Extreme Composting

LOL! So you suggested that they grok the compost?

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Cardboard.... Just installed kitchen cabinets next door and have a lot of boxes leftover. Can I put them in the garden and let them over winter and till them in or should I put the compost pile over them and let them rot? There is no ink or plastic coating.

You could save them over the winter and use them between rows for mulch, next growing season.....and pile a little of whatever other mulching materials you have over top of them.....
Or you could mix them into a compost pile now.
Or, if you do put them in the garden now, put a little finished compost or weeds or straw over them to hold moisture on them and to keep them from blowing away.

Cardboard is generally good stuff.

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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

Forerunner beat me to it but my favorite use is on the ground to further smother weeds and extend my mulch supply. I get pallet sized sheets of cardboard from my feed supplier that had been used to pad bagged feeds, etc., from the slats and they work great.

Also work well to start new planting beds ala lasagna gardening.

Awesome!! I didn't just want to burn them. Thanks

Just cover cardboard with any dirt and it won't exist come spring. Worms will eat it on short order.

My new 12 yard load of grinder tub offal has a temp of 160.

I've noticed that my saw dust seems to pack really tight. Is the only solution to mix it very well with lots of greens? Wouldn't that upset the C to N ratio?

My opinion would be to err on the side of too much nitrogen than too little, unless time is not an issue.

I like to err on the carbon side, for odor control and speed-of-decomposition.....

Too much N will ferment, and that fermented goo will endure for a long, long time without stirring to re-introduce oxygen.

Too much carbon will still decompose, although very slowly if its too high a percentage. That, and carbon will be sucking nitrogen from wherever it can get it, all the while. Nitrogen is in the air, the rain, etc. while carbon is pretty much just in whatever we bring to the pile.

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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

I agree that having TOO much Nitrogen can cause issues. I did not mean to use extreme ratio N to C.
If the pile ends up with a little to much N then I just add some C on top until I can remix with additional C.

At my age I need faster piles, younger folks have more time

More nitrogen and the occasional pile turn will work.

Those with time ?

More C and no pile turn for a year would be my recommendation.

Perfection is a pile of pure carbon on hand at all times, and the working piles close to hand so that any nitrogen surplus that comes in can be immediately balanced out of the permanent C pile.

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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

Dogs attacked my chickens last week and this morning one came back for more. All he got was lead poisoning.

So I added one dead dog to my compost pile early this morning. Used tractor bucket to make hole in pile, sawdust on top and then two buckets of compost on top of that. No need for any dog lovers to attack me because I love dogs myself but this dog deserved what he got.

Pile received 9 dead chickens last week, this was not the intended source for nitrogen.

You'll get a second on that from me.......

I despise a killer, whatever it's breed.

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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

Oswego, you made the best of a bad situation. Other than probably missing when I tried to shoot that dog, I would have done the same thing.

Hey Tim question. All is well this side of the world well almost. Garden is doing good despite only 2 inches of rain since we were able to meet. Garden is showing stress despite massive mulch. I did water tonight so I'm not that mean. But my squashish plant dd 5( planted it,) Died all the rest of the plants are almost well. Will add mineral soon to the dry earth, as I have found some. Are roots too shallow with mulch? and squashish plant needs water more then tomato plants and cabbage. Just found it strange the plant is dead.

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I'm so done here.

Check the center of the stem, close to and at ground level, for evidence of a borer.

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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

I will do that. Can you believe in all the years I have gardened, I have never dealt with a borer.

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I'm so done here.

I think I have mentioned that I live in town but have 5 acres with fish ponds on the edge of the City limits. I used a dozier a few years ago to scrape up weeds, brush and small trees so I could keep it mowed. I piled up the vegatation into two large piles and they have since turned to beautiful compost. I failed to keep it mowed and now have to rent a dozier again to do it again. First I'll pluck the young trees that have been growing in my piles so I can get to it with front end loader as needed. This time I'll also be cleaning up the property lines so I can do additional fencing and attempt to have some mammal mowers(goats) to help me keep the vegegation in control.
If things go right in the next two years I'll sell my house in town and build small energy efficent home on my five acres. I plan to go ahead this fall and plant fruit trees out there to get them a head start. Thinking about angling the blade to cut out trenches and fill with compost as my fruit tree planting area.
Any other suggestions for the fruit trees project? Or overall project?

Oswego, sorry I can't offer any helpful suggestions for your fruit trees, but I do have a question. What size dozer do you rent and where do you get it? I looked into renting one from my local CAT dealer to do my 4 miles of fence line, but they wanted a $1M insurance policy which I could not do.