Learning how to compost can be a tricky process. There are a lot of steps in making compost at home, and many problems you can run into along the way.
In today’s video, I’m troubleshooting a compost pile that wasn’t heating up anymore. What could be the problem? Usually it’s one of these things:
– Too little moisture
– Too much moisture
– Pile needs turning
– Wrong mixture of browns and greens
– Not enough material to hot compost
Let’s figure out which problem we have with the pile in my urban yard and see how I fix it!
IN THIS VIDEO
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Other links may be affiliate links in which we receive a commission.
– REOTEMP Compost Thermometer: https://amzn.to/2HewpBw
– Great Hot Compost Bin: https://amzn.to/2HdOy2j (Algreen Products)
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Ask your neighbors for their wast to add. Just a thought. Love your videos, and thank you for sharing them with us. Take care my young friend.
cool bin where did you get it?
I have tried for years with my compost bin. Many struggles and no success. It looks like yours but I don't have that layer option. I get the browns, green layers, and dampness along with starting with a yard of material. I am starting over from scratch. How many inches of each layer? As I learned the proper layers will create heat, not the air temp. Also, I discovered your channel about a month ago and have watched almost every single video. Your the best!!
your compost needs a ratio of of 30 to 1, carbon/nitrogen (or brown/green). All things being equal (moisture and air) save your urine for 24 hours, then pour it in to your compost. 24 hours later, your compost will heat up, and ,no, it won't smell. I think human urine contains 2% nitrogen ….
Hey Kevin. Can I use an outdoor trash bin or an oil drum for hot composting??
Oh man… You gotta shred that stuff! Get a used mulching mower toss all that stuff on the ground, add some wood chips and run over it a bunch of times. Problem solved. What I see in your pile is material that is practically still alive. You gotta break open those cellular structures to allow the microbes to access the material. The cell walls prevent them from doing that. Also, when you shred with a mower, it mixes all the C's with the N's intimately so the microbes have an ideal environment to operate within. You might think: I've done that before and it gets all slimy. That's because you don't have enough wood chips or leaves to absorb the excess moisture (and nitrogen) released when the cells are busted apart and then it goes anaerobic. I've got a 19 cubic yard pile of mostly wood chips (mass/area relationship) that got up to 169F which I know is too hot but this means a much smaller pile can easily go thermophilic using this technique. No smell, either. If anything it smells sweet but barely detectable. I live in frigid Alaska, so if it's possible here, it's possible almost anywhere.
Thank you so much for this video, it showed me that I need more moisture in my starting pile, so even though it wasn't the issue you were having I appreciate you showing how much moisture you added throughout.
Question: If I have a bunch of green leaves in a pile that have dried up, is it considered green or brown for composting?
do you add worms to yours? I'm about to start mine and read that the worms begin dying at around 95 degrees.
Thanks for this video, it was super helpful. My bins weren't hitting the right temp, so I put your tips into practice and BAM. They're working a charm now. My problem was lack of airflow and not enough water. All resolved now!
Thanks for this video. My compost never heats up and takes for ever.
Clickbait thumbnail haha. Otherwise, great info
These are all true possible causes but the main and most common answer is: add more nitrogen.
How long time compost has high temp…2 months or more?
I just dump hot water
Thank you, my compost is also not heating up but maybe that is due to winter period..I am in zone 5
1 yard = 0.91m so a qubic yard is 764,555 Liters of volume.
If you want to go easyer in terms of math on it, take 1m³ which equals 1000Liters of volume.
So you can't get any heat when you use large buckets?
Too much water u soaked it
Excellent video. Yup my pile had that steady 80.. I disassembled the pile. Layered wheat straw, grass clippings, and ofcourse watering at every step. In 24 hours, 120F. 36 hours .. 150F !! I had to touch the thermometer and burn my hand to be sure lol.
Grass clippings, straw, water + my old pile = scaring me now 🙂 I will water the pile to keep the temp below 160.
you did a video, showing a tumble compost bin and you added some 'accelerator' to it and I cant find that video. but I wanted to know what the material was you added to the bin? I think it was some brown pellets or something , but cant remember specifically. Thank you for any help
90% of the time its lack of fresh greens like lawn grass. STRAW SUCKS, latches onto the pitch fork its just a pain in the ass. The best compost i have made was sawdust, lawn clippings and water. Turn your pile every 24 hours is best
I just saw this today, thank you so much! I couldn't figure out why my compost wasn't heating up. After turning it thoroughly, I could feel it starting to give off a bit of heat. So thank you
hi, what if too hot
Where can I get that bin you are using? I tried following the link to Amazon for it but that particular one isn't what came up. The link for the thermometer however was correct. I would love to have that bin. Thank you @Epic Gardening
Bucket composting at the moment (1 bucket). Temperatures are maintaining 99-103 degrees F and I wondered if it is doing what it is suppose to do? I picked some over hanging grass (green material) did not chop them smaller though so will do so next time. Got some dried banana leaves (didn't chop smaller either). I won't give up. Thanks for the tips and video.
You answered my question!!! Thank you!!