Pro tip: check your compost bin before a heatwave

Last July in Austin I added too many grass clippings to my backyard bin. That thing started smoking by day three of 100 degree weather. Had to haul it to the curb and spread everything out to cool down. Anyone else had a compost pile get dangerously hot like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

rileynelson21d ago

Scrolled past this and did a double take at "smoking." You mean literal smoke? Not steam? Because that's a whole different level of backyard excitement. I thought my pile was bad when it got warm enough to melt snow in winter, but actual smoldering sounds like you were one gust of wind away from calling the fire department. How did you even notice it? Did you just walk outside and see a column of smoke rising from your compost? That's wild.

grace_white24d ago

Turn the pile regularly and keep it damp, that stops the smoldering.

dylan_bell24d ago

Yeah exactly, @grace_white nailed it. Turn and damp is the move. My pile just turned into a smoldering mess that one time, never again.