| How can a gardener speed up the healing process of the compost pile? If you want to make your compost heat up quickly, follow these key steps |
| Balance Greens & Browns Use a good mix of nitrogen-rich (greens like food scraps, grass clippings) and carbon-rich (browns like dry leaves, cardboard) materials. Aim for about 2-3 parts browns to 1 part greens. Shred Everything Chop food scraps, leaves, and other materials into smaller pieces. This increases surface area and speeds up decomposition. Keep It Moist Your compost should be as damp as a wrung-out sponge. Too dry, and it won’t heat up; too wet, it will slow down. Turn It Often Stirring your pile every few days adds oxygen, a crucial element in the composting process. This helps microbes break things down faster and generates heat. Pile It High To effectively trap heat, a compost heap needs to be at least 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall. Use a Compost Starter Adding some finished compost, manure, or a commercially available compost accelerator can introduce beneficial microbes to get things going. Be strategic about the location Choose a sunny spot for your compost pile. This will help it absorb heat and maintain a warm temperature, accelerating the decomposition process. Avoid Slowing It Down Don’t add too many woody materials or fats/oils, which take longer to break down. |
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