I’m looking for advice on how to redeem this very slow pile. I know we did a few things wrong… We don’t have a chipper to break down larger twigs, I didn’t turn it as much as I should have, and I probably should have watered it more… But I’m still hoping to save our efforts.
Is it possible to “table” this pile and simply let it run its course without adding new materials? Or do we need to do something more drastic to bring it back?
Open to any suggestions!
by Ok-Assistance8754
13 Comments
Everything breaks down eventually. But if you wanna start a new pile and focus on having the right balance of everything to make it go fast go for it. One thing you can do is turn this pile and then sift what’s at the bottom into where you want your new pile to go just a little bit of it and kind of give your new pile a little bit of a boost with all the microorganisms that are in this one.
Everything decomposes. Eventually.
Maybe add more green to speed things along, but eventually
I don’t see anything in need of saving. Throw green matter in there. Don’t throw green matter in there. Sigh…piss on it. Don’t piss on it. It’ll break down within some time frame. Just depends on what your goals are.
If you are willing to put a weekend into it this is what I would do:
create an ‘E’ shaped rectangular bin with a partition down the middle in a semi-permament (a year plus) location, and then make a sifting mesh (chicken wire or 1″ grid wire) frame that fits over a wheelbarrow. anything that falls into the wheelbarrow goes in one bay of the E shaped bin and anything too big goes in the other. Now you have a near finished pile and a working pile.
edit: use the big twigs to your advantage as a base layer for better drainage on both bays.
The twigs will break down. (If you really want to get this pile up and running) Go to star bucks a few days a week until you collect about half of the volume of that pile in coffee grounds. Break the pile down, build it back in layers, watering as you go. The pile-> coffee grounds->water…repeat. Wait 2 weeks then turn it. Do that until it’s done. It will get hot and the twigs will be soft before you know it.
Just add to it
Flip it and mix some fresh greens in, coffee ground work well but use whatever you can get ahold of in decent quantity. Try to break up the twigs the best you can so they are fully in contact with the pile. Good news is that looks like a good volume of material, some fresh greens and a good turn should get it cooking pretty well.
Unfortunately no saving any of that, everything in there is going to decompose.
(Rough attempt at a joke, I think the kids do an /s)
Sure! How much time do you have?
Spread it out and run it over with a lawn mower to break it up. And get it wetter and some greens.
Yeah, you can let it sit, but why not just sift it? You have a huge amount of usable compost, just build yourself an easy dying sifter. Some wood for a frame, some hardware cloth, some nails or a staple gun, boom, perfect compost.
Nice cat
If it were my pile I’d spread it out, run it over with a lawn mower, mix in some greens, and pile it back up.