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Re: [nafex] composting
Hi Gordon,
I wasn't thinking of anything beyond 4 old lawnmower wheels, and a couple of
2"x4"s for the drum cradle.
I would have to buy another barrel as the one I have is used to collect rain
water.
Regards,
Tom
"Gordon C. Nofs" wrote:
> Tom
> You do not need rollers and all that to try it out. Just give the barrel a
> half roll or so every day or so.
> Gordon
>
> *****************************************************
>
> Hi,
>
> I am told that the fastest composters are turned daily. That involves a
> large
> drum container, set up on rollers, so it can be easily turned (rolled)
> daily.
>
> The drum has a door on one end for loading and emptying, and the drum is
> perforated with small holes for air and water movement.
>
> Never built one, but they are supposed to convert debris to compost the
> fastest.
>
> Often thought of using one of those 55 gallon plastic drums you see to make
> one,
> as it would not rust out.
>
> This technique is supposed to reduce composting to days, versus months.
>
> Regards,
> Tom
>
> Kieran or Donna wrote:
>
> > Lucky,
> > I grew up in Florida, where organic matter evaporates nearly as fast
> as
> > it is produced. Even in Tennessee where it's pretty dang hot most of the
> > year, I thought composting was some sort of Yankee plot, or perhaps more
> of
> > that Puritan work ethic they have up there. Or maybe they need the
> exercise
> > just to keep warm. Gianni, for instance, says "turn it every few days".
> > That goes against inborn southern laziness.
> > But a small army of rabid composters finally convinced me that in the
> > winter I could take advantage of the free heat produced (plus the air
> that
> > is a lot more available in a pile than in the ground) to convert raw
> > materials turn into superb soil much faster than simply throwing them on
> the
> > ground. (Whether mulching or spreading before plowing) It only took
> doing
> > it once to convert me. We haul the manure and I spread the other
> > ingredients in layers as my husband shovels it off the truck. Sometimes
> > it's horse manure plus bedding and I just add lime and crumbled soil and
> > rock dust. Sometimes it's just sawdust or shavings and I add chicken
> manure
> > as well, or we dump buckets of urine on the heap later (we don't have any
> > plumbing to worry about in the cold weather). Either way, it DOES get
> warm,
> > and it turns into something to make chemical gardeners weep with envy,
> even
> > though I turn each heap only once in it's career. I throw the outside of
> > the heap on the garden and mix the inside finished product half and half
> > with garden soil for my own potting soil. I use it for everything except
> > starting small seeds. My hickory and BW seedlings are all planted in it
> as
> > are all the rest of my potted trees. Now that the garden is producing
> more
> > than we can eat, I think it's time to start making compost for my
> neglected
> > fruit trees. Donna
> >
>
> --
> Thomas Olenio
> Ontario, Canada
> Hardiness Zone 6a
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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>
--
Thomas Olenio
Ontario, Canada
Hardiness Zone 6a
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