Hot Composting

[Valley Oak]

39820Hello everyone in the Wacco world. My wife and I have a large compost pile and we want to get it to hot compost but we don't know how.

Are there any tricks or special techniques we can use to get it going?

Thank you!

Edward

[Barry]

...My wife and I have a large compost pile and we want to get it to hot compost but we don't know how.

Are there any tricks or special techniques we can use to get it going?
Add more "greens", ie green leafy material, preferably shredded or in naturally small bits. Grass clippings are great! Best to mix it in with your mostly "brown" compost pile.

[Don Watanabe]

Univ Cal method here: https://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/compost_rapidcompost.pdf. Use old pallets to build bins. I've done it this way in the east during winter with snow on the ground and it works. Adding organic, hot cow dung also boosts the process. You will be able to have completed compost in 3 weeks.


39820Hello everyone in the Wacco world. My wife and I have a large compost pile and we want to get it to hot compost but we don't know how.

Are there any tricks or special techniques we can use to get it going?

Thank you!

Edward

[barfly]

Agree with other replies...

1. Add green material. Running a mower over grasses works great.
2. Chop it up and mix it together. Best would be borrow a chipper/shredder if you can.
3. Cover it.

Edit: You can just leave it alone. It will turn to compost just fine, only takes longer.


My wife and I have a large compost pile and we want to get it to hot compost but we don't know how.

[ShaktiMa]

Looks like u need more green material ( nitrogen)
And some manure ( stables give it away free)

Using these and what u have in your current pile,
Build a new pile beginning with your carbon source (dry leaves etc) then alternating every 6 inches each ingredient. After each layer add some water.
Equal amounts of each input, air and some water.
Then cover your layered compost cake with some straw or cardboard.
Guaranteed to get nice and hot.

[rossmen]

Looks woody and with all the rain washed out (of nitrogen). Easy trick that might work; mix a few 5 gallon buckets of water with nitrogen fertilizer, like a cup of fish emulsion in each bucket. Soak pile with these a few days after rain stops. Cover top of pile with cardboard to retain heat and keep out further diluting rain.