Please take a moment to rate this by clicking one of the boxes at the end.Composting is fairly easy if you know the basics: Add a layer kitchen scraps; Add a layer of dead leaves; Start over... With time, the bottom layers transform themselves into "black gold," this amazing living matter full of nutrients, beneficial insects and microorganisms which will make your plants thrive!
But you need time AND patience, like saving with a piggy bank. Time passes and little by little the layers accumulate and one day: surprise! rich compost!
But if you need your compost faster than you are able to produce it, you end up having to buy expensive organic soil amendments and fertilizers to supplement your needs instead of being able to use only your own high-quality home-produced compost.
Here are a couple tools, tips and tricks that should help you get the job done faster AND better. Better, because if you are composting weeds with their seeds, you want to make sure weed matter is destroyed, so your compost isn't going to help propagate weeds all over your garden..!
Compost Thermometer - Don't stop reading here! Using a compost thermometer is not as crazy as it might sound.
How hot your compost pile is has to do with the level of micro-organic activity in it. Hotter = working faster! High temperature also helps destroy weeds and their seeds as well as some pests, so it does not only speed things up, but does a more thorough composting job.
A cool pile can easily take a few months to turn into compost, while a hot pile can become compost in weeks! Yes! Weeks!
Plus, during the Fall or Winter months (depending on your location), watching the temperature may prevent your pile from going completely dormant because it gets too cold and even starts to freeze. Though it may be hard to prevent if you live in a very cold winter area.
The thermometer allows you to gauge two important things: 1) aeration and 2) moisture. This in turn saves you work because it tells you when you can sit back and dream about the black gold that is being made, or when you need to do a little bit of extra work to make sure the process doesn't slow down or stop.
Here is what to watch for:
Compost is hot (100ºF +) - micro-organisms are chugging away. So most likely you don't have to do too much. No need to aerate or turn the pile yet. Just make sure that you add some water if the pile is not moist enough (especially if it's very hot outside, and/or your pile is very hot). Be careful not to add water that is ice cold, or this could send your pile temperature into a downward spiral.
Temperature dropping - things are slowing down. Find time to aerate the pile by turning it over and mixing it a bit. Also ensure it is sufficiently moist by adding water if necessary.
Compost is extremely hot (130ºF +) - this should not happen unless your pile is very large, but DO NOT LET YOUR PILE get above 130ºF. It is a FIRE HAZARD! Water your compost with cold water. Remove material from the pile and form smaller piles elsewhere to slow things down and make the pile cooler.
That brings me to my Tip & Trick #2
Aeration tool
You may already own a compost aerator, or maybe you use another tool already, like a hoe. But if you don't have anything or aren't satisfied with what you use, you may want to give the Hounddog Stand-up Cultivator a try. Turning your compost pile can be a back-breaking exercise, but it does not need to be if you use the right tool. The stand up cultivators allow you to use your arms, not your back!
Made of robust metal, I find that this tool works great to aerate compost. But more importantly, it works well to cultivate the soil all over the garden too. It's definitely not a 1-trick pony.
Also, it's very reasonably priced and you can find it at both the Home Depot and Amazon for under $25 in the US. Lowes has another version of the same tool, for around the same price or a little bit higher, but still reasonable.
I use this tool to rotate the content of the compost.
Turning it pointing straight down - rotates the decomposing materials horizontally from the corners or the edges to the center of the pile, where it can get hotter.
Turning it while holding the tool slightly tilted - rotates the decomposing material vertically, bringing lower layers closer to the top, and moving top layers further down. Note that if the lower layers have already turned into compost and you plan on removing compost from under the pile through the bin's bottom doors (if you have that type of bin), you may want to hold off on this step to avoid mixing the compost that is ready with the materials that have not yet decomposed.
The temperature of your compost will vary depending on weather, but here in Southern California, I can usually maintain it between 90ºF and 115ºF year-round, even during the colder winter months when our nights are long and cold (low 40's to mid 30s) and our days short and cool (mid 50's to low 70's). Do keep in mind if you are doing cold-weather composting and must add water to the pile that adding cold water from the hose will cause a sudden drop in compost temperature, therefore slowing down the process!
