When to turn compost

[ge66]

When do I turn my compost pile? I built it pile a month ago. It promptly hit a toasty 160 degrees. A few days later dropped to 140. It is still 140 3 weeks later. I checked the thermometer, pulled it out and let it settle to air temp, about 98 today - seems okay. It is meant/built for using in compost. The pile started 4 feet high, 5 feet in diameter. It has lost maybe 8 inches in height, some settling certainly, but also cooking down. When do I turn it?

 

[Ken]

Did you put some soil on top to form a seal and hold the heat in?
Also I add some water to help the composting . then turn about half onto the pile and when turning black soil use and just keep turning 1/2 of the pile at a 2 week spacing and keep adding to the pile fresh cut grass or tree leaves. Seldom check the heat but it gets steamy when cooking good.
ken

 

[Carl_NH]

I compost leaves in the fall - shreded first with gator blades then vacuum too and make about a 20 yard pile that sprinkled with 50Lbs 10-10-10 and some leftover compost mixed in to get it going. Then over the winter reduces to 12 yards and I turn maybe twice during the winter and in the spring add some manure to balances the carbon/nitrogen and let it cook.

There are a pros and cons to turning - what Ken does is suggested - make a windrow pile and turn new material into it as the older stuff ages you dont turn it as much. Also cover it with dirt or older composted material keeps the heat in.

I also monitor the temp - mine hit 155-160 for about 4 days then settled in at 140 for about a month and now 3 months later is still at 125 and composting. I did turn once after the initial cooking at 160 to mix up the pile but since then I cover with a tarp and leave it cook - it started as a pile 8' high and 18' around and now its 5' high and 15' diameter.

The thermophilic stage (125-150) is when the bacteria are most active and working to decompose the material - below 110 the process slows down a lot and is almost ready to use or have more nitrogen materials added like grass clippings etc to bring the temp up again.

So I turn once or twice early in the process then cover and let it cook undisturbed other than adding some water every few weeks.

 

[troutsqueezer]

You can do the lazy man's method and never turn it. I keep two piles and alternate adding to them each year. I started the first one and added to it all year long. Then the following year I created the second pile and added only to that one and used the compost from the first one. Back and forth, been working like a charm for 25 years.

I think the answer to your question in general is: The more you turn it, the faster it becomes compost. That's why when you buy those barrels that are mounted sort of like a cement mixer, they tout you can have compost in a very short period of time.