Hot composting with chicken bedding and garden waste

[vehve]

Hopefully they will be yummy.

All the soil that went in with the straw when harvesting the first potato tower is keeping batch two from heating up properly. But I think we have a pretty good warmth in there.

According to my thermometer, the roast beef is about ready, 59 deg C.

 

[adventerousone]

My pile is growing nicely but I think I will start another one the next time we mow... dont want it too hard to turn

 

[scottcaddy]

Hopefully they will be yummy.

All the soil that went in with the straw when harvesting the first potato tower is keeping batch two from heating up properly. But I think we have a pretty good warmth in there.

According to my thermometer, the roast beef is about ready, 59 deg C.

LOL, I agree that a roast might be ready, a bit rare but good to eat if you like red !
Edit, to add the compost will corrode the housing of your thermometer if you don't keep it clean.
Scott

 

[vehve]

Hopefully they will be yummy. All the soil that went in with the straw when harvesting the first potato tower is keeping batch two from heating up properly. But I think we have a pretty good warmth in there. According to my thermometer, the roast beef is about ready, 59 deg C.

LOL, I agree that a roast might be ready, a bit rare but good to eat if you like red ! Edit, to add the compost will corrode the housing of your thermometer if you don't keep it clean. Scott

I like it red. Yeah, it might do that, but it was an extra anyway, and if it breaks I have an excuse to get a thermometer which stats from 0 C

 

[scottcaddy]

Quote: I like it red.

Yeah, it might do that, but it was an extra anyway, and if it breaks I have an excuse to get a thermometer which stats from 0 C
Well then, have you thought about a remote probe type of thermometer? They come in both electric and analog, and even wireless if your willing to risk the remote.
Scott

 

[vehve]

Quote: I like it red.

Yeah, it might do that, but it was an extra anyway, and if it breaks I have an excuse to get a thermometer which stats from 0 C
Well then, have you thought about a remote probe type of thermometer? They come in both electric and analog, and even wireless if your willing to risk the remote.
Scott
I would like something that resembles a meat thermometer, but with the scale starting from 0 and a much longer spike. They sell those for gardening purposes, but I'll have to see if I can see one cheaply somewhere at some point. The temperature readings are mainly to amuse me, so I don't think it's worth it to invest money in them.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Just finished reading from the first page up to my first post. This is pretty good stuff. If I can keep it from leaking out of my brain housing group I will be doing well.

Adventurousone... your name fits. I'm so glad you were able to get that pile going... despite objections. He'll likely be very happy for it if you garden and you can attribute the improvements to your compost pile.

vehve, so how long was it for your first pile to get finished to the point of reaching the resting phase in your hot box?

 

[vehve]

Just finished reading from the first page up to my first post. This is pretty good stuff. If I can keep it from leaking out of my brain housing group I will be doing well.

Adventurousone... your name fits. I'm so glad you were able to get that pile going... despite objections. He'll likely be very happy for it if you garden and you can attribute the improvements to your compost pile.

vehve, so how long was it for your first pile to get finished to the point of reaching the resting phase in your hot box?

We've had a very cold June and warm July, so that throws it off a bit, but it took me about 5-6 weeks to fill up batch 1 (this would depend on how much waste you accumulate). After that, I left it to cook, turning it daily and keeping it moist. By the time batch 2 was full, I emptied out batch 1, but I could have done it a bit earlier. I'm guessing maybe 3-4 weeks in optimal conditions, but now it stayed there for about 5 weeks. The smell had turned from ammonia gas to a earthy organic smell at around 3-4 weeks. In winter I probably won't accumulate as much compostable waste, and due to it being colder, the cycle will take longer to complete, but in a warmer climate you could empty it almost once a month. I think I'm going on a 5-6 week cycle right now, one compartment is being filled while the other is just turned and kept moist, and when the fresher one is full, I can dump it into the maturing container. I've used some of the compost straight from the box too, but it's a pretty strong fertilizer at that point. If you want to plant in just the compost, it takes a lot longer until it has reached a point where it won't burn seedlings. I think I can safely use it for new plants in spring, but I'll probably get a new cage by then to keep differently aged compost separate.

The egg plant is still alive, and the leaves have grown quite a lot, so looks like I didn't kill it by planting the root clump with fresh black soil on the bottom, and fresh compost around the sides.

 

[vehve]

Great drama in the compost today. I put the thermometer on the edge while turning batch 2 around, and forgot it was there when I closed the lid, smashing the thermometer. Looks like I need to start looking for a new one then.

Batch 2 has now turned mostly black. There are still some big carrots that are identifiable there, but they are starting to go mushy and will soon break down. I think it will be done in a few weeks. The level has gone down almost 20cm, so it has really compacted. I think it's better if you get the container filled a little at a time, that way the process has time to start underneath, and you don't get as much compacting during the break down process when you stop adding to the pile. I think one reason why batch 2 hasn't heated up as nicely as batch 1, is that it has less mass to it. I'm expecting this batch to be done in about 2 weeks.

 

[scottcaddy]

Great drama in the compost today. I put the thermometer on the edge while turning batch 2 around, and forgot it was there when I closed the lid, smashing the thermometer. Looks like I need to start looking for a new one then.

Batch 2 has now turned mostly black. There are still some big carrots that are identifiable there, but they are starting to go mushy and will soon break down. I think it will be done in a few weeks. The level has gone down almost 20cm, so it has really compacted. I think it's better if you get the container filled a little at a time, that way the process has time to start underneath, and you don't get as much compacting during the break down process when you stop adding to the pile. I think one reason why batch 2 hasn't heated up as nicely as batch 1, is that it has less mass to it. I'm expecting this batch to be done in about 2 weeks.

Sorry about your breakable thermometer getting broke!
You might think about a 2 wire remote, they can be fixed in just a couple of min's if you cut the wire.

Scott (who has had to fix wires before)