My compost pile isn't composting..

[Kittikity]

I've been tossing all the goats poo and spent hay, same for the rabbits, into a large pile.. I've been doing this for about 5 months.. I dug into it today and not really much is composted except for at the very bottom.. What can I do to get it to compost better? I haven't churned it or anything.. Was trying to let it warm up on the inside and do its job.. Should I be churning it more? Adding water? Something I can put on it that will help it to compost faster? I figured it would be a lot more composted by now..

[Sinfonian]

Cold composting takes a while and results in limited finished compost at the bottom. It will not heat back up after the initial week or so when you made it.

Hot composting works much faster, but is work intensive. Not only do you mix the pile thoroughly every week or two, but you add water and green/brown materials regularly to keep the process going. A little research and some regular effort is pretty much all it takes to be successful at it.

Oh, and for a jump start, I like to add some used coffee grounds to the mix when aerating. The greens help heat things up when mixed with browns and air.

Good luck with your composting. Looks like you did cold composting perfectly.

[Kittikity]

Ok, so I need to add more green stuff and more water.. The green stuff is easy as my husband will soon be mowing the yard the first time since last fall.. *looks at sky and taps foot* We should have started the rainy season by now.. Guess I will have to add my own water until the rains pick up.. Usually in the summer we have rain almost every afternoon.. So far we've had it maybe once a week.. I look forward to the afternoon rains as it can get very hot here and the afternoon rains help to cool things off a little..

[Kevin]

Hey Kittykity, It sounds like you have a combination of problems going on here . First we live in florida our heat makes above ground composting difficult( Can't keep it wet enough ) . I use the sheet or lasagne method . I do this in both my row gardens and my raised beds(in combination with chicken and rabbit tractors ) In the raised beds I place layers of brown leaves ,green stuff , manure , soil and then a repeat as it gets deeper . Put a chicken tractor on top and the hens will turn it for you regularly,plus add more manure. In my row gardens I simply till under all my composting ingredients in between planting seasons , I then add earthworms and a very heavy layer of oak leave mulch. Kevin

[Kittikity]

So it isn't just my ineptitude.. lol

[Kevin]

So it isn't just my ineptitude.. lol

No,I've been doing this for a very long time , and I have yet to make decent compost in an above ground compost pile here. It simply takes too much water. I have however heard of people making compost in enclosed plastic bags,here . I just don't want trash bags laying around the house for several months. I use the in ground sheet method. Kevin

[Kittikity]

What about the garbage can method? An old garbage can on its side, just roll to mix..

[Kevin]

What about the garbage can method? An old garbage can on its side, just roll to mix..

Kittykity, I guess you could , but with the amount of organic matter I process ,It would really be impractical. The folks I was referring to with the plastic garbage bags , were using several hundred bags at a time. As an example I recently tilled under 50 garbage bags of leaves into one of my row gardens that is 20 x 30 feet. Kevin

[Backyard Permaculture]

Something I have done recently, also because of the quantity I want to compost for my garden, is to do it in a windrow.

Kevin, you complain that your compost piles dry out too much in Florida heat. Well I am in SE Arizona, not quite at hot as Phoenix or as dry, but possibly hotter and dryer than where you are.

Anyway, I built up my windrow, mostly of horse & donkey manure, woodshavings from my woodworking business, I then wet it down good then covered it with a sheet of normal hardware store plastic, then covered that with a damaged trampoline mat to protect the plastic from sun damage. After letting it cool down, I threw a handful of Red Wriggler worms into the pile and forgot about it for months (except for last Sept when 2 dogs killed 29 chickens, which were burried in this windrow compost pile). A few months ago, lifting up the plastic sheet/tramoline mat and saw the manure/wood shaving pile covered with worms.

I was so encouraged by this method, that I am in the process of building another windrow about 10 time the material.

What I like about using the worms, they do the turning and I don't lift a fork or shovel hardly.

Ron

[Kevin]

Hey Ron, Thats amazing ,I 've kinda been playing with the same idea. I have actually been debating on switching to black plastic mulch in my row gardens For the very same reason . I'm going to try using pieces of junk carpet to keep it cool until we are ready to plant .Kevin

[Backyard Permaculture]

Think about using carpet. you might be leaching petrochemicals into your soil.

Ron

[Kittikity]

I was also thinking maybe a 5 gallon bucket (or even a cheap garbage can) with a soaker hose or something embedded in the compost pile might be something to keep it wet.. Maybe a combination of the soaker hose and a tarp or black plastic over the top of it.. But that might be overkill.. Depends on just how fast it dries out I guess..

[Backyard Permaculture]

In my experience related a couple of messages ago, I soaked the windrow just previous to cover it with the plastic, and then the Trampoline mat. I didn't add any more water for months and it all stayed very moist. My theory is that with the plastic cover, water didn't evaporate, excess water drained down in to the soil, and if the windrow started to get a bit dry, moisture from the ground might wick its way back up to the top of the windrow.

Ron

[Kevin]

I was also thinking maybe a 5 gallon bucket (or even a cheap garbage can) with a soaker hose or something embedded in the compost pile might be something to keep it wet.. Maybe a combination of the soaker hose and a tarp or black plastic over the top of it.. But that might be overkill.. Depends on just how fast it dries out I guess..

A black plastic tarp and soaker hose combination sounds like a very good idea, I may try that myself . Thanks, Kevin

[Kevin]

Think about using carpet. you might be leaching petrochemicals into your soil.

Ron

Yeah Ron , You may be right on that one . Especially when the carpet starts to actually degrade. Thanks , Kevin

[GoldenAcres]

What about the garbage can method? An old garbage can on its side, just roll to mix..

I use an old trash can myself and have had great results. Mine doesn't have a lid so I can't roll it but I use a Garden Weasel to mix it.
Here's how I do it, a three inch layer of soil, four cups dry manure or two cups manure tea and last green manure, food scraps and shredded paper. When the green manure is about six inches deep I mix it and spray it with water (not soaking) then repeat the layering process. It only takes me about six months to get a full can and it is rich to say the least.

The carpet idea sounds nice but is a huge pain. My mom tried it once and after a month we realized that it was a breeding ground for everything nasty including odor, wet carpet smells just as bad outside as it does inside.