Post Script completion of first hot compost heap

From an unpublished post:

This is Day 23 for my compost heap.  This morning I measured temperatures for first time since Day 18.  They were around 40C all around, with outliers of 35C and 45C.  The centre of the heap was 50C with one reading of 55C, some dry patches and not a great deal of recognisable anything.  Horse poo almost all gone, some husks of long leaf prunings, woody twigs etc (which I remove when I find them) and occasional still-clumped chicken poo.  I added three more shovels of chook poo to centre while turning it over and wet it down on the outside.  Around sunset temperatures were a pretty even 30-32C all around at probe depth.

I used two shovels of my compost around seven iris bulbs/plants I put in around the trellis rose near the house.  I didn't do much with the sandy soil, just enough to cover the top of the bulbs. I used the the compost to mulch between them, mainly as soil conditioner.  Certainly noticed the difference when I put some water on it, the way it was soaked up and held by the mulch.  The guy we got the bulbs from numbered all the plants he gave us, so we can identify any particular favourites in future.

On Day 24 I took some final temperatures.  They'd dropped to 30-35C.

By Day 25 the heap's temperature was down into the mid twenties, so I thought it was time to start putting it out into the garden. 

First time final turn

Today was Day 18 on the compost and I turned it this morning.  Temperatures were steady at 35C-40C at probe depth around the heap, outliers of 30C and 45C.  Centre of heap was about 50C, with a pocket at 55C.  One small pocket of dry, one sizeable thatch of straw.  Added one shovel of chicken poo over the straw in the new centre.  Recast the enclosure to using only two stakes and chicken wire.  Gave it an external spray after turning it.  In the evening, heap read a steady 35C at probe depth all around, so I guess it's still digesting.

On day 17 it had been reading 35C to 40C all around at probe depth, one reading of 45C.

I'll test it tomorrow, but won't likely use it until mid-late next week.  I think this is an almost success.  Will need to increase size of heap and use a higher proportion of nitrogen in the initial stage next time.  Combining this with my evolved enclosure should speed it up a bit, and if I don't soak it part way through (which brought temps down to 20C throughout) I reckon I'll have a good chance of getting a great heap out of it.  All in all, a successful experiment.

Regarding the siphon system: I put four of my container tanks around the rear yard, connected them all up with polypipe.  Unfortunately they vary in height a bit so I will have to do a bit of raising and leveling to maximise my storage.  Apart from that, I'm pretty happy with it as it simplifies and speeds up the watering (especially when combined with my plastic milk bottle and PVC pipe water dispersers).

A point of note regarding the containers - they hold 120L, not 72L like I previously thought.  So I've just added half a kilolitre to my water storage!

Tomorrow, I will try and sort out the siphon system depths and heights and then leave it for a week or two before anchoring the polypipe into safer, non trip hazard, formation.  Apart from that, my goal will be to sort out the garden as much as I can to cope with three hot days following when I'm not here.

Busy Day

 Compost Day 16 - turned the heap outside in this evening, sprayed it down externally afterwards.  The frame is now rationalising to two star droppers permanently hammered in, one moveable dropper, one six foot length of stick and chicken wire.  Much quicker, cleaner and more efficient than previous iterations.  Used a shovel to scrape the exterior of 'old' heap and piled into centre of where new heap would be within the frame.  Then used a fork to build up the heap around this centre with the centre portion of the 'old' heap.  Some identifiable pigweed remains, a fair bit of pea straw and the odd bit of chicken poo.  I tried to spread them evenly as described.  There were also some dry patches.  I didn't add any internal water as the rest of the heap looked about right in terms of moisture content, just tried to spread the dry around to allow capilliary action to do its thing.  Temps were 40C - 45C during various probes during the day.  The core was 50C - 55C when I turned it in the evening.

Watering with milk cartons and 3" PVC pipe - test results.  Six inches away from the milk carton soaker the ground was damp to a depth of over six inches.  Six inches away from the pipe the ground was dry to about that depth and somewhat moist beneath that.  The pipe creates a presumably deep plume of subsoil water, the soaker works at the topsoil level.

