Compost is working and ready when it has reduced to at least half of it's initial volume.
Your compost will be ready when the compost is dark brown and crumbly and has an earthy smell to it.
The Browns to add to compost are dead or dry leaves, hay, straw, eggshells, tree branches, dead plant clippings and newspaper.
For every 12 square feet of area to a depth of 1 inch you need 1 cubic food for compost.
To add compost to a raised bed first break up the soil surface at the bottom of the area and then add 2 to 3 inches of compost to the raised bed.
Mix any added materials into the existing soil and if you have excavated the soil while installing the raised beds you should also mix in the compost and use it to fill the raised beds with.
The amount of compost you should add to your vegetable garden is 1 to 3 inches on the vegetable garden in fall or spring.
And as a soil amendment before planting new beds you should use 1 to 3 inches of compost tilled or dug into the soil.
When your compost is working it will have an easy to touch texture and it should feel earthy or loamy and sometimes a rotten smell can accompany the slimy texture.
You can put some soil into your compost pile or compost and it will mask odors and also help accelerate the composting process due to the microorganisms in the soil.
Your compost can become clumpy when some of the materials take too long to break down or when your compost pile is too dry.
You can speed up the composting time process by chopping or shredding the materials up smaller and putting them back into your compost pile.
If compost is too wet it can have a strong and unpleasant odor and may even appear soupy or slimy which can happen if there is too much green material or too much water added to the compost.
The wet compost that is too wet may even get moldy and if the compost is too dry it can cause it to not break down properly and may also appear dry, inactive and crumbly.
A compost pile should be in the sun as the compost pile in the sun will work faster and turn into compost faster than it would in the shade.
However compost piles work either in the shade or sun but they do the best in the sun.
A healthy compost pile should smell earthy and pleasant with no bad smell.
At first a healthy compost pile should look dark in color similar to regular topsoil or dirt and appear crumbly in texture.
As the compost pile ages and becomes better it can turn a white color which is a sign of a healthy compost pile.
None of the organic material in the compost pile should be recognizable when the compost is done.
Compost turns white due to bacteria called Actinomycetes which form as heat builds up in the compost pile and then can extend down through the compost pile in spider web like forms.
The white compost pile is a sign of a healthy and good compost pile.
You should spread compost at least once a year or twice a year in the spring and fall.
The frequency however can vary and depend on the specific needs of the plants and the condition of the soil.
Simply spread a thin layer of compost on top of the soil in empty beds in spring or autumn.
Then allow the rain to wash the nutrients deep into the soil to your plants' roots.
Your compost hole should be at least 1 ft deep and the area of the hole will be determined by the amount of any organic matter that you prefer to add.
However at most your compost material should at least reach a depth of 4 inches in the compost hole.
Compost should sit at least a month before planting and then add 1 to 3 inches of the finished compost and work it into the top 4 inches of the soil.
The compost may also be used in a garden as a top dressing or even mulch through the summer.
You should also be sure to turn the compost daily to speed up the process of the composting and you can even add a bit of beer or soda or even some vinegar to help speed up the process of making the compost.
Compost should look dark brown, crumbly and also smell like earth when it's ready to be used.
Soda is good for compost and the soda can boost the composting process due to the acids in soda.
The sugars in the soda also attract microorganisms that are needed to jump start the breaking down process of the compost.
A compost pile should be made in layers to increase the number of decomposing microbes in your compost pile.
Your compost can be too wet when you add grass clippings or other vegetation or vegetables with too much water content or if you're watering the compost pile too much.
Also if too much grass clippings or vegetables etc are added to the compost pile it can cause the compost pile to become compacted which can cause the air spaces to fill with water.
Compost should be somewhat wet but not too wet.
If the compost is too wet it can kill off the bacteria which helps the compost break down but you don't want it to be too dry either.
Keep the compost wet but only slightly wet but don't over saturate it too much.
The little balls in compost are worm eggs which are found in compost and is a part of the composting process.
Compost piles should be covered in the winter but in the summer the compost should be left uncovered unless there's a lot of rain.
The signs that your compost is ready is when the compost looks dark brown, crumbly and also smell like earth.
You can know when your compost is ready by the way it looks and feels and even smells.
When your compost is ready it will look, feel and smell like rich dark earth instead of rotting vegetables.
Finished and ready compost should look dark brown, crumbly and also smell like earth.
You should put your composter in a sunny spot so that the sun can help keep the compost hot and help speed up the composting and break down of the compost.
Also compost breaks down much faster on the ground than it does in a compost bin.
Compost should be in the sun as much as possible as the sun will help speed up the composting process and allow the compost to decompose much more quickly.
However compost will still decompose in shade but at a much slower rate.
You can make a compost pile without a turn if you're making kitchen and yard waste compost as it will compost without turning.
The microbes, bugs and even the worms will do the work of adding oxygen to the compost pile.
You can turn your compost pile too often which results in the disruption of the formation of the actinomycetes fungi which does most of the composting work and can also prevent your pile from heating up completely.
A good compost activator is Super Hot Compost Activator.
You can make your compost hotter by turning the compost more often and making sure the compost is wet enough but not too wet and not too dry.
Also make sure there's enough green material or nitrogen available.
You can easily activate your compost by using a product called Super Hot which is an organic compost activator made of hungry micro organisms and nitrogen.
Activating compost can also be done by adding water and turning the compost daily to get the compost to start breaking down.
A compost piles takes on average of 1 to 2 weeks to decompose and can take a few months or longer to fully decompose and turn into usable compost.
Compost can become clumpy when you don't have enough moisture in the compost or if you added large amounts of clumping prone materials such as cardboard, paper or grass clippings.
A compost pile should be watered at least 1 to 2 times per week.
Just don't water the compost too much as it can smother the compost pile.
Too little water and the bacteria in the compost pile will be killed and you won't get the compost.