stephenabney
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Posts: 9
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: Lexington, KY

Should I combine the leftover old pile with the new pile?

I started my first compost pile last July, and early this spring, I sifted the pile. I got some great compost from it, but I was hoping to get some more from it later this year by letting it sit longer. So I left it by itself and started a new pile, thinking if I add to the old pile, I'd get no more compost from it this year.

Was this a good idea, or would it have been better for me to take the leftovers from last year and combine it with new materials all in one pile?

Thanks!
Last edited by stephenabney on Wed May 05, 2010 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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rainbowgardener
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Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

I generally take the top half (unfinished part) of my pile to be the bottom of a new pile and just add new stuff on top

It's finished when you can't see any of the original ingredients (except perhaps a bit of eggshell if you put that in); it is all a uniform dark brown color and crumbly texture. It should smell only fresh and earthy. There will be a few earthworms left, but not tons, and few other compost critters; the worms and bugs migrate to where the most food/ freshest stuff is.



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