Everything I've read about hot pile composting say to shred things as small as possible. I will be composting biodegradable diapers (made mainly from corn & sawdust). Do I need to shred them first, and are the considered greens or browns?
Thanks!!!
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rot
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Decomposition is a function of surface area. The greater the surface area exposed to the process the faster decomposition occurs. Shredding will increase the surface area. The larger the pieces the longer they will take to breakdown.
If the stuff is too small, not enough air gets in between pieces and things will smother. Try adding too much coffee grounds sometime and you will end up with the gooey mess I made once.
I hope you get things really hot throwing in diapers. Could be a pathogen issue if don't get things hot enough. The other path would be a 1 to 2 year cycle letting the worms do all the work.
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Decomposition is a function of surface area. The greater the surface area exposed to the process the faster decomposition occurs. Shredding will increase the surface area. The larger the pieces the longer they will take to breakdown.
If the stuff is too small, not enough air gets in between pieces and things will smother. Try adding too much coffee grounds sometime and you will end up with the gooey mess I made once.
I hope you get things really hot throwing in diapers. Could be a pathogen issue if don't get things hot enough. The other path would be a 1 to 2 year cycle letting the worms do all the work.
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Green vs Brownchagen wrote:Everything I've read about hot pile composting say to shred things as small as possible. I will be composting biodegradable diapers (made mainly from corn & sawdust). Do I need to shred them first, and are the considered greens or browns?
Thanks!!!
The urea is the liquid it would be a green or nitrogen source if there is feces I am not sure.
The bio-degradable diaper(corn & sawdust) would be a brown or carbon source.
So I guess it is both a green and brown
These will likely compost in 2-3 months in a hot compost or 6-12 months in an anaerobic or vermicompost compost.
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Charlie MV
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rot
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2 x 2 x 3 is 18 cu ft. My little hot compost bins are 17 cu ft and work fine.
120 F - 130 F seems pretty standard if you fill your bin up all at once with a decent mix. You can get higher temperatures with more work and optimal mixes, minding the moisture, etc. I use what's on hand and don't worry too much about getting the perfect mix of ingredients. My operation these days is geared towards digesting organics as opposed to trying to produce as much compost as possible.
Smaller bins are easier to turn too.
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2 x 2 x 3 is 18 cu ft. My little hot compost bins are 17 cu ft and work fine.
120 F - 130 F seems pretty standard if you fill your bin up all at once with a decent mix. You can get higher temperatures with more work and optimal mixes, minding the moisture, etc. I use what's on hand and don't worry too much about getting the perfect mix of ingredients. My operation these days is geared towards digesting organics as opposed to trying to produce as much compost as possible.
Smaller bins are easier to turn too.
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I used to turn my compost once a week but got tired to do so therefore I continued to throw my kitchen scrap in it with a layer of dry leaves gathered in bags in fall for the whole year and to pour some rain water kept aside in a container next to it (gathered also almost once a year since rain is so rare in Southern Cal.) and realized that beautiful worms took over and are doing my job : nothing now to do but waiting for the worms to disapear at the level of the front door at the bottom of my composter which is a sign that this part of the compost is ready to be harvested, wereas I continue to add the kitchen garbage on the top of it in an endless virtuous circle ... I pull all I can and leave it to cure in containers and use it according to need (either diluted in water or as such (humus form) added to soil (in pots or directly in garden).
I didn't by the worms (being from the country side the idea of buying worms was outrageous to me) they just came by themselves ... I don't separate worms from compost either when some remain since they are good for the soil and because they reproduce as fast as their population diminishes, no need to bother ...
Last point I put my composter directly on the ground but on a strong wire netting to prevent rodents to dig tunnels to reach the compost and my delicious worms : yes they tried once ... not anymore ...
Hope it might useful to someone ...
I didn't by the worms (being from the country side the idea of buying worms was outrageous to me) they just came by themselves ... I don't separate worms from compost either when some remain since they are good for the soil and because they reproduce as fast as their population diminishes, no need to bother ...
Last point I put my composter directly on the ground but on a strong wire netting to prevent rodents to dig tunnels to reach the compost and my delicious worms : yes they tried once ... not anymore ...
Hope it might useful to someone ...
Are you certain that "ash" wasn't just fungal hyphae and spores? I have 6 ft piles of woodchip compost that get turned only after they cool down (once every 4-6 weeks). The turning starts them cooking again. The interiors of these piles resembles ash and the spores puff up like smoke, and yes, the organic material is a very dark brown because of the humification of the lignin (it is not char), but temps do not get anywhere near what is needed for flame-ash.
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rot
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Oops. 2 x 2 x 3 is 12 cu ft not the 18 I stated previously. Smaller than my smallish bins. Generally, the smaller the bins the harder it is to get heat. Should only mean a little more care with somewhat lesser temperatures. Doable but I would want something larger. Classic minimal dimensions are 3 x 3 x 3. You can do that with pallets.
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jpcvb, you collect a years worth of rain water in a container? In so cal? Must be a huge container? Hats off. Earth Machine? That would retain moisture better and strikes me as a good basic digesting machine when the worms kick in. Can't imagine getting any heat but with enough worms you don't really need or want that do you?
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Oops. 2 x 2 x 3 is 12 cu ft not the 18 I stated previously. Smaller than my smallish bins. Generally, the smaller the bins the harder it is to get heat. Should only mean a little more care with somewhat lesser temperatures. Doable but I would want something larger. Classic minimal dimensions are 3 x 3 x 3. You can do that with pallets.
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jpcvb, you collect a years worth of rain water in a container? In so cal? Must be a huge container? Hats off. Earth Machine? That would retain moisture better and strikes me as a good basic digesting machine when the worms kick in. Can't imagine getting any heat but with enough worms you don't really need or want that do you?
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