Compost turns chunky mulch into rich, crumbly soil. It’s one of the best ways to recycle nutrients in your garden: weeds, kitchen scraps and garden clippings break down into valuable soil inputs. The decomposition process invites worms, bacteria and fungi that add disease resistance, water and nutrient retention to the soil.
TO hot compost pile It is the fastest way to turn raw materials into black, brittle earth. You can have a subscription in just two weeks! Microorganisms generate heat as they work to eat the leftovers. Heat helps speed up mulch decomposition and kill disease or weed seeds.
If you made a pile recently, it may take a few days to warm up. There are some tricks you can use to increase heat levels and effectively manage your subscription. The question remains: what temperature should our compost piles be at? Let’s dive into hot and cold fertilizerand how to keep your battery running at its peak.
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The short answer
The fertilizer must have different temperatures depending on its life cycle. Fresh batteries are the hottestwhile the ripe and cured ones cool. As microorganisms, worms and nematodes devour the raw waste, they produce tons of heat. It dissipates after they consume all the waste, and you can then harvest the pile and use its compost in your garden.
Decomposition occurs at its peak between 104-140°F (40-60°C). As waste is depleted, temperatures slowly drop below 84°F (29°C). Wear a soil thermometer to measure piles, or watch for visible steam rising from freshly turned compost.
The long answer
Compost is complex! How hot your battery gets depends on particle size, aeration, moisture levels and brown to green ratios. Let’s dive in.
Hot compost is hot!
It’s magical that you can Pile dead leaves, banana peels, and plant clippings to create fresh soil. Hot compost piles are the best way to go, as they create conditions conducive to the good microorganisms you want in your soil. Take proper care of your pile and it will take excellent care of your plants.
Hot batteries require proper ratio of browns to greensusually around 2:1 or 3:1; This results in a 30:1 ratio of carbon to nitrogen in most cases, which is ideal for the method. The brown ones are dried plant material. such as dead leaves, thin twigs, chemical-free paper waste, and straw. The greens are cool material. such as kitchen scraps, succulent plants, grass clippings and farm animal manure.
Once you have mixed the materials into a pile, Water it so it is 50% moist.. Grab a piece and squeeze it; It should feel like a wrung out sponge. If no water comes out, the pile needs more watering. If water comes out loosely, it is wet enough and should be dried. Turning batteries upside down helps them dry faster if they are too wet.
Weed seeds and pathogens
Keeping compost warm ensures that weed seeds and plant pathogens are killed during decomposition. Healthy bacteria and fungi outcompete them and create a rich home for insects, worms and algae. Marijuana seeds cannot survive the heatand they die too.
Certain temperatures destroy these unwanted additions more easily than others. Make sure your battery stays above 40°C (104°F) for five days. During these five days, you’ll want your entrees to be above 131°F (55°C) for four hours. Most diseases, pests and seeds. wilt at these temperatures.
Certain weeds such as mint, bamboo, kudzu or English ivy survive these temperatures. Keep harmful invasive plants away and they won’t have a chance to take over the place. Most annual or perennial weeds cannot survive and you can plant them without worries. If you are curious whether a weed will die or not, Try a small piece of one on a hot pile.. If it dies, you can safely assume it is valuable green material.
Cold fertilizer is fresh
If you are making cold (passive) compost, you don’t have to worry about its temperature. This method uses gradual decomposition over many months with little oxygen. It takes advantage of natural processes similar to hot compost, although at a much slower pace.
The only disadvantage is Weed seeds and pathogens do not die in cold piles.. However, there is a positive side; Allowing these things may not be so harmful. When weeds sprout, you can pull them up and place them in the ground. They will decompose over time, adding cover and nutrients where weeds used to grow.
Pathogens are a little different.Cold hemorrhoids may not kill them.. I still put something on it diseased leaves in them as an immunity booster. Good bacteria, fungi, and archaea compete with diseases for space and nutrients. Then you spread the decomposed material and help your plants resist the pathogens that died on it. However, more rampant diseases can proliferate. Be careful with this method if you have problems with garden diseases.
Increase the heat
A cold battery is heated quickly with a few techniques. Before making your stack, Chop all the pieces of mulch into smaller sizes.. Small particles are easier for the organisms that make up the compost to eat and facilitate faster decomposition.
It can increase heat in existing batteries by manipulate water levels and air flow or adding a protein-rich amendment. If the piles are cold and dry, they need water and proper spin. Using a wide fork or pitchfork, prick the decomposing mulch and turn it. Bring particles from the outside in and then rake the area to keep it tidy.
Piles that work slowly may need a nutrient boost. Amendments such as grass clippings, oats, soybean meal and alfalfa pellets provide a source of nutrients such as protein and nitrogen that breaks down quickly. Incorporate them everywhere and avoid adding new waste for a few weeks.
Can it be too hot?
extreme heat It kills both good and bad microbes, meaning your amendment will be devoid of life when you add it to your garden beds. Temperatures above 140-149°F (60-65°C) are too high for sensitive bacteria, fungi and archaea.
The best way to lower temperatures is by spinning. Turning daily with a pitchfork ensures that the piles stay hot, but not too hot. It also maintains a constant flow of oxygen to beneficial microbes, allowing them to quickly eat raw mulch and kitchen scraps.
Curiously, Turning piles can also increase temperatures.. It allows microbes to reach new, undecomposed particles they haven’t touched, and they feed frantically. When you cycle a battery, introduce airflow and increase microbial activity; These actions balance each other, resulting in an optimal composting temperature.
Seasons affect temperature
the final uncontrollable factor It’s the weather. Cool, humid weather starts cold composting that happens. Decomposition still occurs, just at a much slower rate than when there is sunlight and warm temperatures.
Keep piles at least three feet wide, long and tall. The larger ones trap heat inside.and they rot better during the winter than the small ones. Even in the best of situations, most piles will not decompose easily until the following spring and summer.
Start making new piles in early spring. for a mid-summer harvest or early summer for a fall harvest. You can also keep a pile running continuously and add to it as you generate waste. Then when you want to harvest, Dig to the bottom of the pile and use the crumbling amendment..
No matter the method or style of composting, you can’t go wrong generating waste recycling. Compost is a invaluable natural amendment. When you make your own, you channel waste away from landfills. This budget conscious action It also helps your ornamental plants and crops thrive with valuable microbes, nutrients and insects.
