Hello again! Welcome to the eleventh segment in our series on the Life of a Batch. In this segment, we’ll walk through the ninth turn of our batch. This might just be the last turn.
Previously:
We walked through turn number eight. At this point, it becoming mostly just a temperature watch party.
Today is Thursday, May 11… 11 days since we last turned the batch, and 98 days since we started the batch. How are we looking?
Yes, it’s kinda boring, to be honest. From the outside, it looks almost exactly the same as it did 11 days ago. And that’s normal. The fact is, all of the decomposition heavy lifting is already done. The process at the end is more subtle, with the changes being more structural and biological, than physical.
As for the numbers… the day after the last turn, the temperature dropped to 105°F (41°C), an 8°F (4°C) drop from the day of the turn. This time, the compost reached its peak temperature four days later, May 4, when it topped out again at 110°F (43°C), then dropped down to 104°F (40°C) as of today. Usually when our batch doesn’t go above 110°F (43°C) between turns, that means the end is near.
As we get into it, you can really see that the material is looking even better. It has a nice rich color, and it’s clumping together, which tells us the moisture levels are where we want them.
As always, we mix and aerate, adding water where needed, but very little was necessary this round.
Looking at it up close, it looks like a slightly chunky version of what compost should look like. The color is uniform, and it feels good… fluffy, crumbly and slightly moist. Almost there.
And in the new bay, we’re looking good. That little glisten from the added moisture, the consistent color and texture… we’re very near the end.
And here we are, all turned into the new bay. You can see that the texture is finer than at the last turn. If the temperature doesn’t go much past 100°F (38°C) during this stretch, it’s time to take this bun out of the oven.
Next up:
One more turn, or time to screen? We’ll have to wait and see.