Follow these steps to create a hot compost bay | DIY Garden Projects | Gardening Australia

Welcome to my place. It's on a sloping block in the Blue Mountains where I live with my family. In the backyard, we've got lots of projects on the go. We built a chicken coop, we've got guinea pigs and any spare space I'm using to grow veggies. And whilst I love gardening, my little brother Charlie is the head chef of our family. To keep the garden cranking, I've been listening and learning to a lot of gardeners. And the one thing you hear about is compost. This stuff is gold. It adds so much nutrients, water and it's just the life of the soil. This was my first attempt at a compost system. As you can see, it's falling apart a bit. It's actually made from an old bed frame that we were chucking out. So I've been hatching a plan for a new one. This is my new system that I made with a mate. It's a two-bay system. Each one has about a cubic metre, which is a lot of compost. And it's made from recycled pallets, which are heat-treated, so they're safe. It's got these really handy gates, which are just low enough where I can put a wheelbarrow in. And they've also got these handy little corrugated iron sheets attached to the pallets, which make a really good backing when you're digging into the compost. And they also heat it up. And today I'm going to be using my new system to make a hot compost. It's a great way to get a lot of compost in a very short amount of time. Hot compost involves building a compost pile all in one go, which is at least a cubic metre in size. Any less than this and it won't generate the heat required to break down the organic matter. And all the billions of microbes and fungi will be doing all the hard work. All those critters need food, air and moisture. And when it comes to the food, they need a mix of both greens and browns. The brown stuff is this carbon-rich material, like this cardboard, newspaper, straw and sticks. The greens are called greens, but they're not always green. They're nitrogen-rich material, such as this grass, coffee grinds and food scraps. I'm building a pile around this aeration tube. It's an idea to get oxygen into the centre of the pile. I've made it out of some chicken wire. Just be a bit careful when making it because it can have some sharp edges. My first ingredient is a carbon layer of sticks and twigs. The rough textures will allow excess water to drain. Also, just like the wire tube, the bulk of the base will help oxygen get up and into the pile. As a general rule of thumb, you want at least twice as much of the carbon-rich material as the nitrogen-rich green stuff. And I'm not adding any weeds with seeds, bulbs or runners. When I'm adding a layer of carbon, I'm watering it in. I'm aiming for a pile that's moist but not soaking wet. With any kitchen scraps, avoid meat, bread and dairy to make sure you don't have any rodent visitors. And bigger bits like this cabbage, it's best to break them up so the microbes can get in there and do their thing. Comfrey's a really great companion plant to a compost bin. But it could be a bit of a weird neuro, so make sure you check. I keep mine in check by pruning it and adding it to the compost. Adding diverse ingredients like this comfrey will help fire up the microbial life. Hot compost will easily get up to over 100 degrees if you let it. However, the desired temperature to cook it is around 60 to 65 degrees. At this temperature, it's killing off a lot of the pathogens, but not the good bugs. I'm finishing with a nice thick layer of straw. And in two weeks, I'll move it to my second bay. And from there, I'll be turning it every few weeks. Flipping the pile every few weeks gives me a chance to check if I need to add more water and it also helps inject a lot of oxygen into this huge pile. The more you flip the pile, the quicker it'll break down. I'll know when it's ready, because it'll be crumbly, slightly moist and look like dark chocolate. And it's not just me who's excited. Charlie's cooked up a compost-inspired creation. What have you got here, Charlie? Some comfrey's cake with fondant worms crawling all over the cake. Oh, it looks yum. Look at the little worms. And what's going on with the crumble on top? Is that to mimic the compost? Yeah. Yum. Home-cooked compost and home-cooked cake. I think this gardening-cooking collaboration is working out a treat. Oh, thanks, Charlie. That's delicious.