turned compost piles - need to find the advil

CapeCoddess wrote:

plantoid wrote: one bite at a time just like you eat an elephant .

Does it taste like chicken???

CC

bwaaaahahahaha

Wonderful job people! My son turned three of my piles one day and did the last one two days later. He didn't complain about pain once! Oh the joys of youth!

I have a 4X4 wired compost pile, last week I removed the entire batch and added some small branches on the bottom. Then I started layering the material that was left over from last fall.
Material and fresh cow manure, material and fresh cow manure, etc etc, watering while I raised each layer. 12 five gallon buckets of cow manure.
Came home yesterday from being away for 5 days.
Opened the pile and hot vapors shot out, thermometer read 110 F about 12 inches down..
Made me happy

I bought a bulb auger that's attached to a battery-operated drill. I set the drill on high and let it drill itself down into the pile. Once it hits the bottom (or stops) I pull the drill out and do it again until the compost is loose and fluffy. Occasionally I'll get out there with the shovel and turn it the traditional way, but this is how I do it most of the time.

For an idea of what I'm talking about: http://www.lowes.com/pd_109435-95398-61909_0__?productId=3306806

I have learned a lot about back pain with this recent rather severe event.
The very complex muscles involving the lower back and pelvis are most often involved. I guess I was just assuming my lower back was becoming arthritic, but found with exam with a very good physiotherapist that the piriformis muscle and the gluteus medius muscle were pulling asymmetrically because they were so very tight. And when one muscle is very tight and another is not, the results is pain across a joint.
She uses a different sort of acupuncture, not the chinese type, but just accupuncture of these muscles to attempt to loosen them up... I was pretty amazed a few days later it all started to improve.....
DESPITE my complete inability to leave my garden alone...

About 15 yrs ago I went a whole year in such pain that I could not sleep from hip bursitis and arthritis in the lower back. Went thru physical therapy which made it worse and all the doctors would do is prescribe stronger pain meds. I finally went to a chiropractor(I did not believe it would help) and got relief. Now I rarely take anything for pain and see the chiropractor a couple of times a year and am doing fine.

A also found walking on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes nearly every night makes me feel and sleep so much better. I got a tablet for Xmas and with earphones watch Netflix while I walk and look forward to doing it.

Glad you are feeling better Linda, show us your compost pile after you turn it!

The memory problems are fine I can no longer remember the dificulties I had when I first filled the seven daleks wwwith compostable materials .

Today I was given about 800 pounds of neat chicken muck in tied off bags .
They say that you get out of life what you put into it ....NO WAY!

I'll be sorting things out using the childs sand spade on the old fishing rod butt to do the one bite at a time thing.. thank goodness it has a four foot long handle .... it pongs some thing evil .

[quote="plantoid]

Love it LM
Start your slimming club and also offer gentle exercise classes for heart attack and stroke patients .
Just think all that money pouring in and someone else turns the piles [/quote]

Plantoid
Me organizing an exercise class? I did that once a long time ago for awhile, specifically a walking group. Over time I lost interest. But I do want to mention to you I am taking you up on a former piece of your advice and have a table at a community farmer's market this year. Curious to see if there is a local buyers market for llama beans. I hope to share some good news about it later this summer

llama momma wrote:

Plantoid
. . . . But I do want to mention to you I am taking you up on a former piece of your advice and have a table at a community farmer's market this year. Curious to see if there is a local buyers market for llama beans. I hope to share some good news about it later this summer

Look forward to your report, LLM.
It has passed my mind that now I have a source for pure chicken manure and pure horse manure and perhaps in the future, worm castings, that I might have a table at our local indoor Sunday Market. A table costs $5.00 for a five hour session. I would have samples and prices and would take orders for home delivery in the same area that I have my printer cartridge business.
But I feel that I would have to do a lot more reading and learning before then so that I do have some answers.

jimmy cee wrote:CC
I saw an aerator for compost piles that screw into the pile
I can't remember where I saw it.
A larger spiral unit that is turned at the handle, screws into the pile, you might call it a compost auger...may be just your cup of tea.
If I find it I'll send you the link
Here is a link on you tube you might be interested in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_hUF0wvNHw
A portable drill, along with possibly a home made contraption may also help

The screw-type aerator is called a "Compost Crank" here's a page of the website of the company that makes it: http://lotechproducts.com/thetool.html I have wanted one of these for almost as long as I have been SFG'ing, but haven't had the extra 50 bucks or so to buy one (nor have I been able to figure out how to make something similar--it reminds me of a longer version of those things to anchor a dog's leash/run to, in the backyard)
As for the video, his composting drill-bit seems cool, but the sound quality was horrible, so that I could not understand what he used to make the thing. I commented on his site, asking for a parts list.

