Accelerating a Cold Compost Heap

[ellal]

Anyone tried a wormery ? - I haven't.

We tried one for a few years, but we got mainly the liquid fertiliser and not a great deal of compost.
And to be honest the liquid didn't seem to be that beneficial, but maybe that was us using it wrong.

So we decided to give it up and put the whole contents into our normal compost bins.
The Tiger worms went forth and multiplied, and the compost from these bins does now seem to arrive a bit quicker.

 

[Mottie]

They call that juice 'worm tea' over the allotment. You dilute it down like you would any regular feed. An eggcup full or two to a watering can.

 

[StephenStephen]

2 suggestions to speed up your compost:

-Urine

-Insulation on top of the heap

 

[StephenStephen]

you think cold air in this weather is good for compost?

okay.

You think anaerobic composting is going to speed up the process?

(Just to join in the arrogant pompous sarcastic f-wittery!)

Okay

 

[Odds]

Yes.
I do.

 

[cwhaley]

Thanks all for the suggestions -- too many to reply to individually.

I accept the type of heap I've built is going to take a while but ideally need to speed it up. I've stopped adding to it now and have just added lots of cardboard on the top. I turn it every week to get plenty of new air in there.

Next year I'll go with hot composting, just because I need it ready for within a year of starting (so ready for the following spring). One suggestion I've seen is to make heap of old or spent compost with a large hole in the middle, which is filled with our food scraps/cardboard. The soil offers an insulating wall and the decomposing greens/browns are mixed in. When I say food scraps, I only chuck vegetable peelings, chopped up old fruit and veg, egg shells, etc. on.

I think somebody asked about urine? It does get a golden shower under the cover of darkness.

 

[fourtytwo]

I think somebody asked about urine? It does get a golden shower under the cover of darkness.

Check your neighbors for Infra-Red camera's

 

[Mottie]

They do say a layer of green (grass, cuttings etc.) and a layer of brown (twigs, wood chippings etc.) helps things along.

 

[elisa123]

I don't think you need to turn the compost every week. You can still put more compostable material on top of the card board. We add to the compost all the time with layers of card in between.