JUDE: 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 vegies.
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 I'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 materials such as this grass, coffee grinds
and food scraps.
I'm building the 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,
but 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,
bulk at 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.
With bigger bits like this cabbage,
it's best to break 'em 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 weed in your area, 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 temperate, 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 'cause 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 compost cake with fondant worms kind of 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? Yep.
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.