Compost Central

Hot compost is not the best name for this because the compost is dark, cool, earthy and healthy smelling like all compost. However, compulsive compost pile testers have reported thermometer readings of 160°F in a hard working hot compost pile. There are five stages of hot composting.

1. Gathering: Materials are gathered. I like to mix them as I go. Green materials are those high in proteins or nitrogen and are damp materials like fresh grass clippings, weeds, spent flowers, ktichen waste, and so on. Brown materials are dried stuff like straw, dry grass, wood shavings, leaves and the like. Generally speaking a mix of equal amounts by volume will give the right carbon to nitrogen mix for a hot pile. If it does not heat up at the first turning add green material. If you smell ammonia add brown.
2. Turning 1: When the gathering pile reaches the magic size of three feet diameter by three feet high, it is time to make the first turn. This is sort of like kneading bread. Every thing on the top and sides should reach the middle and the stuff in the middle should go to the outside. At the same time everything needs to be thoroughly mixed. Check for moisture. The pile should have a bit of a shine and feel like a damp rag. I like a thin tined fork like a pitch fork or manure fork for the task.
3. Turning 2: the pile should heat up after about a day and continue to heat for about three days, maybe four. Stick your hand in now and then or use a thermometer to see when the temperature drops and turn it again. You will likely see steam rising from the pile and a change in the material as it has started to break down. The turning will also be easier because the strands of material will break as you go.
4. Turning 3: The pile will be hotter after turning two because the pieces are smaller and the microbes are multiplying into billions of workers for you. When it starts to cool turn it again. Make sure there is enough moisture for the microbes to work. The pile should still be like a damp rag. Turning adds the air they need. This turning goes fairly quickly because the material has broken down so much. A snow shovel may help get the bottom of the pile as the small pieces are too tiny for a fork.
5. Turning 4 or use the pile: Turn as much as you think the pile needs. I usually stop after three but some like four or five and it can vary with the type of material used in the pile. I like to sift the pile through a 2" sieve into the garden cart and then use that snow shovel to distribute it. Anything that does not look composted enough, especially large woody items like mango pits or twigs, get tossed into the gathering pile to go through again.

I like to watch the pile change and the compost mature, especially at this rapid rate. On hot summer days it can take as few as two weeks although some report as many as ten in late fall composting. Some of my piles have frozen for the winter and certainly took longer.