Extreme Composting

With the spring rain, one of my piles produces some tea into a low area as-to make a mud-puddle, or maybe it was a tea-puddle. This was the first time I ever got compost tea, so I started scooping it up into 5 gallon bucket, then switched to pumping it in to a 25 gallon container. I filled the container several times. I put some of it on my vegetable garden and some on a 3 year old lilac hedgerow.

Then it rained again, so I filled the container, and ask my Dad if he wanted it for his transplanted shade trees. He didn't want it because he was worried about PH and what looked like a film of oil on top of the water. This is what prompted me to post about bad luck (figure of speech.)

It has been a week since if first but the tea on the plants; no bad luck yet. Today I put another 50 gallons on the lilacs.

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I saw mentioned a few times throughout this thread where it was stated that many like to have squash or pumpkin vines on the compost pile. Per recommendations I read in here, my current compost pile has been built where I plan on building another garden bed next year. Pile is built out of chicken coop cleanout from over the winter, leaves from last year, grass clippings, and pine shavings. Can vines be planted in that pile this year? I do know the pile is hot a couple inches in. Does one just plant right at the base or do you plant nearby? I would think planting into the pile itself would cook the seeds before they had a chance to grow.

You got it, Purple.

Plant those vining types close to the pile, and I hill mine a little with the native dirt to keep them out of too much "tea" in the event of excess rain. They'll climb the pile to mutual benefit but not be overwhelmed.
Now if you let that pile sit a year and aren't quite ready to spread it, come the time, then you can plant direct in it with vining produce and even tomatoes....

ETA...... you could also plant heavy feeders such as corn and cole crops next to the current pile to make a little more immediate use of the rich runoff.

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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.
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I can't remember if this was covered in this thread or elsewhere, but compost tea...

To make tea from soaking compost or manure in water is great, but it is adding labor that may not be the best use of your time. If you put compost around the plants you want fertilized and allow rains or irrigation to water it in, the tea is made for you where needed and there is no need for you to lug buckets of tea around the garden.

But, if you want to go one step further, ACT - Aerated Compost Tea is a whole nuther story. Put water, compost and a sugar source like molasses, left over juice from canned peaches, way over ripe fruit, etc and add a bubbler to aerate. Let this run 24 hours and the bacteria will multiply. ACT can be used as a fertilizer and it is even richer than run off tea, but a better use is as a foliar spray where it acts as a mild pesticide.

Come next spring, and maybe even this fall, that compost pile is already spoken for. A couple more 5 inch rains like I got recently I may use all of it just to fill back for all the erosion I've had so far this year. Though the initial plan was to use it for creation of 1-2 raised beds. Since my garden is on the side of a hill I am working toward having all parts of it as raised beds.

In the past I've taken all the coop cleanings and just spread them about 2-3 inches deep right on the garden beds in the fall. By spring it was mostly broken down and made some incredible soil for planting in.

Now I'm thinking I need to find the materials to double or triple the size of my current pile.

Even a fellow Frenchmen might not turn the tide in my favor. Though if I can find a version in French she would be more inclined. Its very difficult to read in another language than your own.

And Deke, no I was not composting myself into bachelorhood. It was already discussed in this thread about composting wives...just not worth it

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I do not get on here to often, so please forgive me if I am out of line just jumping in here with a question. I have a couple piles contained by pallets, I put a lot of kitchen scraps in them with wood chips and let them sit....well one pile is looking like it is ready to be used ....but fire ants....lots of them....y'all have any suggestions if I do not want to use strong chemicals?

If you have a second pile of fire ants, trade shovel fulls between piles. Won't completely exterminate each other, but will reduce numbers.

I have no science to back this up, but I don't think ants matter. I'm happy to have ants in my piles because they are another decomposer working for me.

When I have ants in piles that are ready to be spread, the ants get spread. The ants are not long lived and will die off if not part of a colony. I think ants are similar to bees in that the eggs in the colony, absent the care of the brood workers, will not hatch.

That said, I'm rarely without several pussy red welts around my hands and ankles from fire ant bites. It gives me pleasure to know I'm tearing apart their home.

Ants are generally indicative of a pile that is finished.....or to dry to heat.

If too dry, add moisture while turning the pile.

If finished (black, pleasant earthy odor and crumbly) just pull a DEKE..

