Re: Composting WWTPs and composting (Was Re: [compost_tea] Re: MICROBIOLOGY TESTING of COMPOST TEAS

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2004 12:12:08 -0800

You did Elaine. Here is the quote:

You use temperature in the first 3 to 4 days to tell you how the mix might =
need to be adjusted so that every pile comes out pathogen-free, with the cr=
itters you want.

Now, what did you mean by that?

There is enough confusion on this list and tons of disinformation or half-t=
ruths. Some of this is the process of exploration. There are more false l=
eads than true leads. Some of it is outright ignorance.

I was at a meeting recently where a presentation was being given by someone=
 I brought in to educate people about a subject: Root Structure. We were a=
bout ten minutes into the presentation when I saw people's eyes glaze over.=
  The presenter not only had it wrong but covered his/her mistakes with wha=
t I like to call "technobabble". This is where people start throwing techn=
ical words and concepts around to hide the fact that they don't know what i=
s going on. I find this a lot in the environmental world. I stopped the p=
resentation and asked: "Who understands where we are up to now." Not one pe=
rson raised their hand. So I took over and even though I don't have the ce=
rtification the persenter had, got people to understand how a root system w=
orks so they could decide on whether or not to fund a project. (By the way=
, I ended up paying the presenter but will never use or recommend this pers=
on again. His/her excuse was: "I guess I just know too much and am too tech=
nical for these idiots. They should have known what I was talking about." =
 I looked at him/her like a hog looks at a wristwatch.)

If you are going to compost, it's both easy and hard. The shorter your tim=
e span the harder it is. The longer the easier. That is the way nature wo=
rks. In nature there's no such thing as three days or five days or fifteen=
 days of sustained high temperatures. In fact, in nature, the thermophylli=
c cycle of composting is rare. This is a side effect of large piles and li=
mited O2 among other things.

If you have years to compost, you can dump almost anything in the pile that=
 isn't large sticks and trunks and xylem type whole material and get it to =
compost. Fungi can break down woody material but it takes a loooong time. =
That's the way the forest floor works.

Also, commercial composting operations are different than what most of us a=
re dealing with. In a commercial operation, carbonization is usual. This =
almost never happens on smaller scales. Mostly what we are trying to do is=
 create high-quality, highly-diverse compost that can be used as a basis fo=
r tea. This means we have to analyze the area where the tea is to be appli=
ed.

I have found that two "best" ways to do this. 1) make local compost based =
on materials gathered from the local area and surrounding areas. This takes=
 a little longer. 2) Start with a commercial compost or starter compost and=
 add material from the local area. For both methods, I brew tea from the c=
ompost and add it to the compost pile so I reinnoculate as I am composting.=
  If I am using a percentage of animal waste to provide nitrogen, I make su=
re to get it tested for pathogens before tea use. Pathogens can be control=
led by heat or biologically. If my compost pile is small, it may not be la=
rge enough to generate the needed heat so I have to resort to strictly biol=
ogical control and more frequent turning or aerating.

Anyone can learn to compost. I did and if I can do it, anyone can.

Ted Peterson
SOE








Received on Sun Dec 26 2004 - 17:41:27 EST

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