Quote Originally Posted by clodhopper View Post
I had this issue. I added about 10% soil (introduces some native biologicals) and started soaking the pile at least once a week. We are just so dry here that the pile wont stay moist enough to break down, and yours sounds like too much brown matter, again, pretty normal for around here. Gotta add moisture. Turning helps, but water is more importanter.
Yep, more greens (kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, etc) and watering during the dry months. I turn about once a month except when frozen; keep a 5 gallon bucket w/lid outside the kitchen door and when it's full, it's time to add and turn. Just harvested my compost yesterday and got three wheelbarrow loads of black gold full of worms. Sifted out the big stuff, which went back in the pile, and distributed on top of my raised beds.