Complete Newbie - Temperature is now just under 70C!

[PeteG101 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PeteG101]

Hi All,
As what I would have described as 'reluctant gardening' has become more of an interest over the years, we saw Hotbin advertised and thought it would be ideal to help tackle what seemed to be an ever expanding pile of garden waste.

Well, we've had it about three weeks now and are starting to get enthused. It was a bit slow going at first, with the temperature inside only sitting at about 40C. In fact, we were starting to get concerned we weren't operating it properly. However, in this last few days the thing has been getting really active. The inside temperature is now just under 70C! This may be due to the spell of warm weather and/or the small quantity of grass clippings that went in last week, but whatever it was, it seems to have really got the process 'fired' up (get it?).

We're now looking forward to extracting our first mulch in a couple of weeks time and contemplating getting a second hotbin.

[EnlightenedElm Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close EnlightenedElm]

Hi PeteG101,

We are pleased to hear that you've got your HOTBIN working at hot composting temperatures and that you are getting enthused.

Please note that it can take a little while for the unit to get up to temperature unless the 40cm base layer is created in one go. Once the height of waste in the unit increases past 40cm, the temperature tends to rise more significantly as the bacteria have access to a larger food supply.

Going forward continue to add some fresh material, bulking agent and shredded paper every couple of days and the internal temperatures should remain between 40-60°C.

If you have any questions, please post them and together, the HOTBIN community should be able to help.