Has anyone used or heard of using peat as the carbon source? Downsides?? Any idea how long it would take to run the finished compost through worms or would that not be necessary? Sorry I'm all over the place! Just trying to get a clearer picture.
Peat moss will be cost prohibitive for the size of your project. Sawdust will have the highest C content out of any of the browns, especially hardwood, a little goes a long way. Straw is my next favorite and breaks down faster. Since your N source is chicken manure it’s likely the finished product will have a high pH and will be a dilute liming agent. If this is being used in a part of the country where the native soil is acidic (SouthEast) this is a very good deal. If not I might try to incorporate some acidic materials or perhaps even use some sulfur. Vermicompost or EWC has a value of 10x that of compost if you were to buy or sell it. RD
I would add rock dust after but I don’t feel it would bad to add it during composting. You could make test piles 3x3x3 feet using hot composting methods and add different ratios of greens and then monitor temperatures to find your C:N ratio. There might be a better way to figure it out, maybe Jerry or someone knows.
Ok. Thats great info and advice! I do have the analysis of it and it does have a quite high ph. What about green sawdust or wood chips? There's a mill on the other side of me and he may have all i need. For sulphur i assume gypsum would suffice but smack me if I'm off base. I'd like to sell what we're not going to use and I'd like it to be as good of quality, (cost prohibitive) as I can make it. Probably not Malibu quality but a close third I'm in OK and the market is booming so I don't see failing as an option, regardless of the finished product. I've been reading the no till threads for years and want to apply some of the knowledge gained here by adding the amendments stated there.
I want to thank you all for your input. I'm an old gardner at heart and have lurked around here for years but just never signed up. I appreciate and commend everyone here for the info that's always so selflessly given to others. This site is my fav for organic growing info and i consider some here to be pioneers at bettering the way cannabis can and should be grown.
My question after looking at that printout on the manure is how to calculate the C:N ratio from all them numbers if possible. Craft a nice economical living soil
Looks like a tweaked version on mojos no till thread from many years back. What catches my eye the most from your link is the use of much less rock dust. I dont recall ever seeing that poster
I'm likely ADHD so I apologize if I seem to bounce around a lot. A lot is going on in life right now but I feel the universe is driving me to do something different...with poo! Hahaha. I got a small worm bin for Christmas and it fascinates me. I know I don't need worms to have a role in this scenario but it would be cool and the extra expense should more than pay for itself. I've been growing indoors for 23yrs and it wasn't until recently that I saw the power of worm poo. Using about 35% to make up the base mix then topdressing with Malibu blend and castings, 70/30, I've never seen such strong healthy plants. That's really what led me down this path and why I'm conversing about it now. I've used every method to grow including all hydro methods, toss in aquaponics, but nothing compares to worm poo!
Sawdust will break down faster than wood chips but either can be used. Make sure to always have an N source and C source that are separated from your “active” pile. This way you can adjust things if needed. The pH should come down at least some after being composted with your N source. Gypsum won’t affect pH. Pure elemental sulfur does, but at the cost of micro life so it’s a double edged sword. Read Vermiculture Technologies in Gimiks library. Windrows are a great low tech way to get going. If you want to see how the big boys do it check out WormPower or Sonoma Valley Worm Farm on Youtube. Also your piles might be big enough where I would consider blowing air through it instead of turning it with the tractor, just a thought. RD
Ok thanks a lot! I’ll look at those now. I was thinking earlier that vermicompost might be a good route but really only because I'm assuming it doesn’t take as long to produce as castings. Not sure yet what differentiates the 2
Well you have it backwards my friend. If you use the Berkeley method of composting it takes a few weeks to make compost. The finished compost is then fed to worms. The time it takes to become vermicompost will vary on the system you employ. It takes month though. If you lack patience, this isn’t the game for you. RD
Right right. I was referencing vermicompost being quicker to accomplish than castings. After researching though it looks like there isn’t much of a difference between the two. Technically there is but... I looked at a few videos... quite a feat on a large scale for sure but it looks enjoyable and worthwhile. I got some research to do! Thanks again!
Got an email from an old friend of these forums with a pdf describing a composting bioreactor that you can build at home. Figured it may be of interest to the GCO crew. Johnson-Su Composting Bioreactors @ElRanchoDeluxe , Maybe this can be scaled to suit your compost needs?
Very interesting video. I do see a difference in my 2' diameter leaf mold fence and my 4' diameter one I have breaking down. The 2' loses height more quickly. It may have something to do with the 1 foot air penetration he speaks about.
I found the talk on microbes towards the end of the video very interesting. Especially the part about identifying microbes that haven't been identified since pasteurization was developed.
I think I have come across this in the past, thanks for posting it. I just may give it a go. I have access to some really nice composted horse manure right now. It’s supposed to be from horses that are fed no spray grass and I’m in the process of testing it on tomato plants and 40’x80’ Ruth Stout garden.(yikes!) I’ll still want to compost materials from the yard/chickens/rabbits/canna and food waste. This method seems worth giving a try. I was surprised the pipe only needed to be in there for a day. I can almost see leaving the pipe in there, stringing heating cables in through the pipe and filling em up with perlite to keep the worms happy through winter. RD