Watering with cartons - first iteration.  Widening the entry hole for water by cutting with scissors.  Lose probably less than 100mL capacity due the design of the milk bottle.  Would be nice to develop a funnel for it so that when permanently in place one doesn't have to lean at all to pour water in from bucket device.  Place the bottles approximately 50cm apart along a row, fill with water, wait up to ten minutes to drain entirely.  Move on or repeat.

The vision is to have all beds adequately covered with 'permanently' located cartons anchored in the mulch (perhaps with a few stones in them to further weight them down when empty) amongst garden beds so as to provide adequate coverage for the surface layers, rows, whatever.  In addition, have at least one PVC pipe per garden bed to 'pump' water into a subsoil plume (the principle being to store as much water in the ground as possible).

Besides being a more rational, efficient and routinised form of watering, this is also better from an Occ Health and Safety perspective.

A further improvement will be to develop water points through the garden to enable filling of buckets etc as close to their end point of use as possible.  This will reduce the time and effort involved in getting water from tank to watering cartons and, through them, the soil.  This to be done with minimal shifting of hoses, monitoring multiple water point levels etc.  Hence...

Siphon system improvements.  I used longest length of dripper hosepipe that I had to hand  (about 5m) to siphon from one of my 72L containers to another that was located about 4m away.  After repairing holes with duct tape I loaded it up by submersing coil of the pipe until entirely submerged and all bubbles have left system.  Then place thumb over apature and uncoil the pipe as required to move the stoppered end into the new receptacle.  Manually suck the air that has crept in around the thumb and release water into the new receptacle.  It is now part of the system (regulates with the others to maintain a constant water level across them all).

There are lengths of dripper hosepipe around the yard from the previous owner.  Much of it is burried under mulch, some under 'hard surfaces' (eg driveway) in irrigation conduit.  I have started salvaging this, removing the drippers and taping up the holes.  I'll probably get close to 30m of pipe by the time I'm done.  With up to six 72L fibreglass plant containers to hand I should be able to work out a good system, with a 'master cylinder' near the hose/tank area and others located at logical points through the garden connected by properly laid syphon hose (not a trip hazard, easy to pick up and recharge if and when required).  Then, a few plants and maybe some fish in the 72L containers and I'll be ready to start filling up my carton based watering system with relative ease.  Yay.

Repotted Gross Lesse tomato seedlings into toilet roll seedling containers, put ten of these into wind protecting plastic pot, soaked and put out to tend on the stone bench beneath pine tree.

Test potted two of my lettuce seedlings into milk carton planter pots (using 2L cartons for this).  The wind shield works well enough.  Will see how they go before going to scale.

Experiments

Yesterday was Compost Day 14.  Heat had increased to 40C inside, but still not sufficient.  So when I turned it in the evening I added a bucket load of chook poo  and about twice that of pea straw.  Heap is retaining moisture well, but the pigweed isn't disappearing so far.  Will be interesting to see what the chook poo nitrous boost achieves when I turn it on Thursday.

I also got a bunch of other experiments going on a windy cooler day.  Tried a pipe into ground, taking 3L, to see how it disperses as a means of subsurface irrigation.  Compared against 3L milk cartons with holes in the bottom (different configurations of holes).  Tipped in 12L each on the day.

Checked some black rubber soaker hose I'd retrieved from garden to see if of any use.  Short answer is no.  Tried using the rubber tubing to wick out of my planter box water containers.  Fail.

An interesting day.

Busy Weekend

Compost - turned on Day 12 (Sunday).

On Saturday, windy, mild and sunny I was pretty busy so limited myself to watering as much as possible.  Added nitrogen to all the back plants (nettle juice).  Compost was pretty cool, was only getting to 25C, seemed 'wet'.

On Sunday I spent much of the day collecting up carboniferous material in the yard, mixed up about 50/50 by volume with pigface I trimmed back off the gravel path.  Cut everything small.  Used four droppers and some chicken wire to put up a frame to contain the spread of the heap as I think that was a problem.  Used 3L of nitrous to boost temp when I turned it into the frame, layering the above materials.  On top I loaded it up with my compost heap from April (120L) and about 20L of an old weed compost that's been collecting for a year.  Still undersize but we'll see if that boosts temperature a bit.

