Anyone thinking about hiring William as a consultant, I highly suggest you do!! He helped me set up the entire layout and walked me through the different steps for each coming year on my property. Whatever you pay will be WELL worth it.
My husband and I are thinking about seeking consultation from him. We live in the high desert and are confused on what we need to do to have healthy soil, a successful garden and bountiful harvest. This is a totally different environment than what we are both used to, we both were born and raised in the mid-west.
I remember at the beginning, after learning composting from our friend Elaine Ingham, I fell into the trap of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. I was stressed about making sure every piece of material from the top was here, then the middle, bottom, etc. All the moves to make sure I got every cubic inch of material into the center for a time, and was regulating temperatures as well. Well, I found I was not getting seeds into the ground! I was trying to wait until I had compost so I could have the extract to give them the best start. But, I knew about the perfect being the enemy of the good, and I knew about the 80/20 rule. So, I choose to chill, and plant seeds in my still kinda jacked soil, remembering that plants will grow in almost anything, and at that point, getting the exudate machines working was most important. So, I learned! Now I am following Masanoba Fukuoka's policy of always asking, "What else can I NOT do."
Great video! I just gathered a lot of leaves behind my fence in my backyard. All leaves are all dry and I don't have enough greens to make my compost hot. I learn how to do my first flip. Thank you❤
Love your instruction and demonstration. I found it very helpful and look forward to doing this and seeing the finished product. Im very interested in seeing how your plants do in the clover. I wonder what variety of clover you used?
I use a double ring system. I simply fill it and forget it because the hollow center allows oxygen to penetrate into all of the compost. I occasionally water the pile, but I never have to flip it or cover it up with a tarp.
The comparison between initial pile and 2 days in should really drive it home for people to see that you need to start BIG because settling will occur, and size is required to build heat. Tarp good for keeping the moisture in piles that are built out in the open sunlight not in shade. The sound of the leaf material sounded too dry, but not there to see or touch so all one can judge by is audio and visual, look for steam, steam equals moisture present. Just not sold on 18 day finished fertility. Please be patient people, make successive piles so your not hard up waiting on just one to finish.
Fine surface network of roots grow up into my leaf mold pile and it keeps me from harvest the bottom, which is the best layer. Congratulations for being able to bend over in those pants!
Thank you! This is the first time I really saw how to do composting with all the steps. I am in the city and have a two tumbler black composter. I am not sure whether it has 1/2 a cubic foot each tumbler. Do you have any suggestions on how I can make that support the necessary microbial life needed? I also have troubles getting the material hot enough to kill seeds. I also have chicken manure to put in from my chickens.
Hi William, My wife and I started our first hot compost recently, but it's not breaking down as fast as we expected. We used close to equal parts brown to green and around half the amount of cow manure. Although it got hot, we've noticed that many of the leaves and grasses we put into the compost have not fully broken down yet. According to the 18-day plan, Monday, April 22nd, will be our last flip. We're wondering if we should keep flipping if it stays hot to help break down the remaining leaves and other brown materials, or should we turn it into a cold compost and let it mature for a little while? We love your videos and would appreciate your advice on this. Thanks! #pimp #compostyourenemies #Permacultureq&a
Watching From India: Thanks for the demonstration of a simple way to create compost using only 2 incredients (greens and browns)! Two questions: 1) can we add earthworm in the mix, if so in which layer and on what day? 2) how big an area this quantity 3 cub yards (or feet?) will be capable of fertilizing? . Also i have heard of people using alternating layers of dry (green biomass?) leaves and urea , is that workable?
Q&A - I did everything like you showed, or at least I thought I did, but the middle of the pile didn't get hot at all once I took 1/3 off. What do I do now? It would be useful if you cover how to fix common mistakes like this one. Do I finish flipping? Do I add water? Do I leave it alone?
SGB, you just gave a great lesson about life. Once you hit bottom it's nothing but up from there. 👍 Keep up the great work, bro. God bless. Wu Tang out.
Imagine the man fruit/vegetable scraps, fallen leaves, grass clippings, eggshells, etc that the average suburban family goes through a year Even if they don't garden, better soil can improve alot
Do you need to add any more water? How can you tell it’s moist enough? How high did the temperature get before flipping? Did you see any actinomycetes? Do you ever look under the scope for what’s in this first stage?
I can tell it is not wet enough just by looking. The squeeze test is how you tell for sure. Squeeze as hard as you can on a handful and if you get one drop 💧 out you are wet enough. More than one drop you are too wet.
Use the squeeze test to see if you need more water. I don't really care how high it got for this particular recipe. There wasn't any actinobacteria on this first flip but there was the second flip. Don't bother looking until after the flipping is done.
Q& A I started my compost in the fall with garden scraps and leaves we mowed up and put them and put them in a structure my husband made with pallets( 3 sides and a top) covered with a tarp. Will it work in that? We still have some below freezing temperatures. Not sure what I need to do right now.
#Q&A My compost pile can't seem to get hotter than 97 degrees. It stays at 97 degrees for 4 to 5 days then begins to cool down. This is when I flip it. It goes back up to 97. It contains a mixture of food scraps, chicken & horse manure, bedding from chicken coops, & dried leaves. Am I doing something wrong?
#permacultureqanda We planted some fruit trees that aren’t blooming on the limbs of the established growth. Instead they have new growth from the base of the tree. What should we do? Should we cut down the older growth, and let the new growth establish? Type of trees: plum, pear, peach. They were in pots, except the pear which was bare root.
Good question! The rootstock of those trees is what's popping up at the base. You definitely want to cut those off. I'll address this in a video coming up.
