Comments on: Easy Organic Compost

By: ButchCivic

ButchCivic — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:48:47 +0000

My compost pile got to about 120° and stayed there for about a week. Now it’s at about 110°. I’m trying to get some bags of grass clippings from our gardener to help bring up the temp. I’m also getting two trash cans full of composted horse manure. Hopefully this will bring the pile up to between 150° & 160°. If the pile reaches this temp, how many degrees should it drop before I turn it? If I can’t get the temp up that high, and it stays between 110° & 130°, how many degrees should it drop before turning? Also, when the compost is finished, should the temp be the same as the outdoor temp, or a little warmer?

Thanks Again For All The Help.

By: David LaFerney

David LaFerney — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:30:59 +0000

Green grass clippings work great as do blood meal and manure. However horse manure contains a lot of weed seeds – which is alright as long as the pile is going to be good and hot for a while. At some point you want to stop adding stuff and just let it finish up – continue turning it and keep it damp. When it will no longer heat up it’s finished.

By: ButchCivic

ButchCivic — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:02:53 +0000

Thanks for the info on the hair. I bought a compost thermometer and started using it last Saturday. I checked the temp and it was about 140°. It had been about a week since I turned the pile, so I went ahead and did it. I also layered in a box of dog hair. Then I watered the pile, mixed, and watered again. I then raked the pile back into a nice sized mound(3+ feet tall & 5+ feet wide) and watered the outside of the mound. I inserted the thermometer down at an angle so it was right in the middle. The temp rose to 100° in a few minutes. So now it’s been 5 days and the temp is approaching 130°. I’d like to have a hot fast compost, so what’s the best thing to add to get it going? Should I add blood meal, green grass clippings, or manure? Or all three? Also, what’s better chicken or horse manure?

Thanks again for the previous help. I’m sure this site will save me tons of money on future outdoor projects.

Thanks A Lot.

By: David LaFerney

David LaFerney — Sat, 01 May 2010 19:36:16 +0000

That is absolutely not normal. Clearly your dog needs a real animal carcass to play with.

By: David LaFerney

David LaFerney — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:18:27 +0000

Dog hair = OK. Frontline – I don’t know about that. From a strictly organic position I’d say no. From a more pragmatic position I’d need to know what it is, how it effects people and how (and how long) it breaks down.

Anything that you put in a compost pile is apt to be contaminated with something.

Hair of any kind takes a LONG time to really break down, but in the mean time it doesn’t hurt anything, and it is organic.