In the yard I transferred 3 more plants from 4" to 6" pots, freeing up more of the smaller pots to take cuttings and seedlings as they become ready.

Experiments, besides the compost, included setting up a 'proof of concept' with three large (72L) planter boxes with siphons as a step to using hydrolics to move water around the garden rather than muscles.  Pleased with results so far, I could imagine water points around the yard and even moving grey water from the bathroom with siphon systems.

Another trial was to use a plastic milk carton to construct a handled, shielded planting pot.  Idea seems to work.  Which is nice, as plastic milk cartons are probably the most bulky part of our recycled materials and this might extend their use a year or two before putting them in the yellow bin.

This morning I went to a neighbor's to pick up a couple boxes of chicken manure (fairly fresh) to fire up my compost heap on its next turning, can use sawdust/newspaper/etc to add carbon if it gets too hot.

Also put up another (lower) wind 'baffle' on west face of central vegie bed as some of the herbs are suffering from wind effect.  Will have to get a more long term solution in place as the wall is not the most stable and would crush a foot or an animal if they tipped it.

Compost Day 9

Yesterday I was busy with the compost in the morning, that was about all I did in the garden.  Temperature was generally about 45C though I did find a spot where it hit 50C.  Turned it all outside in again.  Added 3L of nettle nitrous, a small tub of old yogurt, some old potatoes, kitchen scraps.  Picked out and removed woody material as I heaped it.  Replaced the tarps on the outside (still expecting more wind) after damping it down on the outside only.  Whole process took a bit less than an hour.

Moisture had been pretty even throughout, no dry patches.  Little bits of white mold on some of the carboniferous material.  Water retention gone up again.  Nice composty smell.  I'm now half way through the projected eighteen days. 

In the evening: 

Temperature generally 35C-45C, though I also found points where it was 30C and 50C.  The heap was still mildly damp throughout, having been tarped up against an otherwise cold and windy day.  I turned it outside-in in the evening.  Compost was almost uniform in colour (brownish red).  I took out woody bits as I went to reduce the nitrogen draw down.  Added a bit of rice and beans and some old coconut milk, also some pond plant husks.  Wetted it down on the outside, left it untarped as the wind seems to have gone.  I am now back on schedule and will aim at turning it every two days until day 18 completes the process.  Then we'll evaluate.

Planted corn, bean and sunflower seeds.  Also snapdragons, marigolds and mixed tanunda flowers.  Using various items of found 'rubbish' as my containers.  Quite a few experiments.

Onwards ho.

Transplant Grandson's plants

Compost heap at 50C at the limit of the thermometer I use (about 30cm in).  Should be hot enough in the centre (aim at 55-65C).

Transplanted three yellow daisies and some catnip from 4" pots to 6".  Used the 4" pots to pot up some Bok Choi, Tomato, Violas, Coriander plants my grandson has going in some *proprietary grocery brand* promotional pots he got going 4-6 weeks ago.  Hopefully they survive, most of the others haven't.

Hot Compost Day 6 and seedling work

Turned the compost heap outside-in for the second time.  Temperature in the centre varied from 50-55C.  Added a litre of nitrous nettle juice in two doses to boost the temp.  Hydrophobic dirt (dust, initially) now holding some water.  Patches of whitish mould in a couple areas where fibrous material clumped up, also a couple patches of dry material.  Added water to the bottom few layers as I built it up (formerly 'outside' material).  Soaked the outside of heap with a spray when it was built.  No bad smells, starting to break down all materials.  Covered the heap with tarps on the windward side.  So far, going better than I'd expected.

Planted seeds into toilet roll seedling containers - lettuce, strawberry, leek and dill.
Planted corn and beans into gaps into previously dug rows.
Moved orange daisy and hollyhocks seedlings into small cutting pots.
Moved five native shrub cuttings from cool frame into small pots.