Winter pile never starts

A pile built in November or December sits at 10-15 °C for six weeks or more.

One of thirty faults recorded at this bench · last reviewed 2026-09-18 · By The Compost Desk

01Symptom

A pile built in November or December sits at 10-15 °C for six weeks or more.

1 published log ran into this — linked in section 04.

02Why it happens

Microbial activity roughly halves for every 10 °C drop. A winter pile needs a larger mass, a warm water charge and insulation to reach the thermophilic band.

03What to do

01 Charge the bin in a single session with at least 0.5 m³ of material rather than adding daily.
02 Use 40-45 °C water as the initial charge and mix it through.
03 Stack straw bales on the cold sides; measured difference is 2-3 °C of overnight loss against 6-8 °C.
04 Accept a slower timeline: a December start is a 200-day batch, not a 90-day one.

04Where this has come up in the logs

batch logPoultry litter and sawdust through a January cold snap28 Sep 2026 · insulated bin · 25:1 · 58 °C

05Related logs

Every published log that touches this fault is already listed in section 04.