Extreme Composting

Amen, Brother.



But, an extreme composter must find the good in every situation.......

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Off-topic, but if your cow has projectile diarrhea, you may want to get that tested for Johnes.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Maybe some one has asked this before. I searched but did not see it. Should I expect weed seeds to be killed by composting? Any weeds I should not put in the pile?

Hot compost will kill weed seeds.

Be sure to turn the outer shell into the center of the pile after a few weeks, for a more thorough kill.
There are no weeds that I know of that could be detrimental to the program.

Every one has its own unique trace mineral package to offer.

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Nope, just loads of fresh succulent green grass. Water is very nice. Got 3 inches this week. Watching stuff grow cause can't mow. Wanna play in some of my puddles till they dry up? I am having fun. Been way to long.

Can't mow em now. Either weed wackin or pullin. Either way it adds to the pile of very hot horse stall cleanings. Got some laying in a ditch that are splashing wet.

Have started building my piles to take advantage of slope run off. Drought brought on the idea. Gopher holes were artesian wells this morning.

Yeah, we got 4 1/2" on Friday. SOooooooo much nicer than last year, when we watched everything wilt and fry and die.

Got enough puddle splashing going into the goat shed. And after we cleared that out (oh, the corn is so happy now!) it rained again.

Have to dig a swale around that shed.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Two squash plants, both planted on the same day and from the same seed package. Both grown directly from seed. The two plants are 12' apart in the same garden area and are 3 weeks old.

This first plant received more water than the second, but is planted directly into sandy clay loam. No fertilizer has been used.



This second plant is put in a raised bed full of composted humanure. It received significantly less water. No commercial fertilizers have been used, only composted humanure from a family of 7.



Posted in case people doubt that Forerunner knows what he's talking about.

Clearly, Ernie, your family of 7 produces some high quality shi...ummm...err...poo.

Heh. Not yet.

Only about 50% of our diet last year came from the farm (and most of that was from the chickens and the pig). The rest was storebought food, which has a lot less nutritional value. If the input is inferior, then the output is going to be inferior as well (however prodigious).

As we add more humanure, our garden should produce a larger percentage of our food requirements and thus our output will get healthier and healthier. Your body is going to take what it needs and pass on the rest. Plus, from my reading, there is some addition to the nutritional capabilities of humanure due to the bacteria that occur in the composting process.

Anyway, it should be a self-sustaining process. As we use the humanure in our garden, our garden will produce more (and healthier) food, which we will then consume and then excrete more nutrients, which then goes back into the garden for even more health next year.

ERNIE !!


*in a hoarse , barely audible whisper*
Are you sure it's ok for you to be posting here ?


Nice squash plant you got there.

Now give that other one some shi....er, fertilizer, too, already.

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

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You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.

Heh. Probably not ok, no. But I can't resist this thread. The only things in life I care about discussing are crap and plants.

I'm working up a fresh batch for those others right now!

The biggest problem with the humanure is that I can't generate enough of it and turn it into soil fast enough. I'm thinking of putting up a very nice outhouse by the road and a sign that says "we take crap from anyone".

Yeah, it was a bad time of year to be scoping out sources....and it's not like we were blessed with a lot of time.

Any sale barns or yard waste disposal facilities in the area ?

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Quite a few. Lots of folks with horses too, but this is the first year where I have the time and luxury to really make those connections and spend the time doing it. This is going to be a much better year than last one. I tried to build a complete homestead with 20 years of infrastructure in a single year. Ridiculous concept. We killed ourselves building the cabin (you more than me) and then I kept increasing my pace throughout the whole year.

I've learned to let the work set its own pace now. If I wanted to work my fingers to the bone every day then I'd go get a job and join the rest of the human race.

Well, haven't you developed the attitude.

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Heh. Hugely so.

I'm more content now than I've ever been in my entire life. I feel like I escaped from a plantation, found the Underground Railroad, and made my way to Canada.

We recently banned the word "work" in my household. Anyone who uses it has to cook dinner for everyone else. There is no "work" anymore, there is only living. That living may include some things that people might mistake for work, but we don't see it that way.

Hard to explain, but I suppose that you, of all people, know what I'm talking about.

Here are some of the results of our urban compost.....

The squash is happy!

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Holy cow, Fisher !!

Is a squash plant that big even legal ?

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Ok, Ok so everything else is happy too! Salad, Collards and tomatoes in the back. Last year the tomatoes went out the top of 7 ft cages.

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