Turning the compost pile

[greasemonkeymann]

yup, matter is neither created nor destroyed. just recycled in different forms over and over. the grand scale of it all is what is really impressive.



thank you for this. i'm afraid the "cooler" portions of the compost are going to take forever with winter approaching. i suppose i could bring the mix inside if it gets too cold and just keep it on a tarp yeah?

I recommend one of these tools.

 

[ShLUbY]

I recommend one of these tools.
View attachment 3530016

i'll grab it when i go out for a few things for my new room. i can not wait for this compost to be done...

 

[iHearAll]

Your bringing homemade compost indoors? I'd recommend against that. Iv got a box full of gnats right now. And flypaper full of gnats.

 

[iHearAll]

nah, don't bother with that man.
if you compost it, it'll be LOADED with microbial life man.
Besides if I understand it correctly the type of microbial the plant prefers, so if you get the humus under a tree for example,i imagine the life to be more fungal, due to the ammonia preference of their nitrogen uptake.
whereas annual, veggies, fruits and such prefer their nitrogen in a nitrate form, which would mean more of a bacterial microbial life in the soil.
one of the reasons I like using cannabis leaves for a source of leaves (as well as grass clippings), as I imagine mother nature would have tweaked it to where the plant needs those to fall, break down, and decompost to recreate the ideal type of microbial life present in the soil.
right?
That's how the "cycle" works correct?
just like how apples "need" those decaying rotting apples to re-supply itself with nutrition, namely phosphorus...
Isn't that how it all works?
I'm not being an ass, i'm really asking, that's how I understand it to work anyways.
whew.. tangent... sorry guys.

I add probiotic bacteria to help make sure the microbe life isnt going to be meningitis or some other bacterial disease. I add them as frequently as I please. Spray the pile once a week and pour in gallons of ferments. All symbiotic relations with the plant still.

 

[ShLUbY]

Your bringing homemade compost indoors? I'd recommend against that. Iv got a box full of gnats right now. And flypaper full of gnats.

thanks for the heads up. i'll keep my eye on them. i have the pile tarped to help avoid some stuff like that. its getting cold hee though. i dont see many bugs outside right now. even in the back where i have a standing taller compost unit with fresh stuff on top there wasn't really much at all out there.

 

[ShLUbY]

ohhh yeaaahhhh that baby is steamin inside when i picked off a few inches from the top. the tarp had some good sweat on the inside as well.

we have a shit ton of rain forcasted for the next 20 hours or so starting at 2am. i have the tarp layed in a way that it will shed the rain water away from the bed where it is instead of oversaturating it. i put 5 gal of water on it yesterday, should be moist enough for now i would think.

 

[ShLUbY]

gave the compost a turn today. she was good and hot inside. too hot to touch in some spots, i almost thought it was gonna start fire lol

 

[iHearAll]

^wtf

 

[iHearAll]

I'm getting rain as well. I didn't wet my leaf moulding with anything but a starchy activator and wizz. Rain! Iv got 6 more gallons of activator fermenting woo. I'd like to feed this guy once a week and see what'll happen.

 

[ShLUbY]

^wtf

yeah, i know right? did you know that if you bale hay wet, that it will actually combust from the buildup of heat inside, and barns are burnt to the ground like this every year. so the grass clippings and extra N ingredients i added are heating up a lot!!! i turned it again today, looking great when i opened it up. nice and hot still. i wish i woulda been smart enough to do this the last few years. i'd have some killer box garden beds.

 

[ShLUbY]

Ok i got my compost tumbler cleaned out today with the garden hose. washed out a lot of packed in crap that had to be anaerobic. it looks good! so now that i have a better understanding of composting... i think i'm gonna give the tumbler another run. i'll be adding 2 buckets of maple leaf i mulched with the lawnmower, i'm gonna do 1 bucket of grass clippings if i can get a full bag, and i'm going to amend the compost with fishbone, crab, alfalfa, kelp, and neem seed meals, rock dusts, oyster shell flour, and gypsum. I think the grass clippings and amendments will supply enough N to get the thing rockin... and since its a smaller batch, i'm hoping i can get it through the tumbler faster. we shall see!!!!

 

[ShLUbY]

giving the compost tumbler another try, and filled it (half way) for some extra compost. 15 gallons of mulched leaves, 5gal of veggie scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds from the last week, 5 gal of grass clippings, and a big handful of each amendment I have and watered in with OG special sauce, fungi concentrate, ful-power, and UBSM "tea" so to say. none of the ingredients really needed bubbled, but i let them go for an hour while i put together the compost layers. too bad it's so cold out now, but it should get hot within the next 48hrs. Also watered in my bigger pile with the "tea" to try and jam some more microbe life into the pile. figured it couldnt hurt.

 

[ShLUbY]

@greasemonkeymann
so when i feel the compost is finished (which of course it is not), what would you recommend be done with it? Should I screen it, if so what size do you recommend?

 

[greasemonkeymann]

@greasemonkeymann
so when i feel the compost is finished (which of course it is not), what would you recommend be done with it? Should I screen it, if so what size do you recommend?

you can screen it if you want, but it's not needed, unless you have chunks of leaves still. Leaves will sort of sequester nitrogen the same way that wood does, only on a smaller scale.
BUT if it's done? you could use it unscreened.
I wouldn't bother when it's done, it's good to go as is.

 

[ShLUbY]

@greasemonkeymann

do you have a picture of your finished compost i could see? i'm starting to get some nice looking stuff here now. it's not done yet, but it's starting to smell and feel really freaking nice! i went through the whole pile by hand the other day, and broke up any amendment clumps that got wetted together. Note to self, don't just leave a clump of amendments in a pocket.... they just clump! they must be spread somewhat evenly, and they will break down much faster!! i found some squishy fishbone meal clumps that would for sure have been a bad thing if left together lol.

i also watered in another compost tea yesterday to boost the microlife since it's been cold here lately.... just wishful thinking i suppose