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Compost/Composter Help

Canes1

Canes1

I built my Composter and filled it a week ago and have been adding a little during the week.I was wondering how long should it take to start working and start getting warm or hot? It seems a tiny bit warm in the middle when I open and poke my hand in there, I spin it daily and is moist and it has an earthly smell.Its more browns then greens,but I don't have access to grass clippings of how dry it has been here. Is it to early or should I add some

Thanks guys
 
     What Phil said is all gold. Also, if your composter is small, the mass of material inside just might not be big enough to generate a huge amount of heat and go thermophilic. I have a hard time achieving critical mass with less than about 1-1.5 yd of material. More than that and I usually see temps of 140-160F in a few days.
 
Phil said:
You'll need some greens in there to kick the process into high gear. Browns by themselves can take a while to break down. Vegetable scraps from the kitchen can help in the absence of grass clippings, but if you could get your paws on some clippings, it would help a lot.
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spot on
 
Thanks guys,i just stole a 5 gallon bucket of grass from my moms lol. The composter is 30-35 gallons so let's see what happens when I dump the clippings in.
 
moruga welder said:
ask around at work , neighbors , those who bag , lawn care people , just ask if its chemical free .  get boat loads for nothing .   !      :onfire:
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I usually can have all I need from my own yard but we are in a drought this summer so the Cub Cadet has a vacation.
 
You can also stop by a Starbucks and ask for a bag of spent grounds.
Large amounts of coffee grounds can generate a lot of heat.
 
sobelri said:
You can also stop by a Starbucks and ask for a bag of spent grounds.Large amounts of coffee grounds can generate a lot of heat.
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We go through a lot of coffee too, I have been dumping them in.
 
Canes1 said:
We go through a lot of coffee too, I have been dumping them in.
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Just keep the coffee grounds together in one large 'clump'. If you distribute them evenly through the bin,
they don't generate as much heat.
 
I put in 5gal of grass clippings and after a few days it feels warm in the middle after I stick my hand in it,not very hot,maybe more greens or just does it need more time?
 
I'm going through the same thing with my tumbler composter. I think I need to fill the entire thing up with grass cutting and spent coffee
 
ColdSmoke said:
I'm going through the same thing with my tumbler composter. I think I need to fill the entire thing up with grass cutting and spent coffee
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Wish I could,its been so dry here haven't cut the grass in weeks.Been ripping the high grass around the garden
 
Does it mean my composter is working if I'm getting pieces in it that look like horse poop? It has a bunch in there and I really don't have any bad smells coming from it.
 
Canes1 said:
I put in 5gal of grass clippings and after a few days it feels warm in the middle after I stick my hand in it,not very hot,maybe more greens or just does it need more time?
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More time and a little aeration would be my guess. As mention by another member, if you're looking for
really high heat (113-160 degrees) you need a large compost pile. You can make compost with a temp of 55
degrees but it just takes longer to breakdown.
 
Canes1 said:
Does it mean my composter is working if I'm getting pieces in it that look like horse poop? It has a bunch in there and I really don't have any bad smells coming from it.
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Temperature and appearance are better indicators than appearance in the early stages of composting. If you're
getting heat and no foul smells, you're on track to have compost.

Can I ask what is your expected timeline for getting usable compost?
 
sobelri said:
More time and a little aeration would be my guess. As mention by another member, if you're looking forreally high heat (113-160 degrees) you need a large compost pile. You can make compost with a temp of 55degrees but it just takes longer to breakdown. Temperature and appearance are better indicators than appearance in the early stages of composting. If you'regetting heat and no foul smells, you're on track to have compost.Can I ask what is your expected timeline for getting usable compost?
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Not really sure how long,first time doing it so I'm trying to pick everyone's brain......just checked it,not warm anymore but no foul odors from it and looks like everything is rotting pretty good.....the only thing is I keep putting more material in as it was warming up so maybe that is the problem,its out of whack again?
 
Canes1 said:
Not really sure how long,first time doing it so I'm trying to pick everyone's brain......just checked it,not warm anymore but no foul odors from it and looks like everything is rotting pretty good.....the only thing is I keep putting more material in as it was warming up so maybe that is the problem,its out of whack again?
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Understood. If you're still adding greens and browns to your compost pile, don't expect to see too much
activity on any indication that it's 'working'. At some point you'll have to stop adding new material and
that's when you should worry about consistent heat being produced.

Hope that helps.
 
sobelri said:
Understood. If you're still adding greens and browns to your compost pile, don't expect to see too muchactivity on any indication that it's 'working'. At some point you'll have to stop adding new material andthat's when you should worry about consistent heat being produced.Hope that helps.
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I'll let it go and see what smell I get or activity. I'll let it do its thing for a while,its pretty full anyways.
 
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