Nicola those dog screw anchors are some times called pigtail screws ..you can get big ones for anchoring horses & goats etc .
Depending on price perhaps you could buy one and cut it off near the top or find some one who will heat straighten out the top handle and then use it in a heavy duty low speed powerdrill . Even better is to find some car mechanic with a tig welder and ask them to extend it to 40 inches or so for a few beer tokens

Or if you know the O.D. (outside diameter) one may be able to extend it with tubing compression couplings, using the same O.D. on the extension.

Also, make one by securing a piece of pipe, 2, 3, inch.
Wrap tubing around the pipe about 5 turns (should do it) the bend tube so handle is straight..
Bend at the end for handle, or attach a union tee with pieces on each end for a handle, or use in a drill.
Presto..a home made compost aerator

Kelejan wrote:

llama momma wrote:

Plantoid
. . . . But I do want to mention to you I am taking you up on a former piece of your advice and have a table at a community farmer's market this year. Curious to see if there is a local buyers market for llama beans. I hope to share some good news about it later this summer

Look forward to your report, LLM.
It has passed my mind that now I have a source for pure chicken manure and pure horse manure and perhaps in the future, worm castings, that I might have a table at our local indoor Sunday Market. A table costs $5.00 for a five hour session. I would have samples and prices and would take orders for home delivery in the same area that I have my printer cartridge business.
But I feel that I would have to do a lot more reading and learning before then so that I do have some answers.

Good Luck Kelejan! Love to hear how it goes. I figure its worth a try and see what happens. If my farmers market little adventure doesn't work out at least I can stop wondering and move on to something else.

As far as aerating compost heaps mentioned earlier in the thread, I use a cheap rebar, 4 ft long to poke holes in the heaps. The weight of it is terrific in assisting with breaking through the mass.

Kelejan wrote:

llama momma wrote:

Plantoid
. . . . But I do want to mention to you I am taking you up on a former piece of your advice and have a table at a community farmer's market this year. Curious to see if there is a local buyers market for llama beans. I hope to share some good news about it later this summer

Look forward to your report, LLM.
It has passed my mind that now I have a source for pure chicken manure and pure horse manure and perhaps in the future, worm castings, that I might have a table at our local indoor Sunday Market. A table costs $5.00 for a five hour session. I would have samples and prices and would take orders for home delivery in the same area that I have my printer cartridge business.
But I feel that I would have to do a lot more reading and learning before then so that I do have some answers.

You're so lucky! Having a booth at our local farmer's market is $140 a month, plus a $50 application fee, plus a health card, plus a business license, plus this, plus that...what a nightmare!

$5, 5 hours...man, what a deal!

I got crazy today, the high was going to be only 81* and overcast, so I figured I would tackle my compost piles that I have been putting off.

With pitch fork in hand and several bottles of spring water close by, I hand turned both cubic yard piles of compost today.  Took my time and entertained the hens with my moans and groans of labor.  Enjoyed seeing all the different kinds of creatures living in the piles, especially the large number of red wrigglers.  Best part of the day was tossing a fork full of that stuff in the chicken run and watching the gals dig in with both feet scouring for anything that moved.

In a couple of days there will be a lot of steam comping from that mess.  Pile #1 is right at being finished and ready for a rest.  Pile #2 will probably need a final turn in a week or so and then it can go into a rest.  I stared pile #3 which will be receiving garden clippings, dead plant materials, straw from my straw bale garden experiment, assorted goodies from the kitchen and some chicken manure.  It should be ready for early Spring use whereas the other 2 are earmarked for 2 new beds and some Fall dressing of my existing beds.

I am beat and my back is in big trouble tomorrow, but I enjoyed the day.

Congrats bnoles sounds like a very productive day and some awesome compost piles.   

I'm working on my first ever compost pile and it seems to be going well. When I turn the pile steam comes out. The pile is changing color and giving off a nice earthly smell. I just started pile two. What does it mean to rest the compost pile? Does this mean to spread it out and let it cool down? For how long?

Don't spread your compost out...heat is being created because composting is still in process.  Keep the pile in tact, mois,t and aerated (turned) until the temp comes down on it's own.

The hubs and my 7 year old dumped fish guts in my tumbler, they did it once last year and it composted very quickly, now it smells to high Heaven and I won't touch it...  I need to get them to throw more in there and turn it for me, hopefully that gets the job done...

I need to find a free source of greens, fish guts, and other goodies to give my compost some substance. Probably will go to Starbucks today for grounds. Humm...I need to get creative....I don't live too far from dairy farms, but my back yard isn't big enough to dry the poop out...

Back to my original question. Does anyone know what it means to "rest" compost? It seems to be a final stage of the composting process. Does it mean the cool down process when the composting process is completed and it naturally cools down? No more turning/mixing - "resting".

http://www.homecompostingmadeeasy.com/compoststages.html

Cheyenne, sounds like they have some work to do!

