Don’t you have to make a mold, before you can cast them?
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TSC Gardening Thread
- Thread starter Luecke3262
- Start date
Sigh…
8 day old hot compost
I started with the following:
Greens(Nitrogen):
-20+/- gallons spent coffee
-4 lawnmower bags of green grass
-2 gallons good scraps
Browns(carbon):
-12+/-lawn Bags of leaves
-2 wheelbarrows of dry oak mulch
Added 20 gallons water at start. Size was 5ft X 5ft X 4ft+ tall
The turning and burning:
-Let it sit for 4 days
-Completely turned over on day 4, the internal temperature was +/-148°F. Added 15 gallons water
-Completely turned over on day 6 the internal temperature was +/-156°F. Added 20 gallons water. We had some anaerobic smells, so I added 2 more bags worth of leaves.
-Completely turned over on day 8 the internal temperature was +/-160°F. Added 20 gallons water.
Looking good and breaking down beautifully. Should be cooked off in about 12-14 more days and then will need to cool off for a few weeks before we can use it. Aged Horse manure is under the blue tarp, needs another month before it can be used.
I started with the following:
Greens(Nitrogen):
-20+/- gallons spent coffee
-4 lawnmower bags of green grass
-2 gallons good scraps
Browns(carbon):
-12+/-lawn Bags of leaves
-2 wheelbarrows of dry oak mulch
Added 20 gallons water at start. Size was 5ft X 5ft X 4ft+ tall
The turning and burning:
-Let it sit for 4 days
-Completely turned over on day 4, the internal temperature was +/-148°F. Added 15 gallons water
-Completely turned over on day 6 the internal temperature was +/-156°F. Added 20 gallons water. We had some anaerobic smells, so I added 2 more bags worth of leaves.
-Completely turned over on day 8 the internal temperature was +/-160°F. Added 20 gallons water.
Looking good and breaking down beautifully. Should be cooked off in about 12-14 more days and then will need to cool off for a few weeks before we can use it. Aged Horse manure is under the blue tarp, needs another month before it can be used.
That sounds like a lot of work.
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
Samanure is a lot easier! Right, @Graybeard57 ?
It's the perfect complement to any soil. Your garden must be the envy of the neighborhood!
Turning it all over every two days in back breaking and takes about 25 minutes. It is worth it though and it will be ready just in time for the first or second heaving feeding for the garden. Will start another pile in the next week, so I have plenty for the summer and to give to my neighbors.
Easier, but I'd have to add a lot of carbon to it and it takes longer to cure out. PLUS you still should turn it.
Thanks Bruce, its our first year and I'm hoping it does really take off. If I get it fully set up and produce some fruits off of it this year I'll be happy. I'm sure that next year it will be AWESOME. I'll have the beds and soil already in place, so I'll have tons more time. Where as this year has been many many days worth of building and shoveling.It's the perfect complement to any soil. Your garden must be the envy of the neighborhood!
Today, I set up a trellis for the snap peas, installed the tunnel trellis(cattle panel) for the cucumbers and butternut squash, and added string lines to my garden obelisk for the green beans.
Still need to finish up the fence and build a gate, plant the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, and everything else this week. Next week gotta install an electric fence to deter the squirrels, opossums, and raccoons.... It's never ending, but I know its gonna end up great.
I bet it will.
In my twenties, I turned my compost pile over by hand.....then I found out about The Barrel. Throw in your clippings and yard waste....give The Barrel a spin every few days and in about 3 weeks...compost. Plus it was off the ground to deter rodents. Wish I still had mine. Left it with a friend in Santa Monica. Best composter ever.
That's what my parents have and they seem to like it, but I don't think Matt's batch would fit in the barrel.
Yes, this is my thought. I want to do larger volumes for now, so I can build up the organic material within all the beds, so maybe in the future I will get one. If only to save my back, but I do like the exercise.
15 day old hot compost:
The turning and burning:
-Let it sit for 4 days
-Completely turned over on day 4, the internal temperature was +/-148°F. Added 15 gallons water
-Completely turned over on day 6 the internal temperature was +/-156°F. Added 20 gallons water. We had some anaerobic smells, so I added 2 more bags worth of leaves.
-Completely turned over on day 8 the internal temperature was +/-160°F. Added 20 gallons water.
-Completely turned over on day 10 the internal temperature was +/-154°F. Added 20 gallons water.