I hope this article was useful for you. Do let me know if this helps you with your composting. Do not hesitate to post any questions or suggest other composting topics which would be of use to you.
More on composting in future articles.
Compost Thermometer - Don't stop reading here! Using a compost thermometer is not as crazy as it might sound.
 |
| Reotemp 20" compost thermometer. Excellent reviews and as little as $25 on Amazon. |
A cool pile can easily take a few months to turn into compost, while a hot pile can become compost in weeks! Yes! Weeks!
Plus, during the Fall or Winter months (depending on your location), watching the temperature may prevent your pile from going completely dormant because it gets too cold and even starts to freeze. Though it may be hard to prevent if you live in a very cold winter area.
The thermometer allows you to gauge two important things: 1) aeration and 2) moisture. This in turn saves you work because it tells you when you can sit back and dream about the black gold that is being made, or when you need to do a little bit of extra work to make sure the process doesn't slow down or stop.
Here is what to watch for:
Compost is hot (100ºF +) - micro-organisms are chugging away. So most likely you don't have to do too much. No need to aerate or turn the pile yet. Just make sure that you add some water if the pile is not moist enough (especially if it's very hot outside, and/or your pile is very hot). Be careful not to add water that is ice cold, or this could send your pile temperature into a downward spiral.
Temperature dropping - things are slowing down. Find time to aerate the pile by turning it over and mixing it a bit. Also ensure it is sufficiently moist by adding water if necessary.
Compost is extremely hot (130ºF +) - this should not happen unless your pile is very large, but DO NOT LET YOUR PILE get above 130ºF. It is a FIRE HAZARD! Water your compost with cold water. Remove material from the pile and form smaller piles elsewhere to slow things down and make the pile cooler.
That brings me to my Tip & Trick #2
Aeration tool
You may already own a compost aerator, or maybe you use another tool already, like a hoe. But if you don't have anything or aren't satisfied with what you use, you may want to give the Hounddog Stand-up Cultivator a try. Turning your compost pile can be a back-breaking exercise, but it does not need to be if you use the right tool. The stand up cultivators allow you to use your arms, not your back!
 |
| Hounddog Stand-up cultivator. Strong, sturdy, versatile. In the U.S., you should be able to get one for under $25 from Home Depot or Amazon |
Made of robust metal, I find that this tool works great to aerate compost. But more importantly, it works well to cultivate the soil all over the garden too. It's definitely not a 1-trick pony.
Also, it's very reasonably priced and you can find it at both the Home Depot and Amazon for under $25 in the US. Lowes has another version of the same tool, for around the same price or a little bit higher, but still reasonable.
I use this tool to rotate the content of the compost.
Turning it pointing straight down - rotates the decomposing materials horizontally from the corners or the edges to the center of the pile, where it can get hotter.
Turning it while holding the tool slightly tilted - rotates the decomposing material vertically, bringing lower layers closer to the top, and moving top layers further down. Note that if the lower layers have already turned into compost and you plan on removing compost from under the pile through the bin's bottom doors (if you have that type of bin), you may want to hold off on this step to avoid mixing the compost that is ready with the materials that have not yet decomposed.
The temperature of your compost will vary depending on weather, but here in Southern California, I can usually maintain it between 90ºF and 115ºF year-round, even during the colder winter months when our nights are long and cold (low 40's to mid 30s) and our days short and cool (mid 50's to low 70's). Do keep in mind if you are doing cold-weather composting and must add water to the pile that adding cold water from the hose will cause a sudden drop in compost temperature, therefore slowing down the process!
I hope this article was useful for you. Do let me know if this helps you with your composting. Do not hesitate to post any questions or suggest other composting topics which would be of use to you.
More on composting in future articles.
Please take a moment to rate this by clicking a box below
