4. Aug, 2022

The Compost year. Dry August

As a result  of holidays the Reception bin has not been emptied recently and the hot dry spell has changed the green materials to a dry hay like colour  and that in the lower levels has started decomposing with some signs of Actinomyces activity and other areas starting to smell  mouldy.

This was a reminder that it is not considered a good idea to position yourself so that any spores released during working on compost ends up in your face so the contents would normally be damped down and in serious cases a face mask might be worn. Another simple measure is, when planning the composting area,  to position the bins so that the prevailing winds blow any aerosols away  from the operative.  This is a simple control measure that is particularly useful when sorting  and cutting material when initially  layering  the material  taken from a Reception bin.

Although the material consisted of a high proportion of greens it was so dry that each layer added to the  bin was watered with  two gallons of water from a watering can,  and I have added a couple of  manure and coffee layers.  If  necessary, the Green Brown ratio will be adjusted when the heap is turned and more material is added from the reception bin.