Turning the pile on day eight

turning the pile on day eight
Originally uploaded by tlbaraka

Ok so the pile has been going through its own evolutions. Luckily for us we have been there to push that evolution in the direction we want it to go. Everybody remembers the stinky mess when we first turned it. On the second turn it was going well but a bit too hot. We decided to turn it every day to keep things oxygenated. Now on day eight, the sixth turn, it appears our strategy is working, as there are few signs that the pile is ever getting anaerobic. It is uniformly moist and hot. On day two, when we first turned it the heat and moisture were patchy. It is only by turning the pile that we spread out these patches of activity to the rest of the pile. We have been adding one watering can of water to the outside before each turn to keep things moist. We also keep the pile covered with plastic between turns. If we allowed the pile to be exposed to the air it would dry out in no time.
It looks as though we are on track to be finished with this pile in about 10 to 15 more days.
This is with out a doubt our most successful composting effort. It has been a fairly intensive job, but it will be worth all of the good soil biology in the end.