Even though the very center portion of the main pile was still around 130 degrees, you can bet that alot of "greens" had been thrown on top over the past 2 weeks - just waitin' to get blended in with the other stuff. At least 5 gallons of used coffee grounds, a small bag of dry cat food (a gift) and a few banana peels were strewn across the top, and I could tell they were excited to get in on the action...hehe..I had to tell them "Oh, you just wait....you'll get your turn". Anyway, below is a closeup of some of the ingredients. As usual, you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
But, before blending everything in, I wanted to really kickstart the entire pile by adding a 50lb. bag of alfalfa pellets. This bag was purchased for less than $13, and would be a great addition to the dry molasses blended in a couple of weeks ago. Boy, Jude was having a fit for this stuff, as I had to tell her to get away from the bag several times before applying it to the piles.
Photo below - Man, just look at all of that......woo doggie! After a liberal soaking with water, this stuff was ready for blending....I don't think i've ever shown the main bin from this aspect, but it is 12 ft. long....
As soon as the auger was lowered down into the center, steam began rising from it. Man....this stuff was already hot - but only in 1/3 of the total bin, as previously discussed...My hopes were to get the whole thing cooking, because the 2 end sections were doing absolutely nothing. The following evening I decided to probe the center again with my thermometer to see what was goin' on, and this baby was already heated up.
A reading of 152 is really good, and it's the first time i've achieved a level this high. Hopefully, no microbes will be killed from the temperature, because theoretically 150 is the suggested limit. After 2 years of learning how to compost, I can officially say that I am a real composter now. Yay! The day after this photo was taken I checked it again, and one spot was 158. Boo!!!!!! Thankfully, we have a couple of rainy days starting today, which should cool it down a bit. Whew.....
Take care, and happy composting!
EG
12 comments:
I was wondering if in your area you local coffee shop offers free coffe grounds. I just discovered that mine does after reading a sign "coffee grounds for your garden", they gave me a big back of it. Just thought I would pass that along, since you have such a big compost bin. Keep the information coming I like to read the blogs.
EG, "Oh, you just wait....you'll get your turn" -- cracked me up! Pun intended, I'm sure! Anyway, thanks for all the great info on your garden. I sometimes struggle with ours, even though I've been doing this for awhile. Currently, I am trying to figure out seed starting. My little guys are in the front room by the wood stove and in the kitchen on a towel on a counter. Not the greatest, to say the least. Your site has great ideas and I enjoy reading it. Thanks!
~~Lori
I am trying my hand at composting on a small scale in a trash can on the back porch....My husband just purchased 16 yards of mushroom compost mixed with topsoil so that's being used now....
That pile is really starting to cook, nice! Ever phone grocery stores to see if you can take spoiled produce off their hands?
EG...that is going to be some awesome compost...I appreciate all the lessons on this topic as I too strive to be a great composter some day :)
Cynthia - the closest Starbuck's is about 45 miles away, and occasionally i'm up that way for something, and of course drop by to get some. Most of the time they give me around 40 lbs.
Lori - thanks! I'm glad you like it....
Darla - I've heard of people using a garbage can to make compost, but never tried it myself. I hope yours works well for ya!
Dan - a local pig farmer has been getting all the scrap produce from the grocery stores for years - so no luck there...
Sunny - I believe it is gonna be some good stuff, too. The alfalfa pellets really bring alot of nutrients into the mix.
I don't have a compost thermometer so never know how hot it gets. I can tell if it heats up because when turn it I can feel the heat and see the steam. I have such a low tech compost pile. I love seeing yours which is the opposite of mine.
Daphne - the best thing about having a thermometer, is that it lets you know when not to turn the pile.
Like Daphne, I am rather low tech on my composting and enjoy reading about your more focussed compost production. Inspires me to think about changing my composting ways. :D
Hi EG... I was just talking with my DH and we were wondering where you found the alfalfa pellets. I'm thinking at a feed store where they mix feed for cows, etc. We have several feed stores in my little community but they only sell pre-mixed & bagged feed. There is one feed store in another town that mixes feed so I'm thinking that they might have it there. Will the alfalfa pellets add nitrogen to heat up the compost piles? Keep up the good work on the blog! I love reading your posts :-)
Judy - they came from the local farmer's cooperative, and are a very good nitrogen source. Because of the low cost and effectiveness, i'll be adding this stuff to the piles each year.
Judy - they came from the local farmer's cooperative, and are a very good nitrogen source. Because of the low cost and effectiveness, i'll be adding this stuff to the piles each year.
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