Posted by maco on May 12, 2014 at 01:12 and edited at May 14, 2014 at 13:35

I started a compost pile almost a year ago when I got the house. The county gives out these plastic rings to compost inside of (county green initiatives to save the bay include getting people to compost and use that instead of inorganic fertilizer). I got two because with the size of my yard, the first was quickly filled. Except compost shrinks. So for most of this time, I've had two not very large piles. I have also not gotten any good compost from them. It's all wet leafy bits and matted grass.

Finally, last week I decided to get serious. I bought a 20" long thermometer to measure the temperature inside. It arrived yesterday (Saturday). Meanwhile, on Thursday my other half moved one bin a few feet it get it out of the way of a trench he was digging. So I measured that one, and it was 115°F/46°C (the other was 80°F/25°C). So, turning means rebuilding, not just moving it around a bit when I add stuff? Oh.

The books I have say larger piles get hotter, so yesterday I decided I must be shooting myself in the foot by having two small piles. I combined them. Today, it measured in at 140°F/60°C!

Here's how big it is now:

And here's the thermometer: