Compost and Soil Record
Know which heap is ready and what has already been spread where, instead of guessing at both every spring.
GG-04 2 pages
Growing results and crops · GR-07
Compost Batch Record
A free printable compost batch record — heap or bin, the date it was started, what went into it, the turning dates, any temperature you took, when it was ready and where it went.
Download Free · no sign-up
One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Know which bin is ready and which is still cooking, and see why one batch came out well and another did not.
Who it is for
Gardeners and smallholders running more than one heap or bin, and anyone on a shared site where several people add to the same heaps.
How to use it
- Give each bin or heap a name or number and stick to it.
- Start a line when a heap begins filling, and list what goes in as it goes in.
- Date each turn in the turning column rather than counting them afterwards.
- Fill the temperature column only if you actually take a reading.
- Note where the finished compost was spread — it is useful when a bed does well.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: Each heap or bin as a batch — when it was started, what went into it, when it was turned, and where the finished stuff ended up.
Your heap, your dates. No mix ratios, turning intervals or temperatures are printed here. Heaps behave differently by season, size and what you feed them, so the dates and any readings are yours. A heap with no thermometer on it simply leaves that column empty.
Write-on lines: Site / garden · Season or year · Bins or heaps
Batches — one line per heap or bin, from filling to spreading
Table, 12 rows: Heap / bin · Started · What went in · Turned on · Temp if taken · Ready · Where used
Questions
Why is there no ratio or turning interval on the sheet?
Because heaps differ enormously by size, season and what you feed them, and a printed rule would be wrong more often than right. Write down what you did and the sheet will show you which of your own heaps worked.
What if I never take a temperature?
Leave that column empty. Plenty of good compost is made without a thermometer; the column is there for people who have one, not a step you have skipped.
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