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PREVIOUS PAGE <br />Nutrient-ricb compost <br />Tim PAGE <br />(top)American cranberrybusb Viburnum; (top right) <br />Compost bin made of fencing wire; (bottom right) <br />Wooden compost bins; (bottom) Manure storage <br />Hot composting <br />Hot composting requires more work but with a few minutes <br />a day and the right ingredients you can have finished compost <br />in a few weeks. Hot piles must be built all at once in a <br />4- to 5-foot cube and turned regularly. As decomposition <br />occurs, the pile will shrink. A 3-foot cube is needed to main- <br />tain necessary heat. Hot piles can reach 110 to 160 degrees <br />Farenheit, killing most weed seeds and plant diseases. <br />• On a level site, lay down bricks or prunings to promote air <br />circulation. <br />• Spread several inches of the high-carbon material, then mix <br />high-carbon and high-nitrogen material together. Water <br />periodically. <br />• Punch holes in the sides of the pile for aeration. <br />• The pile will heat up and then begin to cool. Start turning <br />when the pile's temperature begins to drop. <br />Move materials from the center to the outside and vice versa. <br />Turn every day or two and you should get compost in less <br />than 4 weeks.Turning every other week will give compost in <br />1 to 3 months. Finished compost will smell sweet and be cool <br />and crumbly to the touch. <br />•: CROW Carter Rem Grant HREmen <br />'• .. • • <br />• • • <br />. • <br />