Heating up the newest compost pile

Starting a new compost pile in the dead of winter certainly isn't the preferred method to use for things to get going easily, but sometimes you just have to take things as they come. Most composters get things going when the fresh grass clippings become available in the spring, because they're both bountiful and effective, too. However, no matter what time of year it is when my new piles are built, i'm gonna do whatever is necessary to get things cranked up. Anyway, all nitrogen sources on hand were used to fill the older bins recently, so me and the wife were off to gather some more last Saturday for this newest addition. This first one is a no-brainer, and at $4.99 for a 16 lb. bag - is certainly a good investment for the return. Dry dog food is one of my favorite things to add in the winter time, but we don't put any of Jude's high dollar "Beneful" in there...That stuff's expensive! Some think that using dog food is just asking for racoon trouble, but not the way I do it..

Photo below - We also spent an entire day shopping for Auburn BCS Championship apparel out of town, and you can bet that stops were made at 5 different Starbuck's in the area. By the day's end, we had about $100 worth of Auburn stuff (WE'RE #1!...WE'RE #1!), and also 100 lbs. of UCG's. Yeehaw! Talk about a great day....

Photo below - On Sunday, the new pile of leaves was raked back away from the center to create a trench, then the entire bag of dog food and 10 lbs of the UCG's were sprinkled on top.This was done at about 2 feet from the bottom, because doing it at the very bottom of the pile would be senseless. I mean...those UCG's would just fall right through the leaves, and end up on the ground....

With lots of rain forecast over the next couple of days, no water was added before topping the whole thing off with at least a foot of more leaves. It's easier to just let Mother Nature water it for me. :-) We'll check the temperature in about a week to see how things are doing, then add 10 more lbs. of UCG's and also a bag of dry molasses before turning. These 3 ingredients are pretty much all I use in the winter, but grass clippings reign supreme in the warmer months.
With that being said, this composting cycle is finally in high gear, and time can be spent on other things for a while. It seems like alot of compost to most people, but I really need alot to fill everything on the property as planned...

In other news, I went to my local Lowes, and found a clearance rack that had all kinds of gardening goodies on it. There were 3 containers of organic granular fertilizer normally priced at $7.98 each that had been reduced to only 99 cents. Man.....if I would have only gotten there sooner! Dangit.....

Lastly, I wanted to mention that i've added another blog to the blogroll on the right side of the page - toward the bottom. I encourage everyone to check it out. Heh.

Take care, and happy composting!

EG