Hi, keep it moist like a wrung out sponge. Down there I'd cover it with a tarp to keep the drying to a minimum. It's got to be moist for the microbes to live and do their work. Add a little nitrogen to enhance the breakdown, something like bloodmeal or even just plain fertilizer (or pee, believe it or not) Best of luck.

If your material is compacting then either there is work going on you are not aware of or someone is stomping on your compost. While material put in a composter will settle some unless there is bacterial activity, or the material is too wet, that material will not settle a lot.
For the bacteria to work at digesting what you feed them they do need some moisture, but too much is as bad as too little since too much moisture drives out the air they also need to properly function. The general rule of thumb for moisture in a compost pile is just wet enough so the compost feels like a well wrung out sponge, and that well wrung out sponge feels fairly dry. If you take a handful of your compost and squeeze it and water drops fallout your compost is too wet.

HMM, it is settling a lot. For instance, I had it filled to the brim last Sunday (with weeds and trimmings from my garden, mostly green stuff). And yesterday the top of the compost was about a foot from the top. It appears more mummified than compost like. I'll get a better idea when I aerate it today. I had been adding water here and there.

It's in a bin, so I don't think anyone has been stomping on it....

Mine is drying out, too, in this heat. And we're in a drought with a 10 in. rain deficit so even the ground under it is dry. It's enclosed in a bin and I did add moisture as I built it but it just cooks off in this heat. I have only been adding moisture to the top since I flipped and added to it a couple of weeks ago. It has been 95 to 100 degrees out there, too hot for much of anything. I won't turn it when it that hot.

It's finally cool this morning, so I'm going out to flip it and moisten as I rebuild. I'm just slow getting into gear this a.m.

Karen

Sure enough, about the top half of the compost materials were very dry. It just evaporates in the heat. I flipped the whole pile, adding water as I rebuilt. I will try to add water to the top every day or two as long as it stays this hot.

Buford, it would be best to turn the whole pile with a fork and add moisture as you go. Just adding water to the top, even using an aerator probably won't get adequate moisture into all layers. It will still break down eventually but will take a long time if it's too dry.

Karen

Compost does not need to be wet to be digested and if it is wet that can limit the amount of air the aerobic bacteria have and they will not work. Compost only needs to be damp, as damp as a well wrung out sponge, which most likely will not feel damp, just slightly moist. Most often I find that people simply have too much water in their compost rather than too little and too much moisture leads to anaerobic digestion and unpleasant odors.

Well, I went to aerate the bin and it literally came apart. Piece of junk.

So now I'm back to a pile. The encouraging thing is that the bottom of the pile is great compost! And it had only been in there 2 months. It was a pile before, but when we put it in the bin, it was much more solid.

We mixed it up, sprinkled some water on it, and then I covered it with some greens of vines that I cut down last night.

Now we are thinking more of an open u shaped structure. Since my area is on an incline, we are thinking of having the opening at the top (uphill) so the stuff doesn't cascade down hill. Question, should I cover with a tarp or not? It's in partial sun/shade, but I worry with this dry heat that all the moisture will evaporate. I have another pile of larger items (uncovered) that I want to dry out (before I can chip/shred them) and that does get very dry.

The heat generated in a compost pile is not dependant on the sun but is the result of bacterial activity. The sun could heat up, and cause moisture in, the top few inches to evaporate but will not have any affect on the moisture deeper in the pile. However, covers can be a good idea (not plastic or canvas which tend to limit air movement) by preventing the pile from getting too wet from the rain.

I'm a minimalist. Less is always better. So, I would reccommend no cover. Let the layers of compost material act as a cover. New layers will create a new cover, or turning the pile will allow the stuff on the outside to get inside and get broken down. Add water as needed (if you want), or not, if you're not in any hurry.

Martha

kimmsr: I realize that most heat is generated by the composting process. But our air temp has been 90 to low 100s pretty much all summer, with lows of 70 to 80, and the drought has us at a 10 in. rain deficit.

Trust me, it is so hot and dry that most water evaporates fast. Water plants, and within 10 minutes the wood mulch is so dry that you can't tell where you left off watering. Yesterday I got my heavy socks and shoes dripping wet, took them off, and 1/2 hour they were bone dry.

My compost bin is in the hot sun from sunrise to sunset. Since I'm lacking ingredients in these growing conditions, my compost hasn't gotten any hotter that 100 degrees in weeks. But even without adding anything but water, it doesn't go under the low 90s either, and it's only about half full.

We could experiment. If we put you in this black plastic bin without any additional water to drink, in the sun all day in 90+ degree weather, what would happen to your body temperature and hydration? I think results might be different if we did it in weather with highs in the 50s and lows in the 40s.

