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First raised bed and attempt on hot composting​

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  • #1

    First raised bed and attempt on hot composting​

    Hello,

    Raised bed

    I've finally started to fill my raised bed.
    Unfortunately as it started raining when I was mowing the lawn, I rushed myself when filling the bed and may not have put a good mix of grass clippings with shredded papers.

    I just put a thin layer of wet newspaper and then grass clippings on top, followed by MPC.
    I COMPLETELY forgot to put the shredded papers!
    Also I had some old plants (very few) pulled out around winter which I forgot to put in too!

    I understand that this could lead to "anaerobic composting" or the raised bed not draining properly or some other bad things too.

    What can I do to fix this? Take out all the soil and mix up the shredded paper and old plants into the grass clippings and put the soil back in?


    Composting

    For my composting, I put a whole bunch of horse manure mixed with straw about 2-3 feet high in a rectangular box made of pallets on Sunday.
    Having checked it yesterday evening, the temperature was at 40°C, so I gave it a mixing around.
    I understand that optimal temperature is supposed to be around 60°C.

    How long does it take for temperatures to reach that high and what can I do to improve them?

    Thank you!!
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  • #2
    Second one first, if the horse muck is already old it will struggle to reach a high temp as it's already done some composting. Mix in some more green (grass cuttings) when you turn it and probably do the same again a fortnight later.

    On the raised bed you've put the grass clippings on newspaper so that mix will work out OK. The rest is mainly MPC so it's fine, don't fret too much about the mix, it's approximate and nature will work it out soon enough, we're just giving it a hand. If you had a 6" layer of 'greens' in the bed it would get a bit slimy but you're good to go.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by ESBkevin View Post
      Second one first, if the horse muck is already old it will struggle to reach a high temp as it's already done some composting. Mix in some more green (grass cuttings) when you turn it and probably do the same again a fortnight later.

      On the raised bed you've put the grass clippings on newspaper so that mix will work out OK. The rest is mainly MPC so it's fine, don't fret too much about the mix, it's approximate and nature will work it out soon enough, we're just giving it a hand. If you had a 6" layer of 'greens' in the bed it would get a bit slimy but you're good to go.
      Thank you for your reply!

      Would adding "Vitax Compost Maker" into the bed on the grass clippings would be a bad idea?
      Or even adding it into my horse manure speed up the heating process?
      btw, the horse manure was fresh. Only a couple of days old.

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      • #4
        Oh my god!

        I've got some steaming pile of poo!!!!!

        Can't believe how exciting it can be to have a pile of horse poo steaming up!

        Temp is also almost at 60°C too!!!
        Last edited by bhups; 19-05-2017, 08:18 PM.

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        • #5
          I'm curious to know how you are getting on with this Bhups?
          I'd like to start composting grass clippings and our kitchen waste.

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