Composted 10 5-gallon buckets of various stuff yesterday, mostly coffee grounds. That was a lot of work. It built up because I was out of state for 12 days and it’s been cold, which makes it difficult.
The main compost pile is now close to being frozen — it was reading 35°F in the middle of the pile, and it had a frozen layer outside of that I was unable to fully break through with my compost fork. I pulled the straw aside and put the new stuff on top, which worked okay for now, but it’s going to get tall fast if this situation continues. The worst of the cold weather should be pretty much over (famous last words), so maybe it will thaw a bit and become more active in the coming weeks.
Finished filling my 5-gallon bucket of char with a mix of roughly 50/50 urine/fish emulsion (diluted to normal fertilizer strength). That will soak for a few months, then it will go into the West beds.
Still trying to figure out ways to make char. I may try buying some of those wood pellets that you use in a pellet stove both to heat the retort and to turn into char.
Ending and Beginning 