Compost Cave

lakngulf · Thu Oct 30, 2014 8:30 pm

Finally, I am getting around to create a compost pile. It has been on my list ever since I bought a tractor in 2009. I have a tooth bar on my front end loader, and want to build a compost pile larger enough that I can use the front end loader to "flip" it every now and then.

So, to find a spot. Today I was moving some dirt to fill in a couple of spots. As I removed the dirt I noticed that I was building a hole in the bank of a ditch. I kept digging until I had an area in the bank about as big as the tractor.

Will this area work for composting? Or does the process need air on each side? Basically it is a cave without any dirt on top. Will it work?

rainbowgardener · Fri Oct 31, 2014 12:38 pm

A cave without a roof? Should work. You can help the air circulation along by inserting a couple PVC pipes with holes drilled in the bottom portion down into your pile (top to bottom). The heat differential from the center of the pile should push air through the pipe.

lakngulf · Sun Nov 09, 2014 9:27 pm

Here is a photo of the compost hole I am trying to create. It is dug into the bank of a ditch, and is about 6x10 and five feet high.

caverdude · Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:08 am

why did you need a hole? or just trying to find the space?

lakngulf · Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:18 pm

caverdude wrote:why did you need a hole? or just trying to find the space?

I needed the dirt to pad a parking space. I am all slanted ground where I live, so have to build up spots for parking, to make them semi-level.

digitS' · Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:52 am

I garden in a location with very infrequent, summer rain. Humidity is often below 20% by the end of the day.

My compost "pile" always starts out about 8" down ...

The soil that I have moved can be used to cap the pile during and at the end of the season. The increased ground contact the compost material has, maintains the moisture available for the microbes to do their work.

Steve