Hot composting with chicken bedding and garden waste

[vehve]

I used to board my horse at a stable that had over 150 horses....  each horse corral or stall cleaned every day and that material went into the Manure pile.  The pile got to be 20 feet tall and about 200 feet long.  AND it was always on fire.  because it would spontaneously generate its own heat and combust.   There was always poofs of smoke coming out of it.  The ranch took to running sprinklers on it thinking that would put the fire out.  I suspect it only increased the heat.

deb

That's one heck of a compost pile.

 

[vehve]

 
I'd be concerned about the heavy metals used in pressure treated wood.  My preference, unless using junk wood, in my area would be hemlock or cedar.

I agree with using ceder or even redwood (if you can get it), I haven't seen any Hemlock after We moved from the 'Great White North' ,AKA Northern MI, (AKA the UP!!!)

Scott

All of those are considered exotic around here, costly. Pine and spruse is the cheapest here, and strong stuff. You seldom see much else. I wouldn't worry about the treated wood, especially if insulating the compost.

 

[scottcaddy]

Quote: All of those are considered exotic around here, costly. Pine and spruse is the cheapest here, and strong stuff. You seldom see much else. I wouldn't worry about the treated wood, especially if insulating the compost.
You have a very good point!!
Thanks
Scott

 

[vehve]

I was thinking of emptying batch 1, since we have a lot of grass in the run that is starting to look like it needs to be tossed and it's going to fill up batch 2, but all of this heat we're having is making the compost run really hot. Batch 1 had climbed back to 46 deg C. Batch 2 isn't going as hot as it was, only around 55-60 deg C, but I moistened it a bit again today, so hopefully it will go back to cooking properly. In a few days I'm going to have to make room though, and possibly try to get some more carbon into the mix. The coop is still staying very fresh though, so that's not going to be a source for it.

I've also had to start watering the lawn to keep it from drying up. We have some pines in the middle of the yard that are stealing all the water. I don't like wasting water on the lawn, but I tell myself it's a food source for the chickens, so I'm comfortable doing it.

 

[perchie.girl]

I was thinking of emptying batch 1, since we have a lot of grass in the run that is starting to look like it needs to be tossed and it's going to fill up batch 2, but all of this heat we're having is making the compost run really hot. Batch 1 had climbed back to 46 deg C. Batch 2 isn't going as hot as it was, only around 55-60 deg C, but I moistened it a bit again today, so hopefully it will go back to cooking properly. In a few days I'm going to have to make room though, and possibly try to get some more carbon into the mix. The coop is still staying very fresh though, so that's not going to be a source for it.

I've also had to start watering the lawn to keep it from drying up. We have some pines in the middle of the yard that are stealing all the water. I don't like wasting water on the lawn, but I tell myself it's a food source for the chickens, so I'm comfortable doing it.

If its hot enough to make you need to water your lawn.... Wait till evening or in the early morning to do it. YOu will need less water AND it will take longer to soak in.

Here we are suffering such a drought people are letting lawns and even trees die. We are not allowed to water more than three days per week and can get fined if it reaches the gutter. Goes for washing cars too. Even trees in the San Diego River bed are dying. The River stopped flowing above ground a couple of years ago.

Up at my house in the desert the water table has dropped a hundred feet in most wells in the area. My well is 450 feet deep the water column was around 300. the well empties in about half an hour and the pump shuts off. There we only got three inches of precipitation last year.

One of the things we did in Las vegas to protect the lawn in summer was to shade it.

deb

 

[vehve]

Quote: Water isn't a problem - that is something Finland has a lot of. Trees and water. But I feel it's wasteful to pour away drinking water anyway, and it of course does cost too (1.86 €/m^3 for the water + 1.77€/m^3 for sewage, which for some reason is billed according to our intake). I try to water in the evening mostly, but often I forget and do it in the mornings. Usually not a problem, but with this heatwave we're having (almost +30C) it does evaporate pretty fast. The biggest problem is the thirsty pine trees in the yard though. Around them is where it's the driest, other places are nice and green.

I can't imagine living with that little water, in Southern Finland we usually get around 700mm annually - ten times what you get.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: Water isn't a problem - that is something Finland has a lot of. Trees and water. But I feel it's wasteful to pour away drinking water anyway, and it of course does cost too (1.86 €/m^3 for the water + 1.77€/m^3 for sewage, which for some reason is billed according to our intake). I try to water in the evening mostly, but often I forget and do it in the mornings. Usually not a problem, but with this heatwave we're having (almost +30C) it does evaporate pretty fast. The biggest problem is the thirsty pine trees in the yard though. Around them is where it's the driest, other places are nice and green.

I can't imagine living with that little water, in Southern Finland we usually get around 700mm annually - ten times what you get.

Our San Diego normal is supposed to be around12-15 Up at my house.... in Jacumba 10-12 We have had three years of below normal...Culminating in 3 inches last year for Jacumba and probably around six for San Diego. Our reserviors are down what appears to be around 500 feet.

deb

 

[vehve]

Quote: Water isn't a problem - that is something Finland has a lot of. Trees and water. But I feel it's wasteful to pour away drinking water anyway, and it of course does cost too (1.86 €/m^3 for the water + 1.77€/m^3 for sewage, which for some reason is billed according to our intake). I try to water in the evening mostly, but often I forget and do it in the mornings. Usually not a problem, but with this heatwave we're having (almost +30C) it does evaporate pretty fast. The biggest problem is the thirsty pine trees in the yard though. Around them is where it's the driest, other places are nice and green.

I can't imagine living with that little water, in Southern Finland we usually get around 700mm annually - ten times what you get.

Our San Diego normal is supposed to be around12-15 Up at my house.... in Jacumba 10-12 We have had three years of below normal...Culminating in 3 inches last year for Jacumba and probably around six for San Diego. Our reserviors are down what appears to be around 500 feet.

deb
What's the general reasoning, freak weather or climate change? Cali is going to have to start investing in sea water purifiers soon. Might be quite a market in those in the near future.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: There is a whole litany of stuff that California does wrong. Southern California is mostly desert from Around death Valley on down. Grassy lawns do not belong here. The Water comes from Snow caps in NORTHERN California. and is pumped then conveyed by Aqueducts that are open to the air. Our bread basket the Central valley is dependent mostly on canal water. By the time the Aqueduct water reaches the end it falls short of San Diego county by several hundred miles.

with regard to California:
We should be conserving We should be planting water wise We should be xeriscaping We should be recycling water In San Diego County thy have only just recently passed legislation that allows the use of Grey water in your gardens. Only a couple of cities have set in place systems to extract water from sewage... this water is 99.9 percent pure.... this is used for irrigation. But it could also be used for drinking.

with regard to Southernmost Southern California:
We get alot of our water from the Colorado River.... In the 1800s the Colorado river used to support stern wheelers all the way to Yuma Arizona. Right now it falls short of the ocean by about 100 feet.

There is no solution to the environment. I wont get into the whole climate change debate... the effect is the same none the less. Playing the blame game is counter productive.

Water desalination will be a last choice its very expensive. and you'd never get past the EPA and the PETA people any way.

We have enough water to drink flush and bathe.... we as individuals need to address the rest as best as we can. Agriculture gets first dibs anyway...

deb "sorry to drag up my soap box"

 

[vehve]

Evening report for the compost: Batch one has cooled to 41 degrees (105F), which was also the temperature for the air inside the compost, so I think most of the heat is being produced by batch 2, which was at a whopping 73 degrees Celsius (163F). The watering apparently got it started again. There is a slight odor rising from it again though, so I'll let it dry out properly and cool down a bit before adding more. Easy does it.