Hot composting with chicken bedding and garden waste

[vehve]

Still at 27C in the bin. We had a slightly colder night outside though, it was about 5C colder than the previous night.

 

[RichnSteph]

vehve every time I read one of your updates it reminds me that I've been lazy in my attempts to get good compost.

I'll get on it tomorrow..... I hope.

 

[scottcaddy]

Quote: We live just a 1/4 mile from an old (shut down for years) brickyard, and have old bricks (not junk) all over the place. They keep the hens and dogs from getting too dig happy. I do feel sorry for anybody who tries to dig in some of the hen runs, let alone the dog pens!!

I do the two heap method, build one while I use/give away the old one in a round-about-way. The hens try to make the pile flat from about 5 foot in height at the start and spread it out to 20 foot across.
Scott

 

[vehve]

@RichnSteph Go work on your compost immediately!

It was 27C again this morning... darn thing doesn't want to heat up.

 

[RichnSteph]

@RichnSteph Go work on your compost immediately!

It was 27C again this morning... darn thing doesn't want to heat up.

I did, sort of. I went out to turn it and the way it looks just makes me want to give up. It's all clumpy and very very wet, the pine chips I stupidly put in there months ago are still there and not breaking down at all and there is a rather icky smell if I dig down to the very bottom. Once again the pile refuses to heat up but that might be due to a limited amount of green stuff in there and there are once again about a billion little black and red mites in there.

I'm trying to decide between building an open air 3-pallet bin that the chickens can get into, tossing it all out into the back of the property and starting over or keeping it like it is so that the BSF larvae will have plenty to eat on once the weather warms up and they come back.

 

[HennyPennyCO]

I did, sort of. I went out to turn it and the way it looks just makes me want to give up. It's all clumpy and very very wet, the pine chips I stupidly put in there months ago are still there and not breaking down at all and there is a rather icky smell if I dig down to the very bottom. Once again the pile refuses to heat up but that might be due to a limited amount of green stuff in there and there are once again about a billion little black and red mites in there.

I'm trying to decide between building an open air 3-pallet bin that the chickens can get into, tossing it all out into the back of the property and starting over or keeping it like it is so that the BSF larvae will have plenty to eat on once the weather warms up and they come back.

I'm thinking that the mites you have are mites (sorry, haven't found the official name yet), not spider mites. Spider mites don't like wet, but these mites do.
See below. It's about vermi-composting but should apply to regular composting:

From http://www.naturesfootprint.com/community/articles/worm-bin
Mites

Mites are the most common pests to show up in your vermicomposter. Most worm beds usually contain several species of mites. Earthworm mites are small and are usually brown, reddish or somewhere in-between. They tend to concentrate near the edges and surfaces of the worm beds and around clusters of feed. They are not known for attacking the earthworms but do eat the worm’s food. When the mite population is too high the worms will burrow deep into the beds and not come to the surface to feed, which hampers worm reproduction and growth.

Mites are usually red or brown and enjoy wet bin conditions.​

Mites can compete with the worms for available food if the population spirals too high. High mite populations usually result from:

• Feeding the earthworms overly moist garbage and vegetable refuse as feed.
• Over-watering. Keep the beds damp but not wet.
• Poor bed drainage. Ensure that there are adequate drainage holes at the bottom of your worm bin or housing.

Remember, the same conditions that ensure high worm production will be less favorable to mites. If you find your worm farm overrun by mites, expose the beds to the sun for a few hours. Cut back on water and feed and then, every 1 to 3 days, add calcium carbonate. Add additional shredded paper or coconut coir to absorb any excess moisture. Drain off any liquid that has collected in the base and check to make sure the spigot is not plugged."

You can also use perforated drain pipe to put in the heap (either vertical or horizontal) to allow air in. I can cut three pieces out of a 10' length of perf drain pipe. I just happen to have one piece and it says: ADS/HANCOR 3000 TRIPLE WALL HDPE 3"ID (75mm) - bought at Lowe's. Another method is to lay branches across the bottom of the heap, but that does make it a bit tricky to turn the heap.

 

[RichnSteph]

Thanks HennyPennyCO. I emptied the entire pile into a four sided open topped bin at the back of the property and it will stay there to dry out (if it ever stops raining) and complete whatever it can as far as becoming "compost" over the next few months. I'm not even going to turn it, just let it sit. We're starting another bin with nothing but kitchen/garden waste (no meats or anything like that), dried leaves and grass clippings once I start mowing the yard again. The part that makes me laugh is that as I was digging it out and shoveling it into the wheel barrow I found a large section near the bottom where I'd tossed in a lot of veggie scraps from the kitchen that was actually steaming in the cooler air that came in with the cold front today.


So now we have one pile resting out back and a new one started. I have a lot to learn with compost it seems.

 

[vehve]

I'm still thinking a bit of watering and turning would have gotten it going. Those mite instructions don't necessarily apply directly to composting, at least not the hot kind. But, if you leave that pile of yours for long enough, eventually it will break down too.

My box is cooling down a bit again. I was saving some sprout rinsing water to put on them, but about 3 minutes before I was about to go pour it in the bin, Karin had tossed it. Now I have to wait a few days before I get enough of it again. It seemed like it would have worked nicely too, it was starting to build up alcohol judging by the smell.

 

[aart]

...... but about 3 minutes before I was about to go pour it in the bin, Karin had tossed it. Now I have to wait a few days before I get enough of it again. It seemed like it would have worked nicely too, it was starting to build up alcohol judging by the smell.

Tell her if she doesn't save the sprout water you'll have to resort to that other 'golden' liquid...

 

[vehve]

Yeah, she wasn't aware I was going to use it. Her thinking isn't as compost oriented as mine.