After a huge storm last weekend, tons of leaves came down on the block. By Monday they had dried out and I was there for the sweeping.
I put my shredder to use and converted 3 bags of leaves into one full, dense bag of shredded brown fuel.
I added a bunch of leftovers, the compost toilet bucket, weeds I picked from the side yard, and cat food that the picky guy doesn’t want to eat anymore.
On a side note, my cat seems to only want the cheap processed crap. I tried feeding him some super good stuff with real meat in it, and he doesn’t want it!
Anyway, it makes great fuel. My pile has been at or above 131 F for a few days now. Yay!
According to Jenkins, Gotaas, and numerous others, complete pathogen destruction takes place in a well-managed compost pile arriving at the temperature of 62 C (144 F) for one hour, 50 C (122 F) for one day, 46 C (115 F) for one week or 43 C (109.4 F) for one month.
To achieve these temperatures, all you need is at least a 3′ x 3′ x 3′ compost bin with well-shredded leaves and food scraps. Emptying your compost toilet in there will guarantee these temperatures.
As with anything it takes practice, but once you do it once, you’ll keep nailing it. And it feels pretty good. 🙂