-Completely turned over on day 12 the internal temperature was +/-145°F. Added 15 gallons water. Finally getting nice and damp!
-Completely turned over on day 15 the internal temperature was +/138°F. We’ve had plenty of rain and it’s damp throughout and still super steamy.
The deets: this pile is really breaking down well now. There are a few small pockets of leaves that still have a little brown color to them, but most everything in the pile is breaking down and is mostly unrecognizable. I’d say I’ll turn it about 2-3 more times over the next couple weeks. Aerating and Adding water as needed is the key to maintaining volume and coming to the finish line faster. I’d say it will be ready to go on the garden and fruit bushes by mid June.
Side note: the bugs are horrid! Every day I visit the compost pile there are ticks in the rim of my watering bucked and on the handles of my pitchfork and shovel.
Our garden is fully planted with the exception of the thornless raspberries and blackberries. I finished excavating their plots tonight and I added in the last of the gigantic raised bed dirt pile.
I rented a tiller last week to remove the skid steer tracks from our yard, just finished seeding.
Last item on the list is to install the chicken wire fence, gate, and electric fence to deter the varmints.
The turning and burning:
-Let it sit for 4 days
-Completely turned over on day 4, the internal temperature was +/-148°F. Added 15 gallons water
-Completely turned over on day 6 the internal temperature was +/-156°F. Added 20 gallons water. We had some anaerobic smells, so I added 2 more bags worth of leaves.
-Completely turned over on day 8 the internal temperature was +/-160°F. Added 20 gallons water.
-Completely turned over on day 10 the internal temperature was +/-154°F. Added 20 gallons water.
-Completely turned over on day 12 the internal temperature was +/-145°F. Added 15 gallons water. Finally getting nice and damp!
-Completely turned over on day 15 the internal temperature was +/138°F. We’ve had plenty of rain and it’s damp throughout and still super steamy.
The deets: this pile is really breaking down well now. There are a few small pockets of leaves that still have a little brown color to them, but most everything in the pile is breaking down and is mostly unrecognizable. I’d say I’ll turn it about 2-3 more times over the next couple weeks. Aerating and Adding water as needed is the key to maintaining volume and coming to the finish line faster. I’d say it will be ready to go on the garden and fruit bushes by mid June.
Side note: the bugs are horrid! Every day I visit the compost pile there are ticks in the rim of my watering bucked and on the handles of my pitchfork and shovel.
Our garden is fully planted with the exception of the thornless raspberries and blackberries. I finished excavating their plots tonight and I added in the last of the gigantic raised bed dirt pile.
I rented a tiller last week to remove the skid steer tracks from our yard, just finished seeding.
Last item on the list is to install the chicken wire fence, gate, and electric fence to deter the varmints.
You have busted your A! And it looks great. Sit down and drink a beer... Ya know what drink a 12 pack
FarmerTan
Sr. Shave Member
That is a beautiful picture of the (almost) fruits of your labor. I just dump all my compost in a couple three piles and am too lazy to werk that hard like you do. Every Spring I watch my wife rototill it in and help her eat up the would be profits, lol!
Thanks, Chad, it's a labor of love. I'm really looking forward to the fall when I can get garlic, salads, turnips, more carrots, and others. Next spring I'll be planting cold crops that I didn't have time to do this year. So, overall I'll do better. This year I grew everything from seed and did okay, next year I think I will start everything earlier and will put my learning lessons to the test.
Thank you so much, I used to do the static pile method, but it doesn't really get me anywhere with as much as I want to do. Last year's static piles became the base layer for each of my raised beds this year. My plan is to attempt to start a new pile every month while we have good green grass and loads of leaves in the woods. The issue will be the ticks and the heat, we'll have to see which breaks me first.
Two weeks ago when I built the pile, we were VERY dry. The process that I'm following preaches to keep the pile just damp enough that when you squeeze a handful of compost it feels like a damp sponge with maybe a drop of water coming out, NOT a slimy gooey mess. They state that the microbes especially at the center of the pile need water to break down their food and they are constantly losing moisture due to the aerobic process and all the heat production of trillions of microorganisms getting it on. If it's too wet and doesn't have enough carbon, it will turn into sludge. If it's too dry it will not heat up and the microorganisms won't get to work. If it has the right amount of Nitrogen and Carbon, but its too dry it will sink and become a static pile even with aeration. I had no idea there was so much to it, but there is. Always something new to learn!