Our mini experiments are underway. We've build five small compost piles to test the mixture, and keep track of temperatures. When we initially built them, the soil temp was 40F (4C), within days, the piles reached 60F (14C) which still below our goal. We added moisture and adjusted the nitrogen/carbon ratio by adding more nitrogen in the form of organic chicken manure. Now, only a few days later, the temps have all climbed, with the hottest pile hitting 140F (60C).
Note, each pile is seated next to a fruit tree (peach, nectarine, apricot). We'll be tracking this through the winter and sharing our results.
We have also started work on the larger compost pile that will be used to heat a small nearby greenhouse (check out some photos of the work).
