Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[yarrow@sfo.com]

Composted garden/kitchen waste and composted humanure (or animal 
parts or pet waste) are indeed managed differently.

You can turn garden/kitchen waste if you want compost faster. You 
build the pile all at once, it typically takes 3-7 days to reach max 
temperature, then you turn it, watch for the temperature spike again, 
and turn again.

Never turn humanure or pet waste or composted animal parts, because 
you don't want to breathe in any pathogens. You add it to the bin, 
cover it with browns, and let it be. You don't dig into the pile, 
just add to the top each time. After the bin is full, let it compost 
in peace, and wait a year before using.

I know one household that is composting humanure, and that's what 
they're doing. Since they also run an educational project, they have 
the compost tested by a friend who has access to a lab to make sure 
it doesn't have any pathogens.

I compost garden and kitchen waste, but I almost never find the time 
to turn. I get compost in about 3 months in the summer, longer in 
winter. I do have to sift it to get the finer-textured compost I 
like, and I'm always sifting out avocado pits, peach pits, and those 
huge 4 to 6 inch diameter broccoli stems and returning them to the 
bin. Since I lease space at a community garden, it's a public space 
and I need to make sure it looks relatively neat, so I have to use 
bins.


At 2:56 PM -0400 5/24/08, Kathleen wrote:
> I just read an article that said to NOT turn your compost.  You want it to
> build up heat so as to kill all the pathogens.  He's been composting
> humanure, all kitchen waste (including meats and fats) for over 25 years and
> has had no problems or diseases.
> After it sits for a year (he's filling another bin) he uses it in his garden
> as it is all compost at this point.  Worms will gravitate towards it also
> which also aids in the breakdown.  However, sometimes it can get too hot for
> the worms.