Extreme Composting

A beautiful morning.

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about.

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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

FR, I like your signature.

Reminds me of a saying I once heard somewhere, it was either from a movie or my father. "Never get into a fight with an old guy, they might be to old to fight and will just kill you instead."

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Patriot Guard Riders http://www.patriotguard.org/

”Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe.”
~Noah Webster

Blame Ozarks Tom.

He sent me the story about old Samuel, in an email.

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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

Hey, Forerunner ...

Do you think a healthy compost pile can absorb certain quantities of muriatic acid? Or should I find somewhere else to dump this stuff?

Well, six weeks away from moving in, the house that I've been building for a year burned down on the 11th. I was just about to start wiring and a big storm blew in and lightning hit the house. Burned it to the ground along with the RV parked next to the house. I'm going to pull out all the metal, granite, tile board, and other noncompostable bits and compost the rest.

The RV was a 1990 E350 with 40k miles on it with a 460 and C6 automatic.

We are going to rebuild but we have to get out of rent right now (bills) so we are moving a small manufactured home onsite. NOTE: Nope, no insurance, we were building it ourselves and had trouble finding it, so we went without.

My question is, we are planning on having to do lots of soil improvements. I'm hoping to bring in lots of organic material. The 460/C6 from the RV are still ok or at least should be. What would be the best use of the 460/C6 to complete our goals? A big dump truck? A big flat bed? I'm also planning on getting a saw mill so the flat bed would help bring in logs. With all that said, I already have a good F250. Would I be better off with a dump trailer?

thanks
Austin

Austin, that is so sad. Sorry about all your hard work and effort literally gone up in smoke.

You could make a dump trailer out of that RV frame.....or go flatbed with dump.

I know all about devastating setbacks.

Kudos to you jumping right back on that rowdy horse.

__________________
“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

Ernst.......

If my understanding is correct, your soil is already alkaline, to some degree.
I'd cut that muriatic with about three parts water and spread it all around the compost pile.
Those microbes can do, especially if you help 'em out like that.

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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

Hrm. I'm wondering how much our piles can absorb. I may be generating a substantial amount.

I poured it on the limestone gravel in the driveway and then it foamed and steamed for a minute and disappeared. It essentially just became salty water at that point, so the book said.

Well dh turned the pile today. A calf died and I had to start a new compost pile. I have a picture if anyone is willing to turn it. Only thing left of a 500 lbs calf and 2 fully grown goats is there gut contents. It was awesome! The tan stuff is stomach and intestinal contents.

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I'm so done here.

I was having a similar thought. Where I am putting in blueberries, I need to move the PH down about 1.5 points. A few drops of muriatic acid in the irrigation water might be a cheap fix. Maybe Martin will weigh in as to the validity of the idea.

Thanks. I didn't even think about the RV frame. I will for sure think about that.

Yeah, we aren't going to stop. I'm too mean to give up. I learned TONS building the house and all that knowledge won't be wasted.

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You won't find many sources which claim muriatic acid is a good thing for soil. It indeed does quickly lower the pH but that's not the only effect. For starters, try this link:

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/muriati...ens-80524.html

As for adding it to a compost pile, it's a matter of how much acid is used and how big the pile is. If it only amounts to a tablespoon per cubic foot, I would not worry about it. Bacteria working the compost might think otherwise but they will eventually recover as the acid is leached out.

Martin

A couple weeks ago I was taking some trash to the road and a truck pulled up beside me. A guy leaned out the passenger window and said: "Could you use a load of wood chips?" I said: "Yes I could". They weren't long backing in the driveway and dropping a whole load of very fresh wood chips from a tree that fell on someone's house a couple blocks away overnight. We just started digging into it this week and it's nice and hot inside and becoming a very usable mulch that is already making it's way around the tomatoes, blueberries and blackberries, apple trees and other new trees in the yard. Perhaps our extensive gardens made us a natural stop for the tree crew. I'm not sure, but I am VERY thankful.

Thanks Martin, good link and info.

Here ya go.

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Hey Rick I should just get ahold of you and send you the pics to post.

I put the animals in the pile I think may. Everything was frozen still. Matter of fact the ground still had snow and a huge chunk if ice on the ground. Here is end of July and all I seen is one bone and a small peice of fur from hema the buck. Well and the stomach contents.

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I'm so done here.

Thought I would jump in here, I've been lurking for about a year. Not a homesteader unfortunately. Stuck on 1/3 acre in a small town. I have a good size organic garden and every year (8 years) I have been tilling in about 12 inches of leaves in it. The garden produces well in the river bottom clay. My problem is the dirt sets up fairly hard and I feel the garden could do better, so I'm switching to compost. I have spot I could make a pallet type setup that is 4' x 16'. I'm thinking about making it one big bin filling it with leaves and manure. Any how, great thread all. Thanx for giving me inspiration. Being we all like pictures, here you go. Pugi

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Use both systems. After 8 years, you know the power of those leaves as far as nutrients are concerned. What's happening is that the leaves don't hold together long enough to make a difference in the soil structure. If you compost them, they'll break down in the pile and they won't be nearly as effective in preventing the soil from setting up. Best would be to continue with the leaves as usual since you know that that works for production. Use the manure and leaf compost for extra nutrients only rather than trying to change the structure.

Martin