Karen

Buford,

As you well know, here in central Georgia it is hot, very hot outside. What I do at this time of year once the bins are full is not turn them in the month of August since this is our hottest month. With a thick layer of browns (leaves) on top the pile holds moisture better. Yes, the top and sides are dry, but the inner structure of the pile is moist. As you have seen when you turned your pile, composting was still happening, just not on top or the sides.

Be safe in this heat neighbor, we can make compost when other members are dealing with snow. As "Docmom" has said, no need to be in a hurry, compost is happening anywayÂ

Blutranes

I'm in Northern VA, so I know what you are talking about - we've been having the heat with no rain for a while as well (although the weather turned yesterday...).

My compost pile is also completely dry, however, it seems to still be doing something deep in the middle. I measured the temperature Saturday before turning it and the center of the pile was at 140 degrees. Something's happening in there!

Since I can only get to the house on the weekends right now (house-sitting elsewhere), I'm turning the pile and adding water just once a week. Just give it time and it'll do its stuff.

I know it will compost eventually, it's just so frustrating. So much I'd like to do outside, but it's just intolerable out there except in early morning and late evening. And I spend most of that time watering, now trying to harvest seeds for next year as well.

The lower half or third of the pile was moist in the bottom center when turned, but dry in the top half or so, as well as around the ends. The moist stuff is composting, the dry stuff looks the same as when it went in a week or 2 ago. They're predicting rain again today, though it never seems to actually happen. Before I leave home today I'm going to take the lids off the bins, hoping mother nature will water (the compost as well as the plants) for me today.

Karen

Karen said:

"The lower half or third of the pile was moist in the bottom center when turned, but dry in the top half or so, as well as around the ends."

That is the whole point of not turning the pile. By turning the pile you have exposed those areas that were composting, but now are exposed to the dry hot air around the pile, thus drying it out as well. At least by not turning the pile the lower area retains moisture to continue composting.

We are at least eighteen (18) inches below normal rainfall; with no relief is sight any time soon. Add to that 100+ degree-days with near 80-degree nights and you have a good idea of what we are going through (not that other areas are not as bad). Yes, the weather can cause frustration, yet compost can still be made one way or the otherÂ

Blutranes

Ok, we cut down the rest of the vine that was becoming invasive and put in over the entire pile. I know it's greens, but there was so much of it, and I don't have any browns to speak of, and it does make a nice topping to the pile. I'm hoping it will help lock in some of the moisture. I put two of the panel of the compost bin on top as well.

I'll try to leave the pile alone. If it ever cools down...I'll chip and shred the rest of the stuff I have drying out and add them in and mix it up. My goal is to have compost by late winter/early spring to put in my rose beds, so I have time.

Blutranes: the bottom stuff was well on it's way to being compost, while the top was dry and unchanged.

I moistened layer by layer as I flipped the pile. Now the uncomposted material is on the bottom, staying damp, and composting. The almost finished stuff is on top. For me, I find that good reason to flip it. And I like to actually know what's going on down there.

Today, deep in the pile, near the bottom, it was 110 degrees. As I pulled the probe up, the temperature dropped gradually until at the very top it was about 90. The air temp then was 85. So the stuff on the bottom is composting.

To each his own. I like to flip it every few weeks.

Karen

Out here in the arid west, where humidity levels are routinely in the single digits and our annual rainfall is 13", and we're now in a prolonged drought cycle so we rarely get that much, we have developed a few composting tricks. Soak your junk mail in a bucket before adding it, as well as bits and pieces of other absorbent stuff. Helps quite a bit.

Karen,

You are speaking in terms of a "Biostacker". I am speaking in terms of "pallet bins", 4x4x5 feet, constructed side by side, with a total of eight (8) bins. The difference in maintenance of the bins is obvious. The end results, for the most part, will be the same. Like you said, "to each his own"...

Blutranes

My experience with composting is that I need to be conservative with the water in the spring, because the grass clippings are fresh, new growth with plenty of moisture. This time of year, though, is a different story - I water the compost more generously. Not only are the air temps higher, thereby drying out the compost faster, but the grass clippings themselves are drier due to drought conditions.

I learned this because in the spring, when I would go to use my compost that had sat there all winter, I couldn't use it. The material was dry, and not broken down. You could even still see blades of grass in it, yes, even in the center of the compost. The center had dried out because it had initially heated up, but without more moisture being added, it eventually dried out. DRY MATERIALS DO NOT BREAK DOWN NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU LEAVE THEM SITTING THERE.

Deanna