Extreme Composting

CesumPec · #**1901** 12/13/12, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forerunner

My bone crusher is manufactured by (hold on to your femur) Bearcat, the feedmill folks.

Quite a deal you got. I've been looking for a used hammermill for a year. Went to the local auction again today and still nothing. I think they are more common in the midwest for some reason because anytime i see them listed on websites, they are the former northwest territory or great plains states.

Oh yeah - love the cow and very impressive what you've done with the rocks to rye conversion.

Forerunner · #**1902** 12/13/12, 06:37 PM

The ledge to the right of the Grand Little Canyon will be ten feet above the water, give or take. The boys are looking forward to some lightweight skydiving.

Here is another shot of the Canyon, from a little more north of the hole.

Extreme Composting - Homesteading Questions

Notice the weedy sand and gravel "vein" to the left.
That is the original "creek" bed. It used to flow regular enough, generally kind of slowing to a seep with a few puddles come each August.

That will give you some idea how deep I dug.....as that water is already 15-16 feet deep. It took me a few hours of pushing.

jd4020 · #**1903** 12/13/12, 09:38 PM

Love your cow. I like what you have going on with the dam; how long have you been working on it? (sorry if I missed the post that might have said when you started this) We also have a small stream that usually dries up around August and have kicked around the idea of putting a pond in the middle of it. There would be several possible spots. The problem we see is the run off of farm chemicals. Are you saying you have several ponds that feed into each other and sort of "strain off" any chemicals?
And how are you incorporating the water wheel? Oh my, so many wonderful ideas happening. Thank you so much for sharing.

Great pictures.
Dh got a Bobcat a few years ago. First thing he did was haul up some "small, dainty" field rocks for the front yard and then some more for the goldfish pond in the garden.

He used the BC to dig the goldfish pond. Not on the scale as your pond, but after all, it is in the garden.

Makes cleaning out the barn go a lot quicker as well.

Extreme Composting - Homesteading Questions

My golden eyed cat, Cheese Whiz. She always found me what ever I was doing in the garden (or anything outside) She had the most amazing purr along with her golden eyes. Sadly she died a couple of weeks ago, she was about 14. Now she rests in the garden.

God bless,
jd

Forerunner · #**1904** 12/14/12, 02:04 AM

I bought the new ground in late 2010, and started clearing for the project shortly thereafter. One aspect of the project that took some time was reclamation of goods discovered.

I found both, several veins of sand and gravel and several veins of phenomenally rich, dark, loamy earth and some of that below several feet of clay

).....and carted out dozens of my heavy dump wagon's worth of both, to be used and stockpiled for later. I still have some of that to do, downstream, where the wheelhouse will be built.

Waste not, want not, I always say.

I understand your husband's enthusiasm with the Bobcat, JD.
I bought my original land when I was 22, and, with the help of the brother-in-law of the lady who sold it to me (both are related to my ancestry and looooong time friends of the family.....the old man had given up hope on energetic youth with vision until he stumbled across my towheadedness one fine day.....and he was a help, let me tell yuh!)
I purchased my first backhoe just weeks later. It was a fine, Case, 1974 model with a cab and extendable dipper......it was also in desperate need of a valve job, which it got pretty quick.
I was a kid in kid heaven for some time after that.
First real project I undertook was the building of a pond.

As for the runoff logistics...... the first four ponds I built are subject to zero ag chemical runoff, and the big one here takes 95% of it's water from the timber. There are fields way up to the east that barely run into it, but most of the runoff from them go south and further northwest than the series of ravines that feed down here.
I don't take my blessed water configuration for granted......

We have so many cats right now, I wouldn't know if one came up missing.
Lily prolly would, though...... she keeps close tabs on her kitties.

"Incorporating the water wheel" will be somewhat of an engineering project.

I wish some of me good mates who have contributed to this thread could be here to brainstorm. I've got a pretty good idea where I need to go with it, but words would just confuse the issue at this point.

