permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

Here's a revised description of this system.

Its a subject of interest to me: how to alternatively, safely, 
completely, efficiently and naturally process humanure.

A lot of people use 5 gal. plastic bucket with sawdust (or compost).
Another solution is to, in warm weather, create a trench running with a 
slight downhill grade, about 10-16" deep (not critical). Fill it with 
cut weeds. Use it, "flush" afterward with buckets of water to dilute and 
disperse the solids into the mass of weeds. Use a different spot along 
the trench each day. Eventually weeds will grow into the trench and 
convert the existing nutrients into plant food. As the level of plant 
material drops add new layers of more cut weeds (dried weeds, green or 
compost OK).
In winter use the same system but make the trench wider and deeper. Pile 
biomass into the trench to 12" above existing grade (it will settle out 
so keep replenishing the pile). Use it and "flush" as described above. 
Use only the upper half of the length of the trench always. Leave the 
lower half to process the humanure and convert it to compost in 
combination with the biomass added to the trench.
During heavy rain the trench will flush itself by overflowing onto 
adjoining grade and then downhill to fertilize plantings safely.
The extra amount of biomass used in winter will insulate the trench
from the cold allowing the composting process to continue, a little less 
in winter but nevertheless adequately. You could always build a little 
tunnel type greenhouse to cover and further insulate the trench; lift up 
one side of the plastic for access to the trench to use the system. This 
might be a sort of modified Hugelkulture composting system.

The humanure trench composting system should have the following 
approximate dimensions:
20-40 feet long, 16" to 24" wide and 12" to 18" deep

This should be constructed on a slight grade, with the grade and not 
across; finished, clean effluent should exit the lower end during heavy 
rainfall.

- The top 25% of the trench should contain compost and cut weeds and not 
be used
- The middle 25% is the portion to be used daily; flush with buckets of 
water or preferably with water from a garden hose; allow weeds growing 
near the trench to grow into the entire length of the trench, especially 
the zone used daily
- The lower 50% of the trench is not used and contains compost, cut 
weeds and living plant material, annuals or possibly perennials or even 
aquatic (for poorly drained soils in which the trench is constructed);
tall annuals work really well, establish a weed seed bank in and around 
the trench for a robust, healthy plant community growing around and in 
the trench; annuals and rhizomateous plants like Johnson grass, Bermuda 
grass, plantain, fescue, ryegrass, daisies, goldenrod, ragweed and many 
other "mystery weeds" work really well for this purpose

The upper 25% of the trench, containing bioactive compost, generates a
robust and healthy community of beneficial microorganisms some of which
get flushed into the next 25% of the trench, the active area, helping
the composting and bioremediation to occur efficiently. The lower 50% of 
the trench is the finishing area where the process of bioremediation is 
completed producing clean effluent to flow out of the trench and 
downhill to fertilize plantings or flow into a catchment pond growing 
aquatic weeds like duckweed, cattails, papyrus and water lillies.