The hot compost pile was at 66°C/151F today so it’s had three days over 65°C. Two days at that temperature is sufficient to kill weed seeds and pathogens.
10 litres of rainwater and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) diluted 1:1000 was added to the pile.
The pile had its first turn, outside to in.
Within an hour of turning it had heated up from 53°C/137F to 59°C/138F.
The pile should remain above 55°C/131F for the next three days when it will be turned again. #Compost #Composting #SolarPunkSunday
Today we emptied one of our full compost bins (200l plastic drums), which had been sitting undisturbed in the sun for a few months. The contents at the top were nearly black, dry and crumbly, full of black soldier fly larvae, and looking quite promising. Alas, the bottom was full of water and smelled pretty bad. (We're usually fairly careful to avoid pouring water in; it's somewhat possible that rainwater got into this drum at some point.)
Now we've drilled a couple of small holes near the base of the two drums, just to let water leak out slowly rather than accumulate. I imagine the holes might get blocked, but suitable poking devices will be deployed to fix it.
I wonder what else we should be doing to help with composting our kitchen waste.
Pollinators
Broadfork
Thomas
ES Michelson
Abhijit Menon-Sen
🦋🧿Tempestori 🌬🌊