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Garden Gate:  Re-starting the compost...  |
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farmmilkmama
True Blue Farmgirl
2027 Posts
Amy
Central MN
USA
2027 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 09 2010 : 7:14:07 PM
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So we started a compost pile late in the year last year, and of course it froze out before it could get working. For those of you who are divas at the compost pile, what do we do to get it working? We've continued to toss stuff on it all winter (its covered and everything but there ain't nothin' going on in there!) and I'm wondering what we do to make it work its magic, or if there is nothing to get a pile working again. I've tried to do some checking around in books but I guess I'm compost illiterate, because nothing makes sense to me!
--* FarmMilkMama *--
Farmgirl Sister #1086
Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
-Oscar Wilde
www.wakeupstartlearning.blogspot.com
www.farmfoodmama.blogspot.com |
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cheneygal
True Blue Farmgirl
503 Posts
Suzie
Cheney
Wa.
USA
503 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2010 : 9:01:11 PM
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I'm thinking as soon as the weather warms up, it will start to heat up, at least that's what I'm hoping for mine, as I did the same thing as you did, and it's just sitting there!! Maybe some sort of manure, cow, horse, chicken??????
live, laugh, love |
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knittinchick
True Blue Farmgirl
1854 Posts
Megan
Wisconsin
1854 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2010 : 04:41:16 AM
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I'm with Susie. It's been getting warmer here, and my compost pile has started to unfreeze. I'm not sure, though.
God's Blessings,
Megan
At heart, I am both a sassy city girl and a down-home country gal. |
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vegetarian farmer
True Blue Farmgirl
249 Posts
Jane
Freedom
pa
USA
249 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2010 : 05:01:27 AM
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Amy, the outdoor temp needs to get to about a constant 60 degrees before the microboes start up again. Horse manure gives off more heat than the other manures, but I have had the best luck with first cut grass. It has the most nitrogen in it than it will ever have the rest of the summer. It breaks down very fast and that is where the heat comes from. Where I live, the compost will not get going until about May. That is why it is good to have two piles. Don't add anything to the pile over the winter if you need to use it for spring.
Jane
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2010 : 06:06:36 AM
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| I've got a question along the same lines...I stopped adding kitchen scraps to my compost this year around Thanksgiving. It looked like they were growing mold. When the compost pile warms up in the spring, will that be taken care of? Could I have kept adding my kitchen waste all winter? |
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vegetarian farmer
True Blue Farmgirl
249 Posts
Jane
Freedom
pa
USA
249 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2010 : 07:41:41 AM
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Remember that you can not just add greens (kitchen scraps, etc) to the pile without some brown (straw, shredded no ink paper, etc) what will happen in the spring is all that food waste will start to rot and stink, plus it brings critters like skunks and rats around. The mold will resolve itself if your pile is constructed correctly. A good pile will get upwards of 120 degrees in the center if all is working as it should. If you do not need the compost for another year you can add browns and greens all winter but nothing will break down until summer and it may take another 6 months to a year to cure. I use compost like mad, so I have at least 2-3 piles going all the time. I rake up all my leaves in the fall and keep them in a seperate area to be thrown in with greens all winter.
Jane
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
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Garden Gate: Re-starting the compost... |
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Re-starting the compost...
