created 2 chopping boards. I put my utensils, seasonings/oils, and hot drippy lids on it! I sometimes will throw a paper towel on it if its tomato based. I would never put a drippy lid on my marble!!! Maybe see if your fabricator has a good granite or soap stone remainder that they can create a co-ordinating board for you?

We had my generic Mexican casserole. Large soft taco shell in the bottom of a casserole dish, then a layer of refried beans, then meat with taco seasoning, then a thick layer of cheese. Top with another soft shell and put canned tomato soup on top to keep the top soft while baking. Sprinkle on another handful of cheese. Once baked, top each serving with lettuce, tomato, onion, and green peppers and Dorothy Lynch salad dressing (or salsa if preferred). Sour cream adds a great touch but we were out last night.