So this pile of mine is on a property of mine about 25min from where I live in vineyard country. I don’t have water on the property so let it decompose naturally, when it rains the pile gets wet and I’ll turn it.
Currently the pile is about 3 weeks old and it has reduced in size by about a third in size.
But has anyone got any thoughts on how to improve decomposition without water, apart from rain, or pee.
by 19marc81
10 Comments
Some food scraps, grape remnants, or grass clippings won’t hurt – it may be a little browns heavy so far. 👍
If you’re not in a hurry, moisture from rain will be enough long term. Once you add some other moisture rich items in that will help.
Really it’s about size of the pile. It will insulate itself from drying out once it gets big enough and gets a few good drenchings from rain. You’ll have to baby it if you want to go fast, but if you’re in no rush it should do its thing eventually.
Why not pee?
Nothing wrong with a passive pile 👍
I had dramatic improvements in moisture retention when I starting covering my piles. So you could cover up your pile after a good rain and trap the moisture in. A tarp over the whole thing is probably the most effective. But even a big sheet of cardboard held down with rocks/bricks does wonders to reduce drying out.
Slow/cold/passive piles are my method. It’s too much work making a hot pile. Keep adding mass, especially green and water-rich mass and it’ll be good.
Once you hit a certain size it’ll never dry out
Is it hot there? I threw a shade cloth over my pile in suburban LA (very hot and dry here) and that has helped.
What’s your annual precipitation? Mine is less than 20”. I think you get significantly more. Just bear in mind that some of us are in super dry places (I grew up in a high, dry place with 9-11” of precipitation/year) and that we all have to adjust to our local climates, inputs, etc.
A dry pile simply won’t break down faster. That how it works, microbial action is WATER dependent, which is why freezing things halts decomposing.
Could you collect more rain water on site? Eg. Spread a plastic sheet on the floor and have it lead to a hole in the ground with a large plastic container. Then use that to get more water on your pile when you visit.