The compost at 26 days

The compost at 26 days
Originally uploaded by Jesse and Tanya

We have been turning the pile religiously for the last 11 days. Everyday the pile was steaming, and looking as though it would never cool down. Today it happened, no steam and a lower temperature. The pile is evolving out of the thermophilic stage and into the curing stage. We will still turn it, as it is a bit warm and will still be consuming its fair share of oxygen. The product is looking great with a nice dark brown colour, good diverse structure and a clean smell. We have already started to use some small amounts in the garden to help establish new seedlings and germinate seeds. The pile will only get better with age now.

Based on how things went the, C:N ratio was a bit low in this pile. If it was higher the thermophilic stage may have ended sooner. If we had not turned the pile every day would have been anaerobic with a poor end product. We will let you know when it is well and truly cold and curing.
that's all for now.