If you went from 3 feet to 18 inches, something decomposed. Wet it well and let it sit for a while and see what happens.

The trick to avoiding making a stinky mess of a heap is to keep the amount of wet green stuff (usually grass clippings) below the point of packing down and going anaerobic. If you are adding lawn clippings, mix them with something dry like dead leaves, sawdust or shredded paper.

I can't help on the turning question because I just fill bins in layers of whatever I have and let them sit, adding water as needed. (NM IS VERY DRY0.

"The pile is about 8’ X 4’ and was about 3’ high, but is now only about 18” high." Consider piling it up so you have a smaller area and a taller pile for the winter. something 3-4 feet on a side, or diameter, and as high as it piles.

I would not "wet it well" since water displaces the air the bacteria also need to digest that material. That pile is well on its way to being finished so I would start a new pile and not add more to that one.

Perhaps this video on making compost might be of some help.

http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/making-compost/

kimmq is kimmsr

hairmetal,

You and I are in almost the same climate zone. Despite those few warm days, in general decomposition is moving somewhat slower this time of year. In two weeks, I certainly wouldn't expect materials like wood chips and cardboard to have made much progress toward decomposition. You didn't say how soon you are aiming to use the finished compost, but I'm guessing you can afford to wait a while?

I also don't think you need to water down quite so often - once or twice a week, at this time of year, is probably plenty. Even though we haven't had a lot of rain, the moisture is also not evaporating nearly as fast as it does in summer. If you had problems in the past with your compost being a stinky mess, I think you could afford to keep things a little less wet...

If you're willing to make a small investment in a piece of fencing that you can tie into a cylinder, this style of compost "bin":

...could save you a lot of trouble with turning and re-piling, as you could just keep throwing stuff in at the top and it would stay reasonably well aerated and moistened without all the work.

Agree with what has been stated above:

- be careful not to water to much, just damp not soaking wet.

- re-pile into a taller pile with a smaller foot-print, that way any heat generated will rise up and help heat the material above it.

- don't feel you have to turn it so often. If you want a hot pile, give it a chance to heat up then give it a turning when it starts to cool back down. May not heat up much at this stage now though since it's been going 2 weeks already. You can still get good compost without the heat.

Two other things I would suggest would be to cover the pile with some carpet or plastic to help keep the warmth in and the rain out and get yourself a compost thermometer if you want to keep track of temperatures.

Don't worry too much about the details 'cause as they say...."compost happens"!

Harry

"Compost starter" is superfluous and an unnecessary expense, BTW. It's usually some kind of high-nitrogen additive. You have plenty of nitrogen in your compost ingredients already, and if you were trying to compost just straight sawdust or something like that where you'd actually benefit from extra nitrogen, you'd be better off finding some waste product or free stuff to add in. I think "compost starters" also claim to include micro-organisms that will digest the compost, which is a good way to charge you money for something that is already everywhere in the land, sky and water.

Good advice above. I don't water too much this time of year here in E. Tn. Right now we are in a drought, so if I were to use a little water it wouldn't hurt, but there isn't a lot of evaporation happening here during the colder months. Some northern climes get very dry cold air in winter, but along with that is a slowing of bio-activity anyway. So, just watch your weather, and it just needs to be moist, not wet.

Oh, and those wood chips are going to take a very long time in comparison to the more delicate ingredients. This isn't a bad thing, wood chips - by virtue of their size and texture - foster aeration. As everything breaks down though, the air pockets surrounding the chips will fill with finer humus materials (compost), and the pile will need screening. Not a problem though, just toss whatever chips that didn't fully decompose into a future pile.

Next time try more greens and fewer browns esp. the wood chips as they take a long time to decompose and will use up your N. Moist not wet. If its not hot in 2 or 3 days and you have the right moisture try adding more greens.

I do like the wire ring bin shown above, -use hardware cloth its the best. And yes a cover for sure, a tarp or old shower curtain works nicely. The main purpose of a cover is to keep the rain out so you can control the moisture level. If it gets too wet it will turn into a stinky, slimy mess.

Like the fire or combustion triangle you need three elements to make compost.

1. Organic Material
2. Water (Moisture)
3. Air (O2)

It's all about balance, As mentioned too much water displaces the air. Getting them in the right amounts is what can be hard.

Start with lawn clippings then add moisture and it will heat up (is the easiest) so then add some leaves and more moisture if you want to make it larger. Green wood chips will speed it up, dry wood chips will slow it down. Come up with your own recipe for what you have on hand.

The trick is to add all of your elements at the same day/time and you should be fine.

A compost thermometer is very helpful so you can see/tell if it is warming up. You can tell if it is warmer than the ambient temp.

You don't need compost starter or a tumbler. I think the biggest and most common problem with tumblers (well besides the cost) is they don't have enuff air flow. Imagine how much compost you can buy if you spent the cost of the tumbler on compost.

The compost pile (bin) doesn't have to be in the sun. The sun has nothing to do with the compost process. You are growing bacteria, that is what heats up the compost pile. So handle the compost materials accordingly, esp. if you have allergies or cuts (or breaks in the skin) on your hands.

HTH

Wood chips from green branches and twigs with leaves on them will compost more rapidly, but I see the OP has stump removal chips which are going to be pretty low N wood and will indeed take some time. I would use that as mulch myself (unless I was desperate for browns).