This spring I had the pleasure of attending several Nance Klehm workshops hosted by The Ranch at The Huntington Library and Gardens. The first series was on two different methods of composting and the second series was on bioremediation. I'll try my best at covering some of the basics she went over when discussing and involving us in creating mesophilic and thermophilic compost piles.
![]() |
Fellow class member checking the temp a week after. |
Now, time for thermophilic compost building with Nance Klehm. We started by layering carbon and nitrogen in an eye-pleasing circular design, see below. Like a compost cake! This is a more common composting method.
![]() |
Layering carbon (browns) and nitrogen (greens) and watering whilst doing so. |
![]() |
One week in. |
How hot is too hot before you should start worrying about sterile compost? Nance says around 145 F.
Ask any and all composting questions below and I'll try my best at answering.