permaculture

[Jerome Rigot <jfrigot@gmail.com>]

Hello,

Ther Great Lake Brewing Company processes part of its spent grain with red
wigglers, and the vermicompost obtained is used to on their farms to grow
some of the veggies they serve at their restaurant.
They have also used the spent grain to grow mushrooms.

Jerome

On Thu, May 26, 2016 at 8:36 PM, Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
wrote:

> >
> > I wondered if anyone had experience or ideas on how to best use spent
> > grains from a distillery. I'd like to compost them because I could
> obtain a
> > fairly steady supply. I don't have any equipment for turning the compost
> > but would be ok with making a pile and letting it mellow for awhile. I
> have
> > access to steer manure and wood chips as well. I'd love any thoughts or
> > others' experiences.
>
>
> That is an interesting challenge. 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 knew some biodynamic
> gardeners near Pittsboro who used this method to create compost and
> fertilizer for their vegetable garden. If you Google "cold composting" or
> biodynbamic cold composting" or "biodynamic composting" you will find out
> much more about this useful gardening technique.
> Here is one from the wonderful Journey To Forever,
> http://journeytoforever.org/compost_make.html
> and one other url:
> http://blog.humboldtseeds.net/en/the-art-of-building-super-soil/
>
> Here is a great website on composting though they do not mention using
> layered sticks to create aeration channels
>
> https://sites.google.com/site/organiclearningsite/biodynamic-composting
> Biodynamic Composting
>
> *FARM SCALE COMPOST MAKING      *
>
> *And another that does mention creating aeration channels:*
>
> *Biodynamic Compost*
> *http://biodynamics.net.au/resources/biodynamic-compost/
> <http://biodynamics.net.au/resources/biodynamic-compost/>*
>
> *Air: *An adequate – but not excessive – supply is essential to encourage
> the right kind of bacteria (aerobic bacteria). Too loose a heap, with too
> much air will work vigorously for a short time, release ammonia and then
> become dry and inactive. Too firm a heap, with insufficient air will smell
> putrid and sour – like the bottom of a swamp. An inverted V shaped tunnel
> from layers of a hay bale, or tied bundles of twigs running the length of
> the heap will help bring in sufficient air. Some use agricultural pipes
> with holes in long heaps.
>
> Peter Proctor suggests making the first layer of hay or straw, not too firm
> or compressed and limited in thickness to maintain the air but keep a
> balance of minimising a layer where essential micro-organisms and worms may
> have limited entry.
>
>
>
> --
> Lawrence F. London
> lfljvenaura@gmail.com
> https://sites.google.com/site/avantgeared/
> https://ello.co/lflondon
> permaculture mailing list
> permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> subscribe/unsubscribe|user config|list info:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
>