Compost Thermometer: Testing 3 Piles

I used my compost thermometer to test the temperature of 3 piles of compost in my backyard, made of leaves, straw, shredded paper, kitchen scraps (fruits/veggies) and human urine. One pile was "turned" one week ago (now 110 degrees). One pile had not been turned in a few months (now 87 degrees). One pile was mature fairly-finished compost sitting around since the prior year (now 70-75 degrees). Results: turning the compost helps it heat up. Old compost is no longer hot.

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Howto & Style

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• Compost
• Thermometer
• Compost Thermometer
• composting
• leaf
• leaves
• urine

[OrganicGarden123]

@fotosepp Sounds like you have a GREAT and HOT compost! Your 75 Celsius is over 160 Fahrenheit, which is WAY hotter than I've ever gotten mine. Temps like yours would certainly do a great job of killing most weed seeds. Thanks for the tips! Happy composting!

[fotosepp]

Not to boast but mine gets up to 75 Celsius at its peak. The trick is to raise it from the ground. Build your compost bays on thick mesh with bricks underneath to allow air flow and use a ratio of 70% carbon and 30% green. Also you need to wet it when you are building and also when you turn it. Happy composting

[OrganicGarden123]

@sugerbear520: Absolutely! In fact, I don't know any other good use for human urine. Search YouTube for "Human Urine for Compost, Start to Finish" and within ~3 minutes you will likely be convinced! Urine is great source of Nitrogen and water for the compost. It also saves on flushing the toilet (what a waste of water to get rid of something that is actually valuable to the garden/compost). Happy composting!

[sugerbear520]

wow didn't know human urine can be use in compost?

[OrganicGarden123]

Compost made of: Leaves, Human urine, Straw, Shredded paper, Kitchen scraps, Dirt, Yard clippings (but no weed seeds). By the end of May the compost Temperature was 130 degrees Fahrenheit, my hottest compost ever!