The heat in a compost pile is produced by bacterial activity, the more active your bacteria are the more heat is generated and there are at least three different species of bacteria active depending on the temperature, those bacteria that work to get the temperature to 100 degrees stop about there and another species takes over and gets the temperature even higher. The heat is an indication of bacterial activity but it has little do do with the bacteria that function in your soil aiding in disease prevention. Many bacteria, if allowed, will develop immunities, or a means of attacking disease pathogens. You find this happening in your garden as well as in the compost pile, indicating that the heat generated during the digestion process is not required for those immunities to develop. Once again, by the time you get the bleached paper what was used to bleach that paper has been washed out and is no longer in the paper.

I have no idea why Bounty would not compost. Have you contacted them about why their ingredients or processing would result in a composting resistant product? Most curious. We've discussed Organic composting before here, a bit (I capitalize Organic when referring to chemical-free, etc. vs. 'organic' which refers to the organic matter we put in the compost pile). There does not seem to be much info out there on it. We often discuss topics such as paper inks, pesticide residues on grass clippings, etc. To me (and I know you didn't really ask for opinions on Organic composting), the real decision point is a trade-off between composting something and landfilling it because you don't want to. First I reduce and reuse, then decide whether to compost. We only use about 3 rolls of paper towels a year at our house, because 'reduce' and 'reuse' applied to cleaning means reusable rags, sponges and towels. The cheap towels seem to compost fine. I'd be interested to hear more on what you find out!

I'm in southern Wisconsin and have been composting consistently for 5 years. Here's a different take on your situation: I'm assuming you have a garden? If so, consider dumping your coffee grounds, or at least some portion of them, directly into your garden. If you're concerned about putting too much into your garden, just start with a smaller amount to reassure yourself that it'll work ok. All of my coffee grounds go in the garden or my dry leaf pile (when I have one), except when I need an extra dose of nitrogen in the compost pile. Coffee grounds are nice in their versatility - they're fine to sit on the surface of the soil, unlike most other compostables. Best of luck! PS Since I'm also in Wisconsin and you say you're newer to composting, I feel I should mention up front in case you don't know - you *can* compost through winter. Or, at least continue to add to your pile. It'll freeze at some point but will thaw and get back to business in the spring. :)

Here are my responses: 1. I'm not really sure. Mine are usually exposed to indirect sunlight. And they grow just fine if you put them directly in soiless media. 2. I plant them when I see it beginning to sprout. You don't want them getting too long--too easy to break them. 3. I don't think it matters that much. Usually, I plant them sideways or upright. If they grow too long, I plant them vertically (root down). Planting them upside down is not recommended. 4. This will also work with tomatoes, except they tend to sprout and grow more quickly.