Is it really possible to keep our compost hot in these cold winter months?
If you’ve been following the Compost Conversation, you will undoubtedly know that the reason compost gets hot has little to do with the outside temperature, or position in the sun, and almost everything to do with how well we are feeding and breeding microbes in our compost.
Yes, there are seasonal variations that need to be accounted for, however, if our compost recipe is carefully put together with a balance of nitrogen, carbon, moisture, density and oxygen, our compost microbes will stay active, keeping our compost hot, all year round.
We are taking a little break from our usual compost advice column to let you know about our upcoming Continuous Hot Composting workshop on Sunday June 23 from 1–4pm. Reading about compost is great, but there is nothing quite like a workshop to hone your knowledge and confidence to compost well.
Coming to a YIMBY workshop is a three-hour immersion in the theory and practice of this unique and effective method of producing high-quality compost. In this last YIMBY compost workshop scheduled before spring, you will get a thorough grounding in obtaining and then maintaining heat (55 degrees +) in a compost pile throughout the year, but with a seasonal focus on hot compost in the coldest time of the year.
Our method and training have been developed locally by Joel Meadows and Mikaela Beckley with continuous refinement and experimentation from our wonderful crew of YIMBY composters, these workshops are suitable for experienced and novice composters alike. Attending a YIMBY workshop is a fast track to great compost, and introduces you to a thriving community of dedicated composers.
Workshops include: exercises to help hone your senses to analyse a range of compost ingredients, basic compost recipes and variations, hands-on demonstration of turning a full pile and starting a new pile from scratch, analysing what good finished compost feels like and how to remediate a compost pile that is out of balance. There will also be lots of space for answering your specific questions and learning through practical group exercises.
Head to our website yimbycompost.com to book, or email hello@yimbycompost.com if cost is an issue for you, please reach out to us, our main aim is to support your composting efforts.
Next week we will get back to some nitty gritty composting details.
– Lucy Young works with *Yes In My Back Yard, (YIMBY), a community-scale composting initiative in Castlemaine and surrounds. Send questions or comments to hello@yimbycompost.com, or to book in for a compost workshop.
