My Compost Pile Has A Cold! // How to Heat Up A Cold Compost Pile

Learn a bit about composting methods and techniques.

[@fieldtrippin1]

Wild morning hair, but worth a watch.

[@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14]

The ambient temperature of the air plays a huge role in what goes on inside of the pile. It had been in the 80s here, and then it dropped into the low 40s at night, with much lower daytime temps, for several days. This was a fresh pile that was overcharged, and it still failed to heat back up after I turned it, and it had been at 160 and covered at all times. Now that it's warmed up again, I'm getting reignition. This is why I switched to summer composting instead of the fall. The difference is night and day.

[@fieldtrippin1]

Thankfully the seasonal temperature swings haven't become an issue for my pile. I get high internal temps during winter months as well as summer. Just recently my pile reached over 140 F. and the outside temp was 60F. during the day and below 40F. at night. The biggest factors for me have been the ratio of my ingredients and the amount of moisture in the pile. Happy gardening.

[@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14]

@@fieldtrippin1 Happy gardening back atcha! It looks like you may tend to have a bigger pile than most, though. Mine had hit 170, so I had to turn it (I went 3:1 on the N over C on purpose). It was about 2 cubic yards, which I think is about the max that most people try, due to the 3x3x3 instructions that everyone seems to be putting out. As soon as I turned it, the temps dropped and it cooled down to the mid 80s. It's bouncing back now. Mass does contribute a LOT to this.

[@reyayediydah7521]

​@@fieldtrippin1 ❤a mil❤

[@doctuhmazing]

In my experience, outside temperature is always a factor in the temperature of my compost piles. Theoretically, if you have chopped and mixed your greens in thoroughly so that they are able to mix at a better ratio to the browns, and the right amount of moisture and air is in the pile, you may get an increase in temperature. Or it may be that you don't get much increase in temperature, in which case the nitrogen to carbon ratio was not significantly affected by breaking the greens down and mixing them in the fluffed pile, or the moisture isn't right. I think the addition of the soil will essentially act as an insulator, potentially slowing dissipation of heat and shielding the pile from any possible cool air. But I think it only plays a significant role if the carbon to nitrogen ratio was affected by the chopping, etc. The reason grass clippings work so well at heating up a pile has a lot to do with their nitrogen content. I'm going to guess that you won't be able to get it over 100 degrees without more nitrogen, but that's just a guess and I could totally be wrong.

[@fieldtrippin1]

The pile is cold because it is mature and the older material has decomposed into finished compost. Mixing in additional organic material (green and brown) will raise the temp when bacteria begins decomposing the material. The outside temp is not cold enough to effect the internal temp of my pile. I'll easily get over 100 degrees. Been getting temps up to 160 for over a decade now.

[@fieldtrippin1]

I forgot to say thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts. Thanks friend! Take care.

[@KevinSaundersPaperAirplaneGuru]

@@fieldtrippin1 Could I stand on that pile and throw a paper airplane?

[@Dougie1969]

My compost pile worked great for about a month. I started off 4x4x4 Used coffee grounds, old vegetables, some pee etc. Then it went cold , and i could never get it to restart. I think i must've somehow "killed it". Now it's about half of what it started, about 2' high. But it isn't breaking down at all. I got totally discouraged and stopped composting. I trued everything i could think of, turning it, wetting it, bloodmeal, etc

[@The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad.]

Why wouldn't you just start a new pile and use the finished compost? In fact, I'd peel top layers off too, add that to the new pile. And then use the finished compost in the pile's center. It's spring: top-dress to your beds with the finished compost now. Seems silly to add more raw material and add weeks or months until you can apply the compost. Odds are, you can have another pile ready for autumn and then another for the following spring.

[@fieldtrippin1]

Space limitations. I also only utilize the compost when I need it. Currently, the pile is creating steady amounts of fresh compost as well as also storing compost for later use. Easier to go upwards than outwards when space is limited.

[@The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad.]

@@fieldtrippin1 I can dig the space limitation. I have a tiny urban lot. I have like a 3 x 8-foot spot set aside for composting... which is all we can spare. And it's tight, between bushes and a garage wall. We keep one active pile, flipping from one side to the other every few days. When the active pile gets close to done (say 120 degrees F heat), we stop tuning but aerate and mix it. We then begin pile #2. It takes a month or two to get it up to size. When it does, we'll use the finished compost all in one go and begin the active pile process And we store dry browns (leaves and shredded paper) in our garage. Storing greens is the limiting factor, so we keep a vermicomposter to cycle food scraps when we cannot add to a pile. Sounds like a complex setup, but it's low tech. And not particularly hard work. Just takes a long time to write... :-) Regardless, keep up the great work.

[@fieldtrippin1]

@@The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad. You keep up the greet work as well. Happy gardening.

[@barbaramayes2921]

Is that evergreen in your pile

[@fieldtrippin1]

no, just dead organic matter.

[@likitasac7843]

I put cowdung on top and water every morning

[@fieldtrippin1]

Cow dung/manure is great source of nutrients and works well in the compost. Good on you friend. Watering is important, something I need to do more of during dry months.

[@stalkingshadows]

One a month is not enough daily uploads and better thumbnails

[@fieldtrippin1]

Sounds like great advice to me. I appreciate it.

[@stalkingshadows]

@fieldtrippin1 it's your channel so yeah two words youtube shorts and script your videos it change your recordings

[@soulfirexit351]

I mow all my compost materials.

[@fieldtrippin1]

That's a great way to speed things up.