Extreme Composting

From the article, "The U.S. Bureau of Fisheries hauled barrels of live carp on trains and planted them in lakes around the country in the late 1880s. "

While I would love to have some of that fish for my compost pile, it just amazes me (I guess I should be used to it by now) how many times I see that the gov't created the problem in the first place.

Oh no, not another one!!! Cow pee, romance,

I would think that would be a task that he would want 'personal' involvement in although it might take a bit to fill a 5 gallon bucket that way.

__________________
"I love a good debate but detest an argument, and get frustrated at those who can't tell the difference."

Colonel,
If you read thru this whole thread you'll see that he does indeed "commune with the pile" on a regular basis. Why I'll bet he's even trained his young'uns to join in

Mickey,
That's precisely why I was wondering why he wasn't going to reserve the communing (hydration) to himself and his family versus bring a cow into the mix.

__________________
"I love a good debate but detest an argument, and get frustrated at those who can't tell the difference."

The cow pee idea was for Bama.

She's a girl, see, and a city girl, at that.
She can't (yet) be fully expected to commune with her pile.

The romantic inflections were for Mickey. Anybody who can throw up a video like that has me convinced.

__________________
“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

Why thank you Let the peeing begin

Hey, everyone knows the Army slogan "Pee all that you can Pee!"

yeah I know I'm dating myself.

__________________
"I love a good debate but detest an argument, and get frustrated at those who can't tell the difference."

<feeling like a kid in class, waving my hand in the air>

Ooh, ooh - Mr. Forerunner?! My formerly clay and rock soil has... earthworms!! Yay!!!

We are small time here, but learning all the time. We compost about one pickup-size pile at a time - though I think we'll move to two this year, woo hoo! We use our kitchen scraps, shredded paper, cardboard, grass cuttings and leaves gleaned from the 'burbs, some pee pee, etc. We work hard to build up our single 8'x4'x4' pile each time (it's amazing how quickly it all breaks down).

Today I was chopping up part of the garden started last Spring - amended with our compost, a little sand and a little cow manure. And we have worms! For the very first time that I've seen, we have worms.

I have two new tools, too - a garden fork and a 2.5 lb. mattock. I think I'll save for the 5 lb. mattock now, too - to break up new areas for planting.

And I'm thinking of putting our second compost pile on the spot I want to plant in the fall... I'm SO excited! Worms!!

I knew ya'll would understand .

__________________
The three divine teachers of man: worldly calamity, bodily ailment, and unmerited enmity, and there is but through God alone a deliverance from them. Maine Farmer's Almanac

*wipes tears of joy*


Worms.

*sniffle*

I'm sorry.

I usually don't tear up like this, save for weddings and stuff, but....well, you've got worms!!

I wanna send a gift and a card, or somethin', already.

I do understand, Jlrbhjmnc. (wow, that's still a mouthful...or a keyboard full, all depending.....either way, there's just no good way to pronounce it. ))

I'll always get a kick out of the look on the faces of the uninitiated when I run my fingers through a fairly mature compost pile, just sitting there all benign and serene, only to have the mass I pull out come up wriggling with euphoric worms.
After that, why would anybody wanna eat city food ?

__________________
“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

Yep, when the earth worms start showing up you know you are doing good!

I shall never forget my great grand mother showing me how to grow good soil. She could stick her hand into the ground like it had no resistance and when she pulled it out she would have a hand full of worms that looked like snakes they were so large!

I still really like this thread! Thanks for the memories it brought today.

SPIKE

__________________
All things should be done with COMMON SENSE!
All things should be done with RESPECT!
All things have a PROPER time and place!
And most things should be done in MODERATION!

<passing a slightly dusty hanky>

Sniff. Thank you. I know. I have worms! It's so good to be weird to the world and connected to the real.

One of the dear grandbabies was right there, too - she was digging in "her" end of the garden spot. She took it all in as perfectly normal (3 1/2 years old). Well, of course we have worms . Why not?

I know the screen name is annoying. Feel free to consider funny pronunciations. Perhaps one day I will come up with something better. But right now I have to rush through domestic stuff and get outside!

__________________
The three divine teachers of man: worldly calamity, bodily ailment, and unmerited enmity, and there is but through God alone a deliverance from them. Maine Farmer's Almanac

I vote you ask a mod to change your name to, "I got Worms".

Ok I dare you too.

__________________
You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.

I've watched this thread for some time now. I have composted around 14 years now on a small scale. I have built 5 30' raised beds using the krugelkulture method along with sheet composting. Worms worms worms with this method. pull back the soil and wow a nightcrawler it was gone in flash.

My ingredients
Dolomite lime, lots of maple leaves in two layers, a woody plant based compost from a local nursery, horse manure, rabbit manure, around a gallon of coffee grounds a week, Epson salt, alot of paper and cardboard, and worms I find on my property, old firewood and downed tree limbs, great leaf compost from Western Ky universitys farm, drier lint, food scrapes, peat moss, and any other worthy compostables. Missing bone meal now. I know I bought some ingredients, but the beds are great.

I don't have some of the ingredients that some of you have, but I'm trying. Great thread here with a lot of info and great outcomes.

Ky-Jeeper

__________________
A socialist will trample over one hundred poor people just for the chance to throw a rock at a rich man.

What do I need to ad to rabbit manure to make it heat up? I was composting rabbit manure, chicken manure, straw and food scraps all together and it would get very hot. Now that I have more rabbits that makes up most of my compost material, I have a about a 4x4x4 pile of rabbit manure that I piled up but it will not heat up. I just left it sit for the last two months thinking that if it didnt heat up I would just till it into the garden but when i dug into it it was almost slimmy and smelled pretty bad

Air and carbon(browns).

Thank you. I added some straw and mixed it up, it was really wet and we are supposed to get rain tonight so I put a tarp over it. How long should it take to start heating up?

I guess since it needs more carbon that I should not add any more urine

Got a question for you Forerunner, or any of the other Composting Masters out there.

I have an opportunity to get a 1/2 case of old (I mean from the 80's old!) Flintstones type chewable vitamins for free. (A friend of a friend found them in his grandmoms basement (apparently she was a hoarder), going through her stuff after she died.) She knew I like to compost for the garden, and thought the might be useful.

My question is would these be any good to use as compost? Should I forget it, or take em all, use a few what?

Thanks in advance!

Definitely let that pile dry a little, i.e....no more moisture or wet materials. Adding the dry straw was good. Should be heating within a day or two.

I'd certainly compost them. Chewable vitamins are for folks that eat groceries out of dead soil, anyway....

__________________
“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

Its smoking and super hot to the touch!!!

I am so excited, i made the family come outside and look and feel! They werent that excited