The compost "TURN"

[The Gardenfather]

I'm inmy first foray into composting...I have a dual sided open compost bin that is 4x4 on each side, first side is approximately half full, browns on bottom, greens on top...still early in the season here in NW AR...have about 1 month to last frost...my question is, once the first bin is "full" how do you "turn" the compost (Obviously w/ a pitchfork) but do you essentially "flip-flop" it into the next bin and once you have done so, how long should I expect before I have viable compost/soil??

Thanks!

[farmerlon]

It's common for the compost pile to be built in layers, as materials come available. However, at some point, you want all of the material to be "incorporated" (mixed) together.
So, turn the pile to mix the Greens and Browns together. If you've got a good mix of Greens and Browns, the pile will have a favorable carbon/nitrogen ratio and (with the right moisture and oxygen present) the compost will start "cooking", even during the winter months.

[rainbowgardener]

What I do is basically flip the old pile onto the other side top down, so the newest stuff, the top of the old pile, is now the bottom of the new pile. I take the stuff off the old pile down to the level where the earthworms are. Leave that where it is, stir it around and aerate it a bit. That is usually mostly finished compost and now that it is exposed and aerated it will finish up very quickly.

The stuff in the new pile just sits there and gets more stuff added on top as it comes along. I do that about every 3-4 months (longer in winter, it just sits from Sept/Oct until Feb, just getting more stuff piled on).

[soil]

if you have bins next to each other, the top simply becomes the new bottom and the bottom the new top.

[toxcrusadr]

But, since you basically have two layers, you need to get them mixed better when you turn.

If you can open the side of the bin, start forking a shallow layer at the front of the pile and go all the way down to the bottom so you get both layers mixed into the second bin. Then move farther back into the pile and repeat. I hope that makes sense.

[The Gardenfather]

Thanks for all of the advice/suggestions...sometimes a little affirmation goes a long way!

[rot]

Thanks for all of the advice/suggestions...sometimes a little affirmation goes a long way!

..
Yes it does. Your reply just reminded me to thank everyone past, present and, future for your comments and suggestions and explaining to a somewhat dense me how you do things.

Thank you all
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