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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Update: Humanure, trench composting with biomass and weeds, Hugelkulture

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  • From: Dieter Brand <diebrand@yahoo.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Update: Humanure, trench composting with biomass and weeds, Hugelkulture
  • Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2010 01:07:08 -0700 (PDT)

Hi Larry,

Is this a pet project of yours? In which case I hope you won’t mind me
playing the devils advocate to help you fine-tune your argument a little.

I have been using our compost toilet for over ten years with good results.
From my experience, the problems I can see with the trench-style system you
describe are:

• It is difficult to install such a trench near one’s living quarters.
• If we are to go to different locations on the trench, that may cause
some confusion, especially when it is dark during the night.
• Without a concrete floor, the trench won’t pass inspection by the
local planning department.
• People will tend to neglect excavating the product, thus leaving all
that extremely high N material in one place instead of distributing it evenly
across your land. When my compost toilet is full, I have to empty it since
no more will go in. I then compost it for another year with plant residues
etc. before spreading it very finely across my growing area. In Natural
Farming, which I practice, even organic fertilizers such as manure are not
accepted, except for returning the organic matter naturally occurring on a
farm to the land as a means of soil improvement and not as fertilizer. A
high N concentration is to be avoided since it will result in a soil
imbalance.

Cheers, Dieter



--- On Sat, 9/18/10, Lawrence F. London, Jr. <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
wrote:

> From: Lawrence F. London, Jr. <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
> Subject: [permaculture] Update: Humanure, trench composting with biomass
> and weeds, Hugelkulture
> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Saturday, September 18, 2010, 7:05 AM
>
> 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.
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