Thermophilic microbes living in a hot compost pile thrive at temperatures in the realm of 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. These hot temperatures produce the highest diversity of microbes and are the most productive at composting. However, cold weather can threaten …
Best Ways To Maintain Moisture In Compost Piles
In hot and dry weather climates, water is a critical ingredient for effective composting. The expression “water is life” certainly applies to microbial life as well. Without adequate moisture, compost microbes cannot survive. An overly dry compost pile will experience …
How to Manage Rainfall and Leachate on Compost Piles
Last week I was in North Idaho winterizing soil piles from a foundation excavation for a new house I am building near Coeur d’Alene. It took 4 hours to cover the piles by myself using large 28’ by 48’ recycled …
So What’s the Deal with Bulking Agents?
So What’s the Deal with Bulking Agents? Understanding how bulking agents function in the compost process allows us to find the optimal material for any composting operation. This article explores: What is bulking agent? Why is it important to the …
GMT’s Top Nine Tips For Conducting A Food Waste Assessment
So you want to determine exactly how much food waste you are generating. Good idea – but how? Completing a food waste assessment can seem like a daunting task. The EPA just released “A Guide to Conducting and Assessing a …
It’s All About The Bulking Agent
In the food waste composting business, our constant companion, our nemesis, our savior, our persistent crutch and limitation is: bulking agent. I’d love to not be dependent on it but… bulking agent really is what makes the food waste composting …
Is Your Compost Pile Sick?
Have you taken your compost pile’s temperature lately?This is the easiest way to tell if you are really composting! If your pile is between 120° to 160°, then you are successfully composting. If your pile is not getting up to …
Jeff Gage Compost Videos Now Online
Be sure to check out Jeff Gage’s video series of composting information and tips. We’ve just doubled the number of short videos of Jeff speaking on a wide ranging number of composting topics (see below). In case you don’t know …
New York Times Article on Vermiculture
Reference: Worms Produce Another Kind of Gold for Growers in NYTimes.com We want to draw attention to a particular statement from the article that could easily be missed: “Both operations pre-compost their manure before they fork it over to the …