The hot composting method (also known as fast or active composting) is the most common as it yields desired results relatively quickly. It is also the best method to take care of unwanted weeds as it will destroy the seeds during the heat phase.
After you have picked a level site for your composting bin, you will need a good base for the bottom of leaves and high-quality soil. The leaves should be chopped or chipped so that no one piece is larger than two-three inches (this is a good rule of thumb for all materials added to the bin).
Once your bin and base are in place you can start to add your green food (nitrogen-rich) and your brown food (carbon-rich). The ratio that should be roughly followed is one part green for every two parts brown.
Monitor the pile every other day for moisture control and temperature. During this time you need to rotate or turn the pile to get good air flow inside the pile and to help with odors.
Once your pile is full or has finished the heat phase, let it cure. The length of curing will depend on your intended use of the finished product. To eliminate any larger pieces of organic matter that did not break down use a screen to sift them out. But if you follow the rule of not putting in anything that is larger than three inches this should not happen.
A compost humus can be ready to use in as little as 3-4 weeks with a hot composting method and maintenance to the pile on a regular schedule. If you are going to use the cold (or inactive) method of composting, it can take up to one year for usable compost to be ready.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:14 am
I’ve heard that it is good to add worms to your compost as well.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Interesting I’ve been meaning to try to make my own compost
May 18th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Nice article about composting, thanks!
May 24th, 2008 at 9:34 am
wow thaanks
I am trying to get my garden to look normal but it is a lot of work.
Do you know if compost is harmful for pets?
May 27th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
What a wonderful read on composting, I could never know this. I think i have got all the basic information here on one place.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Oprah just did a show about saving the environment and composting was discussed. Is it really practical in the desert (Las Vegas) though?
May 30th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Thanks for the compost information… I was trying to find it and came across your blog. I now have exactly what I was looking for… Thanks!
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:54 am
sorry for OT, but I LOOOOVE you blog theme, did you design it all by yourself or is it a template? so crisp and beautiful!
June 4th, 2008 at 3:24 am
One question though. Does it smell when you compost?
June 4th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Me and my wife started a compost 2 years ago and it has cut down on our trash big time. Our tomatoes have also been growing bigger this season. Excellent article I need to tweak a few things!
June 6th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
nice post thank you.
New to gardening myself, and the flowers i have planted in the compost have shot up compared to the ones in normal soil. how crazy. but if it works…
steve
June 7th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
well, finally i got this good method now. it helps me to support my little research. thanks for sharing
June 7th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Good post… composting is definitely becoming more popular these days. Come back and post some more- it’s been a while!
-Jeff
June 9th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Thanks for bringing such a nice post about composting, to the fore. I like your bolg really interesting and beautiful
June 9th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Great to know! Thanks for the tips… I had no idea that a cold compost can take up to a year before it is ready for proper use..
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:48 am
Composting is such a good idea. One thing I have found is that kids really love doing it too. Thanks for the tips – i really enjoyed it.
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Thanx for the information, nice blog
July 6th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Love the read on composting!!!
July 7th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Greens rot quickly and provide important nitrogen and moisture. Other things for composting are cardboard egg boxes, scrunched up paper and fallen leaves.
July 7th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Nice article, my dad loves his gardning im into it also but not as much as him. He has his own compost heap at the back of our allotment, might show him this article should be of some use.
July 10th, 2008 at 7:55 am
3-4 weeks with a hot composting method? I thought it was 10-15 days… Thank you for the information
July 17th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Great to see this method promoted and used practically in your home. Not only is it a useful ingredient to successful gardening it reduce landfill and other means of disposing of this waste.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Awesome article, congrats!
July 31st, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I must say this is really a very nice article. I am a big fan of gardening but due to lack of space at my house i cant do full on gardening – but i hope one day i would have a nice garden with almost all sort of small plants there.
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:26 am
thank you! Now I have the answer to keeping the unwanted weeds out of my garden.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I second that. Its a great idea to add worms to compost
August 16th, 2008 at 4:12 am
I love gardening and your composting article is very well written. The theme you made describes well your subject as well. Go green and preserve what mother nature gave us.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
my brother really loves gardening… nice post, keep it coming… thanks…
August 28th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Stumbled upon this by accident and just spent about half hour reading your blog.. very intersting post PS great theme.
August 30th, 2008 at 1:18 am
great article. thanks.
September 6th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Love to read this also recomended it to my mother love it buddy
September 6th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Very nice article – thanks
September 9th, 2008 at 3:00 am
My neighbor used to add egg shells to her composite.
October 11th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Good composting advice. thanks very much for sharing your knowledge.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:56 am
interesting article. Just what i needed to know about compost thanks
October 27th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Nice one.
