Composting..add water weekly?

huntsman · November 25, 2009

I now have about two cubed yards of fresh compost which I would like to brew correctly.

As I have no irrigation system other than myself and a hose pipe, I was planning to splash water onto the pile once, twice or even three times a week, tossing the pile with a pitchfork each time. Is this the right way?

TZ-OH6 · November 26, 2009

Moderators please remove this accidental post

TZ-OH6 · November 26, 2009

I usually wait for the pile to cool down/stop steaming before turning it and then I water it when when I turn it. Which is about once every 3-4 weeks in the summer. Different microbial communities require different temperature ranges so by turning it too often you disrupt the high temperature community. If you are worried about oxygen getting into the pile you can stick a stake into the center, wiggle it around and pull it out to make a chimney hole that will increase air flow through the pile a little. Hot air rising up the chimney will pull air in through the sides.

habitat_gardener · November 26, 2009

If it's an assemble-it-all-at-once pile, yeah, you want to let it sit for 3-10 days before turning each time. The timing depends on how fast it heats up. You want it to heat up, and as it passes the peak and begins to cool, you want to turn it to bring the material in the center to the outside, and the outer material to the inside. You add water only if you find dry patches, to bring it all to the moisture level of a wrung-out sponge.

I make an as-you-go pile (actually, in a bin), where I start with a layer of mulch, add kitchen and garden waste as I generate them, water each layer and cover with mulch as needed. I find I never get around to turning my compost, but it's done in 2 months in the summer and a little longer in the winter. I use nursery flats to sift out the coarsest stuff. I've made at least 300 gallons of compost a year for the past 2-3 years.

Sometimes when my bins get too dry, I get ants. That's the only time I water, aside from when I build the pile. When I started making compost, it was more common for it to be too wet, which is harder to fix than too-dry: incorporate more mulchy materials.

If it's finished compost (the original materials have turned into brownish good-smelling particles), then you can either let it sit or -- better -- add it to garden beds. Watering finished compost may make it all mucky, but if it gets rained on while sitting on garden beds, all the good stuff will filter into the soil.

huntsman · November 27, 2009

Ah, ok thanks.

I think when I started it recently, I neglected to give it the first wetting, and I'm not getting any heat at all...!

I'll sort that out though....;-)

dice · November 27, 2009

Quote:

and I'm not getting any heat at all

Maybe it needs more higher nitrogen materials (coffee grounds,
grass clippings, nettles if those are around, fresh manure, etc).
Any kind of soft green weeds usually qualifies. Tree or shrub
leaves, not so much (usually not a high-nitrogen material).

Edit:
PS:
http://www.primalseeds.org/npk.htm

huntsman · December 1, 2009

Thanks dice - that's a great resource!

November 25, 2009	#1
huntsman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9 Posts: 595	Composting..add water weekly? I now have about two cubed yards of fresh compost which I would like to brew correctly. As I have no irrigation system other than myself and a hose pipe, I was planning to splash water onto the pile once, twice or even three times a week, tossing the pile with a pitchfork each time. Is this the right way?

November 26, 2009	#2
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 847	Moderators please remove this accidental post Last edited by TZ-OH6; November 26, 2009 at 01:56 PM. Reason: accidental post

November 26, 2009	#4
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	If it's an assemble-it-all-at-once pile, yeah, you want to let it sit for 3-10 days before turning each time. The timing depends on how fast it heats up. You want it to heat up, and as it passes the peak and begins to cool, you want to turn it to bring the material in the center to the outside, and the outer material to the inside. You add water only if you find dry patches, to bring it all to the moisture level of a wrung-out sponge. I make an as-you-go pile (actually, in a bin), where I start with a layer of mulch, add kitchen and garden waste as I generate them, water each layer and cover with mulch as needed. I find I never get around to turning my compost, but it's done in 2 months in the summer and a little longer in the winter. I use nursery flats to sift out the coarsest stuff. I've made at least 300 gallons of compost a year for the past 2-3 years. Sometimes when my bins get too dry, I get ants. That's the only time I water, aside from when I build the pile. When I started making compost, it was more common for it to be too wet, which is harder to fix than too-dry: incorporate more mulchy materials. If it's finished compost (the original materials have turned into brownish good-smelling particles), then you can either let it sit or -- better -- add it to garden beds. Watering finished compost may make it all mucky, but if it gets rained on while sitting on garden beds, all the good stuff will filter into the soil.

November 27, 2009	#5
huntsman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9 Posts: 595	Ah, ok thanks. I think when I started it recently, I neglected to give it the first wetting, and I'm not getting any heat at all...! I'll sort that out though....;-)

December 1, 2009	#7
huntsman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9 Posts: 595	Thanks dice - that's a great resource!