Seedfork said:... now I pretty much just add what I have when I have it. Keep the pile moist and turn it a few times in the warm weather and presto finished compost. ...
... now I don't really have a time limit, it is ready when it is ready.
Seedfork said:I started out with my first compost piles doing layers, then moved to mixing, now I pretty much just add what I have when I have it. Keep the pile moist and turn it a few times in the warm weather and presto finished compost. As I have more or less reached the point of not needing so much compost I am becoming more content to let the piles set for longer periods. At first I thought I had to produce finished compost in no more than three months, now I don't really have a time limit, it is ready when it is ready.
chelle said:Yep, the wetter the better. Also, I really do believe that the shovelful of soil adds the necessary organisms responsible for the breakdown process. They'll eventually find their way to it anyway, but it's probably quicker to add them at the beginning. Quicker being a very relative term! My *hidden from view* area is shady, so it still took quite a while.
RickCorey said:
For a while, I had a "compost row" rather than a compost heap. When I "turned" it, I would first add more raw materials to the right side. Then I would rake the UNfinished, dry, woody outer layer to the right, on top of the new stuff.
I would shovel the more-nearly-finished central part to the left. I would be careful to rake some "cooking" compost to the right and on top of the new stuff, then water it in.