There'll be pics accompanying further progress.

CesumPec · #**1905** 12/14/12, 02:38 AM

is that water wheel merely decorative or running a genset, I hope? A pond that big could probably generate most all of your electric power needs.

Forerunner · #**1906** 12/14/12, 03:06 AM

What, you expect me to do something practical ?!!

Of all the nerve !

CesumPec · #**1907** 12/14/12, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forerunner

What, you expect me to do something practical ?!!

Of all the nerve !

i think that it is only right that you name your latest dam, Hoover.

Forerunner · #**1908** 12/14/12, 11:51 PM

Get out of town!!

That's just what my Pop says whenever he brings another one of his old feller buddies down to see it.

I have plans for some electric, but I'm intending to go with a bigger wheel and some mechanical power, maybe small line shaft.

Let me know when you've got a weekend free and we'll break ground for the wheel house.

ChristieAcres · #**1909** 12/15/12, 12:42 AM

This is a great thread, Forerunner, and it gets more interesting all the time!

We did a lot of crabbing this year, and the result are lots of shells (!!!). We let the chickens at them, first, but now have accumulated a nice pile. What does our resident expert suggest?

Forerunner · #**1910** 12/15/12, 01:02 AM

Good to hear from you, Lori.

I envy your crab bounty. Yum.

Hmmm....

I believe I'd dry them shells and grind them just for the chickens, allowing them free access to the stuff in a separate feeder.......unless I had hundreds of pounds, or more, in which case I'd compost 'em.
The microbes might express a little initial dissatisfaction with a carbon/protein based fodder like that, but it couldn't be any worse than chewing on an old toe nail. They'd get over it.

Just out of curiosity....how many shells is "lots" ?

ChristieAcres · #**1911** 12/15/12, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forerunner

Good to hear from you, Lori.

Thank ye for responding so promptly!

I envy your crab bounty. Yum.

Yes, we worked pretty hard, as the pics show just "some" of the bounty..."

Hmmm....

I believe I'd dry them shells and grind them just for the chickens, allowing them free access to the stuff in a separate feeder.......unless I had hundreds of pounds, or more, in which case I'd compost 'em.
The microbes might express a little initial dissatisfaction with a carbon/protein based fodder like that, but it couldn't be any worse than chewing on an old toe nail. They'd get over it.

Just out of curiosity....how many shells is "lots" ?

Since we started collecting just since early Crabbing and most of Winter Crabbing, we are up to having 100s of crab shells. This Winter we did great! The catch limit is 5 Dungeness Crab, and 6 Red Rock Crab per day for each License. We are both licensed... I did post these pics elsewhere, but since this is on topic...

Extreme Composting - Homesteading Questions

This is just three days worth... We have a lot frozen in whole milk, which works well, but I didn't want any more frozen, so I began canning it. It won the taste test hands down!

CesumPec · #**1912** 12/15/12, 07:35 AM

FR - I envy your pond and your future water power. When looking for land I thought long and hard about something in the mountains of TN just because I wanted to do something similar. In the end, the lower taxes and greater warmth of FL won out.

Lori - I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay and for me, nothing beats a Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab. But I'm still highly impressed with your crab supply. Without FR's hammermill, not sure how you'll grind up those crab shells in quantity, but I would happily add them to my compost pile. Did your shell pile send up a big stink? When the crab packing plant back in VA was working and the wind came from the wrong direction, the whole city reeked of rotten crab.

Forerunner · #**1913** 12/15/12, 08:37 AM

Rotten crab......

That makes my mouth water, on behalf of my microbes, of course, just letting those two words ooze off me lips.

Lori, I'm more jealous than CP.....I don't care what he says.

Do you have a picture of the shell pile ?
Dried out a bit, they'd crack up to chicken grit with a sledge hammer and a concrete pad, no ?

Of course, if there's residual rotten crab....those chickens might enjoy free access to the pile.