Grownsunshine "resting" means it's basically done and you let it sit about a week.  You don't need to dry your manure out first.  It will be smelly when you mix it in but it will help break down your carbons quicker.  Your last layer should be something like leaves to keep the smell down.  By using fresher manure when you turn it the first few times you will smell the manure but it will get less smelly as time goes on.  Wear gloves and wash your shoes really good, lol!

For greens can you ask your neighbors for their lawn clippings, peelings from veggies, watermelon rinds, etc.  You can give them a garbage bag and tell them you will even pick it up every day or whatever time they need it picked up.  I got three grocery bags full of watermelon and cantaloupe rinds from a family gathering.

Yup, used coffee grounds are good greens. Call the dairy and ask if they have milking parlor compost. If yes, grab some , bring it home and toss into your compost pile. Resting the compost is allowing it to age after the hot composting process has been completed. The cold compost will continue to break down and eventually look like the screened stuff from a bag of commercial compost. Of course as soon as the hot process is done you can use it in the garden. Any earthworms in your beds will love you for it and make casts right there in the garden.

This is a desperate request for last minute advice before I rebuild my compost pile for the third and last time.  I need some quick, read-to-use compost.  Like the Berkeley Method.

Three weeks ago I rebuilt it a second time, adding about 4 gallons of chopped and soggy veggies and fruits from a farmers' market.  Also added more of things I already had composting from the first build.  Total materials in the second build:

Large quantities:
3 Medium bags of Starbuck’s coffee grinds, screened
Half bag of old Kellogg’s red stripe, screened
Half bag of better commercial compost, screened
4 bags composted cow manure, screened
7/8 cube of wood shavings

Medium quantity:
2 bags of Heat-steamed grass clippings with a few jasmine leaves
2 bags of chopped produce culls and juice (4 gallons)

Small quantities:
Kitchen scraps, chopped (gallon)
Garden trimmings, chopped (gallon)
Worm castings (3 ½ quarts)
Kelp meal (1 quart)
2 cup 16-16-16 fertilizer
1 1/2 cups ground oyster shell
¼ cup pulverized egg shells

Temps:
First evening:  130 degrees 6 inches down.
Day 2-4:  135 degrees
Evening 5:  110 degrees
Day 6 and thereafter:  ambient air temp of 100 degrees

Question:  Why did it cool down so fast?  Not enough nitrogen stuff?

Second week I finally bought a 24" bulb digger that attaches to a hand drill.  Husband "loaned" me his electric drill and I had fun.  A 100 times easier than shoveling.

I can still recognize the wood shavings and jasmine leaves.  I examined a handful of the sweet compost I dried out from 2 weeks ago with material I collected yesterday and dried out.  Used an insect loupe (super magnifier) for close inspection.  I then sifted the two piles and inspected the fines.  Only different is that the giant redwood trees in the first pile looked like small pine trees in the second!  

Question:  What can I add to this last re-build pile to keep it hotter longer?  I can get more free rotten produce tomorrow night and more Starbucks coffee grounds.  I can buy "composted" chicken or cow manure from Lowes.   Does it even need to cook more than 5 days? 


Question:  Are the "fines" I sifted last night simply the sift-able stuff like coffee grinds, kelp meal, worm castings, and broken down produce?  If that's the case, then I have a high Nitrogen compost with lower Carbon.

My original Mel's Mix is basically 1/3 Kellogg's red-striped compost!!     Mostly Carbon??

Container will be 3' diameter cage or new 100 gallon compost bag I bought online.

Any and all input is appreciated.  Thank you

So.............. This is what I would do......screen what you have if that is what you would like to do. set aside all usable compost, some of it may be recognisable and that's ok. Any larger pieces set aside to be incorporated into the new pile.

Now to build the new pile, collect scraps and things to make compost with. Do not add already made compost.
thing like:
dried leaves, garden weeds, pruned leaves and stems, coffee grounds, kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, manure from you local farm, and the left over large stuff from your previous pile.
Dried blood * nitrogen source=activator

If you can layer all ingredients several inches of carbons, an inch or two of greens, water every few layers and lightly sprinkle the dried blood every few layers. Ideally the pile should be no less than 3' x 3' x 3'.

Now, what I do before I start layering stuff is, in the bin area,  pound several stakes about an inch into the ground and about every 18" apart. Then start layering and watering (not sopping wet). Build it as high as you can make it and it will heat up in a few days. Remove the stakes and the temps should stay hot for several days. When the temp drops to 100*F, turn the pile with a fork and break up any clumps. You want to get more air into the middle of the pile... (thus removing the stakes and making little chimneys in the pile)

I have side by side bins so I can turn the pile from one bin into another.
Review Composting 101 for more information.