North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Tom Olenio <tolenio@sentex.net>]

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
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
>

--
Thomas Olenio
Ontario, Canada
Hardiness Zone 6a



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