Extreme Composting

Forerunner · #**941** 04/23/11, 03:27 PM

Ah, now......no need for apologies. We take 'em as they come, here.

Compost that goat in your well-tended piles, buried a couple feet or more from the surface, and resist the urge to turn for a few extra weeks. In a hot, well-balanced pile, that goat will be dirt and odor-free bones in less than six months. When the odor is gone, feel free to use that compost anywhere.

HillBunker · #**942** 04/23/11, 05:26 PM

Thanks Forerunner! Our buddy is now a part of the HillBunker Circle of Life. Seeded well with active compost and put 650+lbs of urine soaked sheep manure and bedding on top. Hopefully I'll have time to clear out the chicken pen this week and add that as well. I'll give it a good month (maybe two) before the first turn and keep an eye on it. Thanks again to the HST forum, you guys are great.

Forerunner · #**943** 04/23/11, 06:33 PM

For the record, when composting animal carcasses, lean more toward the immediate addition of high carbon material rather than too much wet stall cleanings.
Stall cleanings do raise the desirable bacterial content, and if there is enough carbon available to balance both wet stall cleanings and animal carcasses, well.... yer gunna have some good stuff.

nebraskafarmer · #**944** 04/23/11, 11:00 PM

Haven't been back to this thread in a while, wondering how everyone east of here is getting along with the wet weather, and trying to work ground, planting, etc, etc....

Here in central Nebraska we have been getting rain every three days which would be great if everything was planted, but up till the last week its been too cold for any kinda plating (even my potatoes which normally are just a substitute till corn planting weather).

margo · #**945** 04/24/11, 08:42 AM

Here in the Ohio Valley, we are soaked to the bone,and are gettin darn tired of wet weather. Our cabbage starts have wanted real soil for a good while. We can't turn or till the garden for it would be like plowing soup.

Now about July, this rain would come in quite handy. So....we wait.

SmokeEater2 · #**946** 04/27/11, 12:54 PM

Forerunner,thank you very much for starting this thread! I've read the whole thing and thanks to the ideas that You,Mudburn and all the other contributors to this thread have given me my composting efforts are going to be greatly expanded.

I've chased down a couple of power company chipper shredder truck crews and made arrangements for them to dump wood chips here and after talking to a few lawn care guys, they are more than happy to have a place to dump all their grass clippings and shredded leaves too. :banana02:

Another thing I learned from this was the ability to compost animals,which was something I'd never considered before at all. All the rest will will go into the compost and be a part of this ol' farm in a much more meaningful way than just being buried in the field.

Now if the rain will just stop and the ground dry up a bit I can start getting that good stuff hauled in here,but at least the rain should guarantee LOTS of grass clippings.

Thanks again to you all!

Forerunner · #**947** 04/27/11, 01:11 PM

Welcome aboard, Smoke....

With all that delicious vegetable matter that you have lined up to march straight to your door, composting animals will be a pleasure, I'm sure.
Sounds like you have carbon covered, and that's the key to long-term composting.
Just embrace patience and let her continually reward you well.

Oh, and....Arkansas, indeed..... stay safe down there.

sticky_burr · #**948** 05/01/11, 01:22 AM

yes i have read it all ... but i dont recall seeing it answered . say you have a dog in the 'post with nessicary water and carbon... how long til you can turn the pile ? how about a cow ?

Forerunner · #**949** 05/01/11, 03:14 AM

Depends on how big and how hot the pile.

Good pile/good heat..... a dog in two months, a cow in six to eight.
With proper equipment or motivation, one can always turn the pile.....
If the critter ain't cooked all the way through, just reposition the remains in a bed of higher carbon concentration to finish.

sticky_burr · #**950** 05/01/11, 05:31 PM

yea but i am thinking after a month a medium cow or lost calf woould be rather greusome lol i suppose after a few times it will be second nature.

is it benificial to open said .. animal matter up ?

Forerunner · #**951** 05/01/11, 07:46 PM

There's no need to open up a pile with an animal carcass in it before breakdown is complete, if that carcass was buried in high carbon material to begin with.
For the squeamish layman(or woman) who needs to dispose of a dead critter, just leave that pile sit for a year or more.

raken · #**952** 05/01/11, 08:55 PM

Wow my measly compost pile has lost some of it's shine (and smell haha). Guess I'll have to stay under the porch... can't run with the big dogs here.

Forerunner how much ground do you have? I know I read it but didn't retain it. Ya'll are awesome! Thanks for the inspiration, now I have to find contributors and a good parking space!!!! Thanks again. Please share more!

Forerunner · #**953** 05/01/11, 09:49 PM

I'm actively working less than ten acres, at the moment.
.....and none of it is what I would call overdone with fertility.
Good? Oh yeah..... but every year sees another round of improvement in various positive soil and crop characteristics, and I'm still looking for that epitome of absolute soil fertility.
When I get there, I will definitely post all about it.

Don't hold your breath......

Freya · #**954** 05/02/11, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forerunner

I'm actively working less than ten acres, at the moment.
.....and none of it is what I would call overdone with fertility.
Good? Oh yeah..... but every year sees another round of improvement in various positive soil and crop characteristics, and I'm still looking for that epitome of absolute soil fertility.
When I get there, I will definitely post all about it.

Don't hold your breath......

When you get there what will you do next? After you Riverdance all over all the fields that is. :happy0035:

Forerunner · #**955** 05/02/11, 08:13 AM

I suppose I'll take up space travel when the soil finally suits me.

SmokeEater2 · #**956** 05/02/11, 10:54 AM

Saturday night a coon decided to make a raid on my chicken coop and it didn't work out the way he planned. Our Pyrenees/Anatolian cross made it to the scene before any birds were killed (few lost feathers though) and ran him up on top of the hen house. After dispatching the raider this thread popped to mind and so the coon is currently adding to a pile of wood chips.

Before reading this thread I would have just disposed of the carcass and the soil would have received very little benefit from it. It's a small step I know, but now everything that can possibly be composted will be.

Silvercreek Farmer · #**957** 05/02/11, 02:29 PM

Been gone for a while, but had to check back in, catching up on the thread motivated my to call my tree man and order another load of chips!

HillBunker · #**958** 05/03/11, 04:58 PM

Well the "goat pile" is already cooking. Dug about 1' deep to toss in what came from the kitchen compost pail and it was already smoking. Dang, just remembered that I need to take a core temp.

luv2farm · #**959** 05/03/11, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forerunner

For the record, when composting animal carcasses, lean more toward the immediate addition of high carbon material rather than too much wet stall cleanings.
Stall cleanings do raise the desirable bacterial content, and if there is enough carbon available to balance both wet stall cleanings and animal carcasses, well.... yer gunna have some good stuff.

For those of us just starting this composting journey..... what are a few examples of Carbon?

I understand I need browns/greens. But at what percentage? This is all a little intimidating to me

Forerunner · #**960** 05/03/11, 07:14 PM

Carbon sources include sawdust, wood chips, paper, straw, dry leaves, dry grass clippings, cardboard, etc. Old hay would work, too..... pretty much any dry vegetable matter.
I reckon those are all considered "browns".
You want your animal carcasses buried in browns.