A few years ago I interned at a permaculture farm in the Bay Area. I was there for about a month, working full time, and experienced true hands-on learning. I want to share some of my experiences with you. This post will take you through the steps of how to build your own hot compost pile. The pictures are from the first hot compost pile that I made while interning on the farm.
Begin building the compost pile by creating a foundation of branches in a square formation. The contents of the pile must be the right mixture of carbon and nitrogen in order to ensure the best decomposition. Materials have been split into Browns, offering more carbon, and Greens, offering more nitrogen. Browns are wood, cardboard, newspaper, leaves, fruit waste, sawdust, or straw. Greens are food waste, garden waste, grass clippings, hay, manures, vegetable scraps, seaweed, or coffee grounds. With this in mind, Trilby advised us to add layers of manure, weeds, branches, food waste, and garden waste.
An important component is water because it accelerates the heating process in the pile.
Once the pile reaches 160 degrees, all the weed seeds will be killed. It is important that the water be added while the pile is being made because the bacteria that kill the weeds are most prevalent in the first phase of decomposition, and moisture aids in reaching 160 degrees. Once the pile has been built, spray the entire pile with water once again. Then coat it in straw to keep the smell from attracting rats and mice. Lastly, cover the pile with a tarp and insert a thermometer to keep track of the pile’s temperature. Turn the pile after 3-5 days. Add water to the pile while turning it to help the decomposition once again.
And Viola! Soon you'll have the richest soil you could ask for to begin a new veggie bed or add to an old one. I love compost piles because they are such clear representations of the cycle of life and death - the old leaves and fruits dying to decompose and from that decomposition new life can grow. Just like the first law of thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. The energy of the dead food waste, branches, ect, is changed into the form of compost, which is changed into the form of new life when seeds are planted. These seeds grow into plants, die, and then the whole cycle begins again. Just some food for thought ;-)
Excellent! Stuff like this is being taken more seriously now as more people realise the consequences of our lifestyle. You seem to be living one which should inspire more people. Good luck!
Thanks so much :-)
Composting is fun! Have you ever tried using the heat of a compost for slow cooking? I'll be doing this as an experiment in the near future but am wondering if you've encountered anyone who has. :D
P.S. Great post!
Whoa! That's a new concept to me and one that I'm going to have to try out soon. Reading up on some articles about slow cooking in compost now, let me know how your experiment goes!
Nice! Some of my "farm" is recycled plastic is slowly struggling. And i suspect it has something to do with the nutrients in the soil. Seems like leaves are not working anymore.. :(
Complete life cycle there. No waste ! Beautiful!
Hmm not sure what advice to give you there..
It is so beautiful!
35 years ago I was attending the Waldorf school (K1-12) in Stuttgart Germany. They have a biodynamic/organic garden and gardening education program that has been running since Rudolf Steiner started biodynamics. Compost piles were an integral part of the program, so I can really appreciate this article. Thank you!
That's incredible! I'm so happy to hear that such schools exist in Germany :-) Kids are the key to our future!
Indeed, our kids hold the future in their hands now, we need to guide them in the right direction.
Great, helpful post. I haven't had a yard to manage since 1986 and now I have 1/8th of an acre that is my challenge. Have a compost bin and your thoughts/description gives me insight on just how it works and how to work it. Thanks, ~ljl~