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The 20" probe is long enough to reach the core of your compost to provide you with an accurate temperature. It is very important to maintain high temperatures for bacteria to promote rapid composting. The easy-to-read dial shows the optimal range for hot composting and also measures soil temperatures. This thermometer is made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel and measures up to 220°F.

Quick and Easy Compost

When you make compost, you replicate nature’s own system for feeding plants— turning organic waste into life-giving humus. Below is a simple recipe for creating a quick batch of healthful compost for your garden, and you will find that the fall season provides its share of “ingredients” for compost:
its share of “ingredients” for compost:
       Green plant matter—grass clippings, spent vegetable vines, pulled weeds (no seeds!), hedge clippings, vegetable peelings
        Dry plant matter—autumn leaves, straw, cornstalks, small twigs

Directions:

1. Combine the ingredients in a compost bin. A mix of green and dry is best. To speed decay, chop or shred the materials and mix in Compost Alive! Green or Dry, depending on your ingredients, along with some redworms.
2. Moisten, but don’t saturate, the pile.
3. Turn the ingredients about once a week or more. This will help aerate the compost so microbes get the oxygen they need to break down materials quickly.
4. Allow compost to “cook.” Monitor the pile’s moisture, especially during hot weather, and add more water if necessary. In four weeks or more, depending on how often you turn, check for finished compost. It will be dark, moist and crumbly, with a sweet, earthy odor.