I throw chicken poop and grass clippings in my compost pile, and that's about all that gets into it in the spring. I use it as soon as it looks like soil, and it has never burned anything.

It always looks like soil if you add used coffee grounds.

Compost pile heating is normally the result of high nitrogen green ingredients such as lawn clippings and weeds. When mixed with dry ingredients such as leaves and watered to keep the pile moist a temperature of 150 degrees should be reached within a week. Such a pile if less than a cubic yard in volume will be difficult to get up to temperature. Not all weed seeds will be killed in your compost pile no matter the temperature reached. Finished compost by itself is not suitable for planting in, if added to, or on top of your garden soil it will not cause fertilizer burn. Al

Al: I got a chuckle out of your saying that the compost isn't suitable to plant in. I have a 3-bin system and always have some adventuresome vegetable seed decide to grow right there in one of the bins. This year it's a potato; last year a pepper and a tomato; and the year before that some of the biggest winter squash I've ever seen!

My compost pile is always kept covered. In the winter it keeps it from getting too wet and in the summer it retains the moisture. Plenty of sow bugs as well as red wiggler worms live in the compost being chased by salamanders and small brilliantly colored snakes. I am sure if kept uncovered and also prevented from reaching the temperature needed to kill seeds, many things could grow in unfinished compost. Some gardeners may think that pure compost is a good growing medium, but it is not, for many reasons. Al

Well, I got the chicken manure. I still don't know how much I should add. I will try to add a little bit today, but the weather is just awful, and I don't know if I be in the mood to garden.

I added the entire one cubic foot bag and mixed it completely to the earth machine. The next day the temperature did not seem any hotter. It felt colder, so I took the temperature and it was only 105 degrees. I have to get it to 155 to kill the weed seeds? No wonder it was not working before. It seems like fresh used coffee ground make it hotter then chicken manure. I also had better results with the Kellogg's brand compost that contained some steer manure. Maybe the secret is not chicken manure, but steer manure? Although, the websites I looked at said chicken manure had 4 times more nitrogen. I am going to try the Kellogg's brand again. I can get it at home depot. I just find the home depot difficult because they won't load it out to my car.

I think you misunderstand what causes the heat in compost piles. It is the microbes working on the vegetative matter that causes the heat. To get the most heat requires matter high in nitrogen such as greens of any kind. When you buy compost it is already in a finished form and will not add much if any heat in a pile. Manure unless fresh from the chicken coop has already been aged into a compost. To get the most action from the microbes requires both moisture and oxygen. If you are doing less than a cubic yard it will be difficult to achieve the temperatures. When you make your pile and leave your thermometer in it, you can check the temperature daily and when the temperature stops increasing, it is time to turn the pile and check the amount of moisture. Composting action uses up the moisture and it will need to be replaced or the composting action will stop. Experience and your thermometer will tell you if you have the right combination of "greens and browns" in your pile. Al

I guess I don't have to worry that the manure will burn if it is already matured. I am trying to expand my planting area, so I need a lot of compost. After removing the water hogging lawn, we got an el nino. But, the lawn was mostly dead, and filled with weeds. The soil that was under the lawn is in terrible shape. The bin hotter then I thought, because the deep in the center the pile was breaking down some watermelon rind, that was just added a few days ago. But, you can't tell how hot without making an exploration to the center of the bin.

There are many knowledgeable people who can give you good advice over in the Compost forum. Here's the link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Composting forum

If you are removing a lawn and restoring the soil for future planting, as you say, you will need a lot of compost to repair the structure of essentially "dead" soil. After years of synthetic lawn fertilizer to keep the grass green, I would not expect soil life other than grubs to be present. Most cities and counties in California have a composting operation that produces a lot of compost available for very little money and they can arrange for delivery if required. For this one time restoration I would recommend it for you. Composting your own gardening waste should be a way of life for all gardeners and I wish you well in your composting efforts. Al

Did you know in San Francisco all green waste goes in green bins, but they do not give it to people for composting. I don't know what they do with the compost. I went to an earth day fair and one of the young girls who was there as a volunteer said the compost goes to a wine making area. I am not sure if I believe it. Anyway, what they do with it is top secret. I would not want that compost anyway. I would rather make my own. It is just going to take many years to fix the soil. It can be done one small area at a time. Otherwise, I get chronic shoulder pain from digging. I want to know exactly what is going into my compost. I have bark down on the ground and then I remove some of the bark, make a small planting area, then later another area, another planting.