Sorry the pic looks a little stretched once it posted.

Marjory!!

She looks beautiful.

The web says the hot compost is done in 18 days. For me I found it to be about 3 weeks also. It depends on the temperature it gets to, how many time your turn it, etc.
I'd say with stray and manure it should be pretty fast and very warm!!

That's a very short time. Most experienced composters would let it cure a few weeks or even months after it cools off. But with the right mix and frequent turning, it could be done in a few weeks. Just don't use it while it's still warm!

That's true. 18 days is for a Berkeley compost pile and generally it is not only manure and straw. Maybe I took "hot compost" as in Berkeley compost but in fact Craig just wanted to say that the pile was generating heat! My bad.

Here is a link from a university that explains the Hot compost method and why it is done in 2-3 weeks, if some are curious.

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/pdf/compost_rapidcompost.pdf

I use this method when I make new gardens. It works extremely well when you have one layer of grass and dirt, a layer of fruits and veggies, a layer of waste from the chicken coop as example. Do those layers over and over. It will generate heat within a few days and be done really soon if the pieces were cut small enough!

The pile heated up quickly last Friday and is still pretty hot. I haven't stirred it yet but will in the next couple of days. It's doing well though.

I wasn't mistaken. Others saw face in that pile. Too bad it's not Halloween! I might add my compost doesn't work so fast. I think too much green not enough carbon.

Funny about the face. I see it too now... maybe a compost ghost?! I updated this pile on my blog, but it's doing great so far. May take a while longer than I thought for it to "finish."

Yugo, if your compost seems slow it's probably short on greens. Even an all-green pile will heat up - boy will it heat up, and might get smelly too. If it's slow and cold, more greens will speed it up.

TOX is correct. When a pile isn't heating up, if in fact you want it to, add greens! Fresh grass clippings, horse or cow manure, or anything that's still "fresh." Dried out brown things like straw, old grass clippings, and the leaves from fall don't heat up or at least not as much. If you intend to be passive in your approach to composting, it doesn't matter if the pile heats up or not. It's just a different process. Hot composting, actively worked, will bring your pile to completion much faster than cold composting.

I'll add that if you have an abundance of leaves in the fall and are short on 'greens' you can mix in some granulated urea (or fresh urine) to the leaves. If using urea you can either mix a few ounces into a gallon of water or sprinkle the urea on the leaves and water it in with a spray hose and mix. The urea needs water or it will just volatize into the air.

It's Marjory the Trash Heap

Holy cow I didn't know there was a sentient Muppet compost heap! Cool.