Okay, this may sound silly, but being new to composting ... How do you check the heat of your compost pile/bin? I've done load of research on the subject, but no-where does it say how or what to use to test the temperature. Do I just stick an outdoor thermometer in there or what? I just want to do things right!

Any good garden nursery will have compost thermometers with a long stem.

I don't care what the temp is on my compost. It all decomposes one way or another.

You can usually feel the heat or see the steam rising out of a hot active aerobic compost with lots of balanced green matter and brown matter.

Even without a thermometer, if you are seeing these physical effects, your internal temps are perobably over 120-130 degrees F.

It takes temps near 140-160 degrees F to sterlize all pathogens and weed seeds in a compost mixture. If you are using just normal conservative greens and browns (i.e. leaves, grass, food scraps), these high temperatures are not a big deal anymay.

Happy Gardening!