I try to keep my pile in the mesophilic range. It does heat up a lot if I've added things like grass clippings, (in layers and spread around, but still they are like jet fuel), and what I notice is that a hot pile gets dried out quickly and the worms leave the scene. So then I'll mix, aerate, and water to get back to a medium heat that seems to make the nicest product.
The photo of your 'too hot' pile was interesting too, because there were larger sticks (or maybe stalks - I wasn't sure which) in the pile. My two compost piles don't often get very hot and I *thought* that maybe it's because I didn't mulch everything into smaller pieces before adding it.
My wife is a flower gardener and so she ends up with a ton of flower stems and dahlia tubers that go into the compost piles.
Anyway, your picture just made me realize I must be off balance with other elements of my piles (to have them remain on the cooler end), glad to know I don't have to break down *everything* that goes in and I can still reach a healthy mesophilic temp.
I just realized I can reply to comments right here, lol. (Still learning.) When it comes to how things get "too hot" - I think there's a spectrum of factors! Food chopped into smaller pieces can definitely help a pile get hot, because you're making bulky food scraps more available to aerobic bacteria (and those are the buggers responsible for the release of heat!). If you want your pile to get hotter, definitely consider a high nitrogen input - coffee, vegetable pulp, chicken poop, etc. The stalks you see in my photo are from having cleared a big, weedy yard at a friend's house, ha. The "fresh green" is also great food for aerobic bacteria, because it's young and easier for them to break down. They tend to go crazy with it. In general, though, you definitely do not have to break everything down in your pile, particularly if you are perfectly happy to wait awhile. Decay happens!
I justs googled if bunny poop is also high in nitrogen and it is :) I have three bunnies and I usually just add some of their poop directly into the garden beds before my wife plants her dahlias, but I'm realizing now that's kinda silly if I can instead apply that bunny poop into my two compost bins and speed up a much larger amount of healthy compost. With three of them, I certainly have enough to go around :P
yes, omg! if you have rabbits, you have one of the most *high nitrogen* inputs available!! that is straight compost gold, lucky you. keep me posted on how the composting goes!!
I try to keep my pile in the mesophilic range. It does heat up a lot if I've added things like grass clippings, (in layers and spread around, but still they are like jet fuel), and what I notice is that a hot pile gets dried out quickly and the worms leave the scene. So then I'll mix, aerate, and water to get back to a medium heat that seems to make the nicest product.
Yes, a thermophilic pile is too hot for worms and most other creatures! That's why I'm a meso-girl - we have that preference in common.
I learned a lot here :)
The photo of your 'too hot' pile was interesting too, because there were larger sticks (or maybe stalks - I wasn't sure which) in the pile. My two compost piles don't often get very hot and I *thought* that maybe it's because I didn't mulch everything into smaller pieces before adding it.
My wife is a flower gardener and so she ends up with a ton of flower stems and dahlia tubers that go into the compost piles.
Anyway, your picture just made me realize I must be off balance with other elements of my piles (to have them remain on the cooler end), glad to know I don't have to break down *everything* that goes in and I can still reach a healthy mesophilic temp.
I just realized I can reply to comments right here, lol. (Still learning.) When it comes to how things get "too hot" - I think there's a spectrum of factors! Food chopped into smaller pieces can definitely help a pile get hot, because you're making bulky food scraps more available to aerobic bacteria (and those are the buggers responsible for the release of heat!). If you want your pile to get hotter, definitely consider a high nitrogen input - coffee, vegetable pulp, chicken poop, etc. The stalks you see in my photo are from having cleared a big, weedy yard at a friend's house, ha. The "fresh green" is also great food for aerobic bacteria, because it's young and easier for them to break down. They tend to go crazy with it. In general, though, you definitely do not have to break everything down in your pile, particularly if you are perfectly happy to wait awhile. Decay happens!
So helpful!
I justs googled if bunny poop is also high in nitrogen and it is :) I have three bunnies and I usually just add some of their poop directly into the garden beds before my wife plants her dahlias, but I'm realizing now that's kinda silly if I can instead apply that bunny poop into my two compost bins and speed up a much larger amount of healthy compost. With three of them, I certainly have enough to go around :P
Been learning a lot from your posts!
yes, omg! if you have rabbits, you have one of the most *high nitrogen* inputs available!! that is straight compost gold, lucky you. keep me posted on how the composting goes!!