HOT compost...

Bermie

Bermie

Location
Bermuda
I've got a non-climbing job...
Drought stressed Bda cedars, giving them supplemental irrigation and a topdressing of mulch to retain moisture and keep the landscrapers away from the roots and trunks.

I had a load of well composted mulch delivered, it was nice and clean but yoy! It was HOT!!! I had to spread it out a bit to let it cool off before I spread it on the root zone, I reckon it would have done damage to the phloem, Bda cedars have thin bark...wot you 'tink?

PS
The compost is FREE, courtesy of the Government, we take all our horticultural waste to the 'dump' including trunks and stumps, they grind it all up, no charge, add dead farm animals and veggie waste from the cruise ships, compost it for about a years and voila...free stuff!
They get over 200 truckloads (3-6 cuyds per load) every DAY during the summer go to the dump, from just 22sq. miles of land!
 
Just hot form sitting in a pile. Dirt will heat up the same way, even if it isnt compost. Unless you were putting 6+" on I wouldnt worry about it. The heat dissipates rather quickly.

I alwys find it amusing to dig into a sand or dirt pile, and find a large rock, grapefruit size, in the middle. I then carefully take the rock and pass it to a fellow employee with no gloves on. They play the hot potato game before dropping it. lol
 
This stuff was steaming when my trucker dumped it on site.
Where it was in the sun was WAY cooler than what was in the pile.
I was putting it on about 4", next to nothing right next to the trunk...but there were quite a few 1" roots just at the surface, exposed from erosion and scalping by mowers and weedwhackers so I had a moment of concern.
I fluffed it around a bit while putting it in the wheelbarrow, that seemed to help, and when I could put my hand in it for 10 seconds without doing the 'hot potato' if figured it was cool enough!

FYI,
The compost has EVERYTHING in it, including palms, the palm leaves and petioles make up the largest proportion of non decomposed material...too much cellulose I reckon.
 
I wouldn't be concerned about it and would spread it without hesitating. It'll cool as your throwing it around. I doubt it'd raise the soil/root temp enough to make a difference.

What's a Bda cedar?

love
nick
 
Bda Cedar is Juniperus bermudiana - endemic to Bermuda.
THE best cedar for shipbuilding, furniture, cabinetry, beams and joists. The timber is incredibly fragrant and rot resistant, light but strong.
Unfortunately 95% of them were killed by two introduced scale insects, juniper scale and oyster shell scale, in the 1940', 50's. The ones that survived are now our propagating stock, seeds and tip cuttings.
They are on the comeback,so, we do what we can to help them. Right now they are suffering a bit of drought stress and they had a bad time with aphids in the spring, and they always have some scale on them. There is talk of a fungus that is causing sudden die off of 3-5 yr old juveniles...they look pale and wilted one week and are dead, brown from top to bottom the next. I think it is taking advantage of the weakened state of the trees.
Yes, well we love trees!
 
Bermie, I'm with you. I would have "tossed" it a bit to cool it also. Doesn't hurt to be careful; just a little extra time. Plants can suffer damage at 120F (50C) so...if it was too hot to put your hand in and your plant is delicate to begin with...just a little extra, well worth it.

Interesting facts on the Bda cedar. I really enjoy hearing these tidbits.

Sylvia
 
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