Composting is a way to go. Good for the environment and can have place for biodegradable garbages.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Several years ago we hired a chipper and spent the day reducing a huge pile of garden waste to mulch. We then spent several months composting it in batches. What we ended up with got mixed into what would become a vegetable patch. Got some fantastic vegetables next year.
November 10th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Hi: I live in the country and one of the first things I wanted to do was make compost pile. I have yet to do that. Reading your blog makes me really want to do it now because having the compost ready to use in 3-4 weeks is awesome. Thanks for sharing this information!
November 17th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Yeah, great ideas here. My neighbors would love to hear of them all, they love their compost! They brag about how much patience and work they’ve put into it, making just the right batch. I couldn’t imagine having my own. My dogs would have a field day!
November 19th, 2008 at 11:06 am
If only more people would compost the world would be a better place.
November 29th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Loved it.. Nice composting ideas. Great blog!
November 29th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
My dad loves his compost making process. Luckily we juice fresh veggies every day, so he gets loads of greens and left-over pulp. Great to put all of this to good use. Thanks for interesting, useful posts.
December 10th, 2008 at 1:34 am
How do you know when the compost is finished?
December 15th, 2008 at 6:59 am
I’m into composting too. After cleaning foods like fish, veggies and other stuff, all residue are definitely place in an open pit (at our backyard). But it becomes smelly and flies are feasting. I immediately covered it with soil to stop the foul odor.
December 29th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
A lot of people think that it´s hard composting, but it´s not at all. Me and my neighbours have started a composting project, so now everybody in my street is composting.
January 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
When I composted I had a problem with mice. This wouldn’t be an issue but i only have a small garden and so the bin was near my backdoor. Saying that after adding horse manure to the compost, i grew the best tomatoes that i had ever had.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I believe that in 50 years, everybody will be composting. Once you get used to it, it is easy.
January 24th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Very good and intresting ideas!
February 16th, 2009 at 10:39 am
I live in an appartment and it makes it more difficult to compost, but I use my balcony to compost in the wintertime. In the summer it smells to much.
March 1st, 2009 at 4:46 am
Which method of composting do you think works best for those with cold winters and hot summers? We continue to trudge out to our pile in the winter even though it’s dormant. Would a bin work better?
March 5th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Thanks for this, I have been meaning to make my own compost for awhile now.
March 15th, 2009 at 3:21 am
I have used the hot composting method for years and can say I prefer it over anything else.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
thank for your information.it’s can help my thesis
May 6th, 2009 at 4:30 am
Will definatley be putting the old composter to work now, thanks.
June 1st, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I wonder about the worms. are these regular earthworms or is this a special species? I like the idea but my wife gets the creeps when I talk about worms. Other option might be the Earthmaker compost bin It looks very interesting, but I’m not sure how good it is either.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
very interesting composting is a good way to do our part with the earth
June 15th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Great post. Go on
June 26th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Thanks for the information, nice blog
June 26th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Greens rot quickly and provide important nitrogen and moisture. Other things for composting are cardboard egg boxes, scrunched up paper and fallen leaves.
July 4th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Nice article about composting, thanks!
August 1st, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Tanks for post
August 6th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
What a good idea about decomposing?Thanks for sharing
August 9th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hey… thanks a lot… really appreciate it
August 13th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
We follow the rule of vegetable matter goes into the compost heap, but nothing animal. The only manure we can add has to come from pure herbivore.
Does that make sense?
September 7th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Nice composting post
September 11th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Interesting , I suck at composting before but I’d like to try again. Bless me:)
September 30th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
hi ..Pascale.thanks for sharing your idea’s. this very inspiring thought.after reading your article i think:-If you have a tumbler bin, just toss everything in. If you have a compost pile, you need to add layers of dry materials periodically to encourage air to reach lower levels. Here’s a primer on composting.
October 5th, 2009 at 5:54 am
nice article and i will try what you write.
October 5th, 2009 at 5:56 am
It can make a better world I think.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:39 am
If you shred your sensitive information and documents, the resultant paper shreddings combine really well with grass clippings to make a perfect compost. There are websites you can search for that actually give you optimal ratios, as it can vary a lot depending on what components you add. Making sure you have a precise ratio will ensure that your compost pile works efficiently.
October 27th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I have noticed more and more of my neighbours around the estate using compost bins – I think recycling in general has really picked up which is great for our environment.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:57 am
We have been composting for the past year, and even I had no idea about some of the information you posted about! Great read. Now if only our neighbors would stop complaining about the giant hole in our backyard…
November 6th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Very useful information, thanks for sharing!
November 17th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
How do you know when the compost is finished?
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:17 am
Where did you get your blog theme? I think it’s really good. Great article btw.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:25 am
great to know, thank you for the tips. but how do you know when its finished?
December 17th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Great post – I try to keep weeds out of our compost and just use kitchen scrap etc