Can I Do This???

[smoke freak]

Superman... I have heard that also...since then Ive changed the source of phosphorous in my fertilizer. Reason being that the souce of BSE (mad cow desease) is in the bones themselves. Specifically the spinal column. BSE is thought to be related to the human desease that you refered to. Therefore the bones themselves could spread the desease. Parinoid??? Maybe but why take a chance. As far as blood meal no connection to either desease has been established , yet...

Enough talk of desease EH!

 

[smokedcaveman]

Smoke-freak, some questions built up from my experience with composting and soil science. I'm not flaming you, but curious to your stance on certain things.

I agree with point one to an extent, however a properly built pile has no need for turning to aerate, and any oxygen added during turning is exhausted within a half hour. Turning has a mechanical benefit in breaking up large pieces, (and see below about heat) but for oxygenation, so long as the pile isn't drowning wet, it'll gain it's own oxygen equilibrium.

two- spot on, it's possible for a pile to get 'too' hot...however that's usually a concern in big municipal composting projects, which turn to dissipate heat buildup before the material dries itself out and catches fire.

item 3- no general disagreement.

item 4- I'd like to know your reasoning behind not using the leavings from a carnivore, especially provided said carnivore has been screened and has nothing that could be passed to a human being?

You say 'never never', but I'd like to hear your reasoning it can't be included into a thermophilic compost pile?

Granted, I'll say that most people don't have the knowledge or experience to do hot pile composting, but given the alternatives....well, how many of you have a yard with a dog, and pick up the poo every time the dog does his business?

Do you pick up and flush the leavings if a stray comes into your yard and does it's business, or do you cover it with dirt and leave it to rot?

 

[rivet]

Where did the no-bones thing come from? All my life everyone I have ever known threw everything into the heap. Leftovers, dead possums, birds the cat killed, moles, mice, the gallon of chili that burnt, leaves, rosebush trimmings, the rotting pumpkins from holloween, and of course the human urea from summer evening beer drinkin'.
Every 4 or 5 years we break open our chain-link fence composter and use it and the stuff works like magic.
Admittedly once or twice a year I add some cattle-feed-urea (nitrogen) pellets to give it a nudge, but other than that nothing.
I thought the calcium from the bones would be a good thing.

 

[yankeerob]

unless you want to feed the skunks and possibly have them take up residence near your composter.

-rob

 

[smokedcaveman]

run a hot pile. I've never seen a critter willing to take steam burns to fish out something that 'might' be tasty.

If you're dealing with drought conditions and everything's starving to death, it might happen, but it's simple to keep creatures out of it....dig a hole in the top center of your pile, and bury the additions well.

I've done the same thing for about 12 years, and despite us having all manner of strays in the neighborhood, there hasn't been so much as a stray rat digging in the pile. and I've put in 'everything' from cat manure (my hot pile is based off my peat catbox) to kitchen scraps, to the occasional semi-drunk stagger outside at 3 am, to small dead animals, to fast food leftovers, to bacon grease, to pretty much anything organic. (I do keep plastic out of it, but pretty much anything else is game. turkey skeletons that I've boiled for stock, stripped, scraped, boiled ham bones.....) The mantra is 'bury it deep, cover it well, and there's nothing to smell, so the coons can go to hell' If there's nothing to smell, then the critters won't dig there either. If you just chuck the bones, or all the 'banned items' that will supposedly end the world on top of the pile, and don't cover them? yeah, you're likely to have a problem, but bury it well, and call it a day.

one of the other things for 'deterrent' effect (and lots of nitrogen) is once a month, dump a gallon of 'recycled beer' into the top of the pile. (and no, it doesn't make your backyard smell like a latrine. dig a small hole, pour it in, backfill the hole and toss some dry leaves or sawdust or hay or whatever cover material you like over it. it's fine.)

 

[alx]

I have made leaf compost without turning by accident.Its called Leaf Mold and is common,say 2 inches down in the forest floor.Usualy takes two years and you dont turn, or at any time you can add nitrogen to get your Carbon to Nitrogen to the optimal 30:1.I repair a horse farms barns occasionaly and i get the dehydrated alfalfa meal they feed horses for free and rehydrate for my nitrogen in my leaf only piles.I keep a seperate vegetable pile thats more concentrated at my home, since my acre garden plot is 2 miles away.I know many people who compost bones and a few who burn them before adding to compost pile.The deer wasting disease is also something a bit strange these days ,or maybe not.My piles run to 160 for about a week and then cooler, but i cure all winter and the microbes find their way home -and no weed seeds etc.I havent had any problems for thirty years-except drought, bugs sometimes etc.The Humanure Handbook is interesting, but i have not pissed on my pile yet.Different strokes....

 

[smoke freak]

I was taught that manure from carnivoirs can transmit diseases (which should be killed by a thermophilic pile) and parasites. The parasite thing probably isnt a problem unless you are planting root crops or tubers. In my eyes...why take a chance... As far as disease organisms being killed in a hot pile...the same temp that kills the organisms also kills the thermophilic bacteria. After the thermophiles die composting quickly comes to a stop (or at least a crawl) untill more organic matter is added when the process begins all over. Psychrophiles replaced by mesophiles replaced by thermophiles...

The meat thing added to the pile just attracts rodents.

But I could be wrong ya know...

 

[kingudaroad]

My dogs don't get a bar night. That is one spoiled pooch!!

 

[smoke freak]

Animal abuse...? I dunno...

 

[vtanker]

WOW! I think I have finally heard it all. Simple compost for me. Totally organic!

 

[smoke freak]

They say "compost happens". You get out of it what you put into it....

 

[alx]

I agree just browns and greens.My plot is about 1/10 mile from a river and it took a good ten years to really get the clay and sand into a good functioning soilfoodweb.If i ever sell the 2 acre plot, it will have one hell of a grass yard.It is pretty much surrounded by houses now.