My Compost Heap just Caught Fire

As an aside, one summer I was on my land trying to rake out dead grass to let the healthy grass grow better. Wife asked 'isn't that a fire hazard'. I said 'no, it will be a bit damp, it will take more than a slight accident to light this, watch'. I took my lighter and flicked it once. I nearly lost my eyebrows. I spent the next 10 minutes frantically running around trying to stamp out a rapidly spreading grass fire.

 

I thought that having a dry compost bin was a bad thing. I've been chucking water in it when I've been washing my kitchen pale out as I thought keeping it damp would aid the decomposition process.

I suppose if I put layers of cardboard in it in layers it would be more difficult to turn over? I've been putting tons of newspaper and shredded paper in though. Paper is classed as carbon isn't it from what I remember

 

Dry is bad JJ, moist is what you should aim for.

 

Indeed.

 

I cover mine, so that it doesn't get sopping wet if (if??!!!!) it rains heavily, and I can thus control the moisture.

 

That's ok. Hope you had a good one.

Ah, so you took the top off for the photo! Sounds like a hard job. I stick everything you suggest on too except cotton waste. Do you have a seamstress in the house? Incidentally, have you tried putting bones on there?

The space I made for the compost last year is larger than I need so at the end of the summer, I shifted all the uncomposted stuff onto the left side. When the black stuff on the right runs out I'll shift the heap back. That's the idea, anyway. To save my back. The worst was when the neighbour complained. It's next to his fence and he reckoned smelly stuff might ('might', you note) ooze into his garden. So under pressure from her indoors I spent all day shifting all the compost out so I could put up a new fence six inches away from the neighbour's one. And then shift it all back. Hurrumph.

The top of mine's dry but the black stuff is gooey which I understand comes from the gums relased when the organic material breaks down. It's also nice and light to handle. May I ask why you add moisture?

Also, do you have a separate compost heap for leaves?

 

Does it have a top?

 

That's a good idea except cardboard is great for starting the living-room fire! In the summer the grass in the meadow opposite us is cut for straw. Later on some bods come and collect it by hand but they leave tons of the stuff so I was using some of that to alternate with the grass on the heap. But it's also perfect for stopping leaf mould mulch from blowing away! So instead I've been layering the grass with cut weed stems which I keep in a pile and they're even better 'cos they let the air in better.

 

Thanks. In the end I left the top on while I was away but it blew off anyway so it got damp enough!

 

That was the big man upstairs blowing it off so you would get the hint

 

You've got a bucket full? The mind boggles!

And can I ask why you need moisture?

 

Did she snigger?

 

Dunno, she might have done. I was too busy to notice. I was too busy running round stamping in a futile effort to extinguish ever growing flames, before abandoning that plan and running off to get water.