How to flip a compost heap

Howdy all,

So we flipped our compost heaps about a month ago, but took lots of pictures so that we could upload them, as a guide on how to flip a compost heap. 

We have three compost heaps right now, since we are trying very hard to make lots of good compost for our next growing season. Our dirt tends to be very dense, and clay rich, so we need to add some organics to help break up the soil. Here you see two of our compost heaps, which I moved into a sunny part of the yard, dramatically increasing how fast it breaks down material.

Having two is great because you can remove the broken down soil at the bottom of the heaps, and then concentrate the remains into one, leaving the other empty for new material.




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Here is our right compost heap, which also has a thick layer of leaf cuttings that are barely broken down:

Here you see the left compost heap, which is nearly full. At the top is a think blanket of grass cutting from our lawn mower, which clearly are no where near being broken down:

If you dig down a little bit, you can see that the material progressively gets more and more broken down. The rule is that if you can tell what something is, it needs to cook more.

Here is a photo of the massive grubs we get in our compost. They are the babys of large green beatles, which I have seen land in the compost heaps, burrow down, and eventually I find their dead bug bodies.

I took the unbroken down compost from the left compost heap, and moved it into the right heap. Eventually I reached material that was sufficiently broken down, which I then put into buckets, and sprinkled around the yard.

This material is very much broken down, despite the few leaves on the top. This stuff is black gold!

Our compost heaps are open at the bottom, so after I have removed enough material, I pull out the compost heap to make the shoveling easier. The left compost heap is better built, so this isn't a problem. Our right compost heap is a bit cheaper, so I have to be delicate or the plastic breaks.

Black gold!

Another rule of thumb is that broken down compost should be hard to move with a pitch fork, given that the material is broken up enough that it falls between the cracks.

Empty compost heap.

I usually like to flip compost heaps the same day that I plan to do a bunch of plant trimming, or after I have built up a stockpile.

 I like to put the fresh material at the bottom of the compost heap, and then bury it in the less broken down material left over from the previous batch of compost (which should have all of the microbes).

Now is the hard part, moving the material from one compost heap to the other. Definitely wear gloves, and have a nice sturdy pitch fork. Once you have moved everything into the final compost heap, you should have lots room for new material.

Keep on composting!