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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

Gents, I do appreciate your expedient replies....and I gotta say I am glad no one said to recycle my ant pile into a fresh pile to reheat....just did not want to do that It does look pretty much finished as you suggested FR. I was worried I might spread the fire ant problem but I can see you guys think that will not be a problem. See I do not tend to use much of anything I would need to wash off to eat chemical -wise but it IS getting old to be out in the garden and look down to see why my foot is burning and see the little buggers going to work on me! I have tried spinosad with disappointing results and DE with so so results....one of you guys mentioned I could mix a shovel full from one colony to another so they would hurt each other I presume...well I read an interesting thing the other day - do not know to what extent it is true or not - said that in some areas the fire ants have been adapting to some of the poisoning attempts. Some sort of natural selection breeding if oyu will that results in some colonies having 2 queens and thus being a bit more tolerant of other fire ants in there range....any you guys hear of this or think anything to it? Ah....well let me not wander too far from the compost subject at hand.....I did feel they may have helped aeriate my pile After reading some of this blog I am thinking I ought to be less casual. I have always just sorta let it go and when its done its done....tried some of the back to eden garden stuff....AWESOME ...after a year. My soil it old cotton country clay I think.....not much organic matter in it. Anyway thanks fellas!

"Pull a Deke" .... LOL!

You have now become a noun ... or is that a pronoun? I never was good at parsing sentences.

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Egad. I was consulting with my co-hostess for an event about getting guests to compost, and she's concerned that A) I'm not licensed, and B) guests can't handle sorting compost (although I often see parties where they're asked to sort recyclables)

*sigh* Technically she's right.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/regs/4411.html

All my animal bedding composting is exempt, and I could accept up to 3000 cubic yards of yard waste a year and 10 dead animals without a permit. But... Food waste is "Source-separated Organic Waste" which does require a permit.

So I can have 10 dead horses covered in locally generated poo and off-farm grass clippings, but I can't scrape my plate onto that pile. *stupid government* *oh wait that's an oxymoron*

... but the very same website says I can compost food scraps at home: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8799.html

Look, I don't want to get judgmental and you seem like a nice person, but my official position on this is that I want you to leave my DEKE alone.

I wanted to wait till I read the entire thread before making a comment and that was some very interesting reading material.

WOW that was a long read Amazing and hats off for giving Mother Earth something back! 4runner I think you are living out a dream that a lot of people would love to do.

I will start some small piles this year and next spring start a garden.

I have a whole pot full of leaves as my house is surrounded by trees. they will be piled together with some hoarse droppings. I would use wood chips, but I live in Germany and they are all bought from the companies that are making wood pellets for ovens.

As I stated above leaves are plentiful and FREE… What I can't get off my own property I can get from the neighbors or just sweep up the street. Very little to almost nonexistent traffic.

Will that combination be ok? I was thinking the layers of leaves will be double or triple of the horse manure?

Thanks and keep it going.

Germany.


I love it.


My ancestry is German......

Leaves and horse droppings ought be a beautiful mix.
Be sure you've got a little moisture in there. Pile it high and deep and let sit.

Welcome aboard.

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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

Been awhile since I posted in this thread. I do love the inspiration and visit often though ..
Here's a few photos. Not sure what page the last photos were on but there you could see how this all started. Not I just have, in the 1st photo a pile of carbon sitting since last year. The size is deceiving. It will take 6-8 truckloads of horse manure for me to mix that properly.
Photo 2 is a pile I mixed this spring. Horse manure and chips. 3 truckloads of horse manure. Its in a shady damp area and really needs some oxygen because it really isnt cooking but its loaded with worms and the neighborhood dogs keep helping me to turn it as you can see by the edges of the pile. That will be turned in the next week or so and then this fall should be ready to spread on my new garden area.

photo 3 is a pile I mixed and turned a couple times. Mixed it with cow manure and it did heat up pretty well. Now its also loaded with worms and some ants and as you can see got some green stuff growing all over it. I've been using this for this years planting in the new garden area.

If I get around to it this summer I will get that pile in the 1st photo mixed with manure and have that ready for sometime next year. Then I need to find more carbon .

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You're piece of Ohio looks particularly green........

If you have a pile not heating, but full of worms, I wouldn't worry about it....Them worms know what to do.

You've got your priorities straight.....








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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.
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