How Long Does Composting Take?

So your about to start your compost pile or, perhaps planning a compost pile. Now you are wondering when will it be done?

Like many things in life, the answer is…. it depends.

The major factor is the type of composting pile you have. The fastest type is the kind that you turn regularly. Whether you use a composting tumbler or a pitch fork, you need to turn it every day or every other day.

The slowest type is a no turn pile. You just dump your compost materials in the pile and let nature do its thing.

Between these type is the worm composter where worms do the composting for you. The time it takes depends on the number of worms you have – the more worms, the faster the compost is made.

Here is more information:

Hot Turn: 20 Days

Hot turn piles are the most labor intensive and have more demanding basic requirements, but they produce finished compost much faster than other methods. Your compost pile must measure at least 3′x3′ and have the proper proportions of carbon to nitrogen (brown stuff to green stuff, which should be about 30:1), and whatever material has gone into your pile should be broken or chopped into 1” pieces. Let it sit for a couple days and then rotate it every day for a week and then every other day for another 12 days. This way, you can have finished compost in just over 20 days.

Slow No Turn: 3-12 Months

The easiest way to compost is to set up a pile in your yard where you dump your food scraps, leaves, lawn and yard clippings and simply let them naturally decompose. The amount of time this will take will fluctuate depending on factors like temperature, moisture, and pile composition. When it’s hot and the pile is moist and has a good ratio of carbon to nitrogen (20:1-100:1 in this case), a three month decomposition is possible. But outside of those parameters, it may take up to a year. Also, a family of five will produce much more compost material than a single person living alone. The single person’s pile will take longer simply because it needs to build up a critical mass. Either way, the bottom, or oldest part of the pile, will be ready first.

Worm Bin: 1-3 Months

With worm bin composting, the more well-established the worms are in numbers the quicker they are able to process food scraps. In the beginning, when the worms are first establishing themselves, a three month period to completion is normal, and once they grow in number, which can take up to nine months, they should be able to finish a “batch” in about a month. But of course, this will depend on your worm bin setup.

Composting: A timetable | MNN – Mother Nature Network