Studhauler · #**1914** 12/15/12, 09:33 AM

Forerunner, it is good to see those mountains piles of compost tilled under and green fields in their place. The cow looks happier in the field than she did in the pen when I was there, and she is rewarding you for her freedom and you compost efforts.

Forerunner · #**1915** 12/15/12, 09:40 AM

Yeah, every time I walk out there to enjoy the green serenity she runs up to me like a puppy and tries to knock me down.

That's gratitude, for yuh.

:

What month did you come see me in.....and at what point was Hoover when you saw her ?

ChristieAcres · #**1916** 12/15/12, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CesumPec

FR -

Lori - I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay and for me, nothing beats a Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab. But I'm still highly impressed with your crab supply. Without FR's hammermill, not sure how you'll grind up those crab shells in quantity, but I would happily add them to my compost pile. Did your shell pile send up a big stink? When the crab packing plant back in VA was working and the wind came from the wrong direction, the whole city reeked of rotten crab.

Nice! There are actually a lot of folks here who don't go crabbing (???). DH had a friend who paid for most of the fuel, so he could go. That sure cut down our expense! I don't know how we will grind up the shells, will have to give that some thought.

No rotten Crab smell. We cook the crabs whole, then clean, and shell them. A portion of shells are given to our chickens, who clean them thoroughly. The rest are either in the extra fridge or frozen, to be fed to the chickens later. Our outdoor hunting cats, sweet as they are, LOVE getting crab shells, even eat the shells!

ChristieAcres · #**1917** 12/15/12, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forerunner

Rotten crab......

I don't think that would be very pleasant, so purposely limited how much was given to the chickens each time. I took all the Venison out of the freezer and canned it, so we had room... Right now, there are a lot of crab shells in there, along with the meats we keep frozen.

That makes my mouth water, on behalf of my microbes, of course, just letting those two words ooze off me lips.

Oh, we know of your composting passion, lol. Without such, this wonderful thread would lack momentum.

Lori, I'm more jealous than CP.....I don't care what he says.

I am jealous of your equipment...

Do you have a picture of the shell pile ?

No, and it is currently SNOWING, the first snow of the year! DH was also tossing shells, after the critters cleaned them, into our compost pile.

Dried out a bit, they'd crack up to chicken grit with a sledge hammer and a concrete pad, no ?

Dry, I could put on hiking shoes and stomp them, I guess. They become very brittle.

Of course, if there's residual rotten crab....those chickens might enjoy free access to the pile.

They get the shells and all the "cleanings," and spoiled is an understatement. It was my idea to freeze a bunch for them, also more efficient for the freezer, since I cleared out all that space.

Here is one of the biggest crabs:

Extreme Composting - Homesteading Questions

Legal is 6.5" and this guy is 10"! He must have been quite a fighter, as he still had his claws.

Paquebot · #**1918** 12/15/12, 02:01 PM

Crab or lobster shells don't have to be broken up if composted. Like bones, they have only evolved to resist attack from outside, not from within. They will break down during the heat cycle as long as there is sufficient nitrogen with them. In the soil, they'll vanish within a few months in acidic soils. Steamer clam shells begin the process during composting but take 2 years to break down in the same type of soil.

Martin

ChristieAcres · #**1919** 12/15/12, 02:41 PM

Good to know, Martin!

The pic below, just shows a few of our chickens. They aren't impressed the crab shells are frozen... It isn't that cold, around 34F, should warm up a bit today.

CesumPec · #**1920** 12/15/12, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forerunner

Rotten crab......

Lori, I'm more jealous than CP.....I don't care what he says.

hey, Hey, HEY!!! Look Bub, you might be able to make a bigger pile of decay than me, but I can out envy you any day.

On a better note, the power line clearing crew came through yesterday and today. Trimmed my trees for me and gave me the entire neighborhood's chips.

there is lots of green in the chip piles so I probably can just let them sit as is.