Making a hot compost is an easy way to bring living biology into your soil. When you add compost that is alive with a diversity of microorganisms to your soil, it increases fertility, holds moisture, and creates an environment for plants to flourish. Let’s get started!!!
We use heavy wire to create a 6 foot diameter that is held together with bungee cords, making it easy to open and close.
We collect the correct ratio of green and brown matter that are used to build the compost pile. Cut grass adds nitrogen to the compost pile and helps it to heat up.
Chopping up the green and brown materials helps them to break down faster in the compost pile. We chop up the green and brown materials using a shredder. You can also chop these up by hand using clippers or a lawn mower to shred the dried leaves.
We build the compost pile by layering the browns, greens, grass, and comfrey. We mix it well and add water in between the layers.
The compost pile is covered with a tarp to protect it from the rain and elements. A compost thermometer is used to let us know when the compost pile reaches 160-165F, indicating it is time to turn the pile. The temperature shown above was taken after the pile was built.
After the compost reaches 160F for 3 days it is ready to turn. The top third and sides of the original pile are removed and placed on a tarp, later these are added to the center of the new pile. The center of the original pile is removed and placed on the tarp and later is added to the bottom of the new pile. The bottom of the original pile is placed on a tarp and later is added to the top of the new pile. Using this method assures that all the material in the compost pile is broken down.
The compost is turned a total of 5 times in the same way. We love seeing mushroom growing in the compost, a sure sign of living organisms at work.
The finished compost can be covered and stored for several months. The compost can be used directly in the garden to enrich the soil with living organisms. It can also be used to make compost tea or extract to apply to plants to supply nutrients and increase garden productivity.
We are looking forward to teaching compost making classes soon. Dates will be posted later this year.
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