The process of composting is totally addictive I've got all my compost bays hot now temps vary from 65° to 85°. We use ours mulch we produced enough last year to cover 100m2 at a minimum of 4inchs hopefully this helps control our heavy weed burden
How do you get it so hot? My composting now seems to be working OK, a little slow maybe but coming along, but I cannot say that I have noticed it getting hot at all, certainly not hot enough to steam
I've found quantity is the key, I save all my cardboard in my brown bin which is full of water to soften it, then I save all cleared waste from the garden but don't now it all up till I have a big bulk. Once I have plenty of gear I now the lot up and fill a full pallet sized bin in 1 go. My secret weapon is a supply of tree surgeon waste which I mix in at a ratio of about 1/3 to the garden/cardboard. This means I never have to much green so it doesn't go slimey but the bulk quantities means lots of bacterial and fungus growth and the heat. After a week it will have cooled lots so I'll turn it again and itll heat up again. I then mix all my household waste into a hot bin so that vermin never bother it as it's too hot to enter. My bins are are made up of pallets filled with kingspan insulation and I cover the top with the same. I did say composting is addictive 🤣🤣
I've also been trying to make leaf mould for the first time. Should I just shred it up and add it to the new compost heap or would you leave it separate to do its own thing?
I'd say unless you really, really NEED leafmould, I'd add it to general composting, unless you have lots of space and lots of patience.
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My composting now seems to be working OK, a little slow maybe but coming along, but I cannot say that I have noticed it getting hot at all, certainly not hot enough to steam