Is it better to keep a compost pile in the sun or in the shade?
Paul Ostrof
compost-sun or shade
Apr 25, 2004
5 Replies
You generally want to keep your compost in the sun if you can. Try to treat your pile as if it were a living plant. Give it water regularly and air (flipping). Equal amounts of green and brown ( carbon and cellous) and you'll good compost in no time... Good luck.
Compost piles in the shade tend to get invaded by the roots of the tree that is providing that shade.
Sun.
It's best to keep a compost pile where it's convenient. That's far more important than the sun or shade issue. Build them right, and they heat from within.
Tree roots can invade from quite a distance. Once more reason to build hot pile with some sort of aeration grates underneath.
I do all my composting in shade. It's cooler for me and my compost stays hot.
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