Compost in 30-90 days Fact or Fiction

HOTBIN Composter can get your composting heap working in as little as 3 days! Jeremy B., a HOTBIN customer says you can!

Composting is trending in the USA and many first timers are thinking about taking  the ‘composting  leap’ and buying one composter, or are about to start composting with a newly acquired unit. If you are part of this group of enthusiastic beginners composting for the first time…you will be motivated and inspired by Jeremy’s Story. He acquired a fully loaded HOTBIN MK2 the first week in April and got it hot and steaming in just three days!

This article is intended for first time composters that are about to take the composting leap and for experienced and avid composters that are looking at HOTBIN as a new alternative for efficient composting. Take it from our newest customer, Jeremy B., who purchased his first ever HOTBIN in April and had his composting heap steaming in less than three days.

Jeremy B., has recently taken up gardening as a hobby, and the following is a testimonial of his HOTBIN experience, in his own words.

“Saturday to Tuesday is three days and the time it took to reach 140°F. I am impressed,” said Jeremy. “A traditional pile or bin might take a month or more to reach half that.”

“I was initially waiting for the lawn to grow tall enough to mow, as the tutorial video recommends grass clippings for the initial setup. However, I had been keeping food waste in a couple 2-gallon buckets in anticipation of being able to start the bin, and they were getting nearly full. I had somewhere around 3.5 gallons of a variety of waste that was getting ripe, and either needed to go into compost or the trash. Said waste was not just the usual compost candidates like coffee grounds, vegetable peels, and overripe fruit. It also contained week-old leftovers containing meats, fats, dairy, and bones. Indeed, the kind of stuff the Internet will adamantly declare must never go into compost, lest ye be eternally doomed to a stinky pile that attracts pests and the ire of your neighbors. I thought it was time to start the bin, and so I did.”

“Following the startup tutorial's recommendation, I placed a layer of twigs over the bottom plate to keep the air holes from getting easily clogged. Then I put in a layer of dried leaves, added some of the kitchen waste, some wood chips, and some shredded cardboard in the recommended proportions. Finally, I mixed it all together. I repeated this process until I was out of kitchen waste, which put the initial load about as tall as the top edge of the bottom panel, as recommended in the tutorial video. I then blended in some compost-based potting mix from last year's garden to make sure composting microbes would be present. I also blended in some blood meal, thinking that the nitrogen it provided would be necessary to cover for the lack of grass clippings. Finally, I filled up the kick-start bottle with the hottest water that comes out of my tap, and buried it in the top layer of the bin.”

“The temperature on the lid thermometer read 60°F on Saturday afternoon after this initial load. But it rose over the following days. By Sunday it had peaked to 80°F during the day, and by Monday afternoon, it was just kissing 100°F. On Monday night, it dropped back down to 90°F, but a check of the bin's contents with the internal thermometer showed 100°F. On Tuesday, I added some more wood chips and dried leaves and adjusted the lid vent and by the end of the day, the lid thermometer was reading 140°F”. Saturday to Tuesday is 3 days -- 3 days to reach 140°F. I am impressed. A traditional pile or bin might take a month or more to reach half that.”

Jeremy started sharing his HOTBIN experience with us and taking pictures by Thursday evening.

Just as we have mentioned in many communications, the internal temperature is usually greater than the outside reading. Jeremy’s lid (external) thermometer was about 128°F whereas the internal thermometer read about 150°F.

 “At these temperatures, I am not at all worried about the safety of the produced compost despite the use of meats and fats as feedstocks. I'd happily use it in my vegetable garden. If I can get the bin to hold these temperatures consistently over the long term, I am seriously considering composting pet waste as well”.

“To anyone considering a HOTBIN… go for it. The target temperatures might seem daunting, but they are easily achievable.”