permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

On Fri, May 27, 2016 at 7:14 AM, Dieter Brand <brand.dieter2015@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Why not just let it stay in a pile until its done? It'll compost
> eventually even without aeration. It doesn't matter how long it takes
> as long as it doesn't require any work.
>

Because depending on weather, rain, site considerations, drainage the pile
could go anaerobic. Grain and manure are heavy stuff
prone to putrefaction in less than adequately aerobic composting conditions.

I thought about the layering of the pile a little more and here are more
suggestions along with a quote of my original post:

==
The first thing that comes to mind is cold composting using a biodynamic
method, especially if you need to compost a lot of material and do not have
a loader to pile/mix/turn it. Manually you could layer the components of
the pile on high ground that is well drained and has no wet areas. Start
with cut brush, twigs, branches, heavier material that forms the first
layer in contact with the ground. Place a grid of straight branches with
offshoots removed onto this first layer. Apply the wood chips next, then
another layer of straight branches, then the spent grains and another
straight branch grid then the steer manure. Each layer should be thin so
that you repeat the layering sequence many times before topping out the
pile. Dimensions of the pile should be smaller than the lengths of the
branches used in the grid. After the pile has well developed fungal mycelia
and has firmed up considerably you can remove the branch grids leaving
behind aeration tunnels. Leave the pile undisturbed until it has matured to
the point that it can be transferred to gardens or fields, incorporated
with soil and some applied as mulch. The advantage to this method is that
it is easy to build by hand using shovels and manure forks and requires no
turning thanks to the network of aeration holes left behind when branches
are removed.
==

I would use the wood chips differently plus add hay as one of the layers as
a substitute for the chips. When you lay down the grid of wooden branches
or poles between all layers, sprinkle a thin layer of wood chips between
the branches not letting them pile higher than the branches. This will make
pulling the branches out of the pile later on easier and allow more air to
enter the pile while it is working off. The first layer should be coarse
brush in contact with ground then the branches and chips then begin
layering 1) hay then 2) spent grain then 3) steer manure in thin sections
with branches and chips between each of them. Keeping those layers thin
will help allow more air into the pile and keep them from going anaerobic.
The ideal method would be to mix hay, grain and manure together and use
that mix as the only layer in the pile between branches and wood chips.
Fungi break down the heavy wood particles like chips and brush while
bacteria decompose the other ingredients.


-- 
Lawrence F. London
lfljvenaura@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/site/avantgeared/
https://ello.co/lflondon