I got my pile pretty hot. Whne I went to check on it over the weekend, found a nice rat snake enjoying the warmth. Just be careful when you check your piles. I left him alone. He is great for getting rid of rats and other critters.
Man! I wish I would of seen this before I flipped mine🤦♂️. 3 separate piles made alot of sense. I did mine wily nily. Note...my pile is 4x4 and from Sunday to today the temperature of the pile rose to 140. Do you still flip anyway? I did. Just got inside from Flippin. Gased out. I live in Chicago. Also wanted to share with you that urine to the pile is beneficial to getting it hot. Also William, i only cover mine when a down pour is in the forecast. Right or wrong? I would love to hear your insight.
Urine totally works to get the pile hot. I wouldn't recommend it for those on meds though. I like to cover mine just to make sure the minimum amount evaporates off.
@ThePermacultureConsultant . Thank you for taking the time to answer questions Will, that goes a long way. Big fan here brother. God bless you on all your futute endeavors.
#PermacultureQA We discovered a big patch of grassburrs where a previous lessee had fed some infested hay. What would you recommend for getting rid of what's already established, and stopping the spread? I'm 90% sure you're going to say to fix the soil, but what specific steps would you take towards that goal? Thanks, and keep up the great content!
😂 that’s literally what I was going to say. I would start by cutting down what’s there and reseeding with something preferable. It may take a few shots but it will eventually switch over.
#PermacultureQ&A Can I use sweet potatoes to rapidly improve soil? I live on poor, sandy soil in South Carolina. Sweet potatoes grow well with little effort. I'd like to grow a patch of potatoes, bring chickens in when their done for a couple months to clean up the vines and apply a layer of manure, then introduce red wriggles, cardboard and lasagna layers for several months until ready to install a guild. Am I correct in thinking the sweet potatoes left on ground would be a good source of food for the worms and build the soil quickly after being eaten and decomposing?
Not sure what your timeliness on this is, but if you put in red wigglers to overwinter, they will stop working below 60 degrees & worm death occurs below 40 degrees. Maybe call your state extension service for a chart/graph of soil temps for your area. Red wiggler are a more tropical worm species. Some people are able to overwinter red wigglers out of doors with low ground temps, but they provide a large area where decomposing mass (about 2 ft deep) where the worms can stay warm & feed.
Just checked my new pile today...well, chickens found it . Did not ha e it totally covered. There is always tomorrow. Hopefully it will not be raining.
Is there a reason you didn’t put the cage next to the original pile so you could just put the new first level then the next 2 layers so you don’t have such of a mess?
#permacultureq&a I have lots of sheep poop and not enough compost heaps. Is grass fed sheep poop too hot to sprinkle on the garden? Or can I make liquid poop tea? If so, how?
You can add it straight to the garden but I would avoid making liquid poop. If it's not done correctly, in the correct container, it can breed anaerobic bacteria.
no, worms need low temperature. If you keep it long enough they will enter the pile alone. My husband hate them, as we find them all over the garden and he does not want me to make it anymore. Well I guess I will half comply but hot composting is just a marvelous thing and it grows on you. It is work, before at preparing all the material and cutting it to piece but well worth it when you taste your vegetables. I do check the temperature every day and turn it as Elaine Ingham indicates. It can be every day, every other day or three days. Even twice a day if I use chicken poo for a few days. And I need to go to my garden by public transportation. Quite near otherwise half an hour walk. (City garden). But this is perfect !
"And without using a compost thermometer, I'm just going to stick my hand in there, and yes, it is definitely warm, so that means everything within the center of this pile has [over the course of four days] gone to a high enough temperature where the weed seeds are killed as well as the pathogens." I'm very skeptical. You need to get compost to 50°C (122°F) for 24 hours to assure that common pathogens would be killed. (Ref.: OpenSourceEcology). A 2013 study, The_Effect_of_Temperature_on_the_Viability_Of_Weed_Seeds_in_Compost, by A.C.Grundy, published by Research Gate, showed that a temperature of 55°C (131° F) for three days was needed to destroy the seeds of a sampling of eight types of weeds. That pile would have been much steamier it it had gotten to those temperatures. Use a thermometer and expect results much less impressive than what this video claims.
#permacultureqanda We inherited hay with our property (and cattle). I know nothing about the hay, including if it was sprayed or not. If the grass/weeds grow back fairly quickly where the hay was places for the cattle, can I assume that it's not sprayed and use the leftovers the cattle don't eat for compost, or is that a bad assumption? If it's a bad assumption, is there any way to find out if it's safe for my plants? We may not have the cattle any longer but still have several bales of hay.
Just wanted to let you know that if there is Grazon on the hay it would not kill the grass. It will kill anything you are trying to grow in a garden though. Be very cautious. A good test is trying to grow beans since they are quite sensitive.
If new seeds germinated then I would say it's most likely ok to use. Depending on how long it's been there, the part coming into contact with the ground should have started to decompose.
Hey, I just checked TH-cam for Trash Can composting & found this one for accelerated cold composting in a $20 Lowe’s trash can, (with a locking lid). It’s slower, but was mostly done in 2 months. I think it could be sped up with one or more accelerators or by hot composting. It takes a hole saw for bottom drainage, (or could do bunches of smaller, regular bit holes). Also has boodles of side holes (7:8” -ish), for aeration. Guy suggests screen repair tape if concerned with mosquitos or bugs. I wonder if for hot composting, it might be better fireproofing to use a metal can & paint it black? I’m going to try the accelerated cold process as I have some trash cans I’ve been saving leaves in. No access to greens here, so finally bought some alfalfa meal & will source coffee grounds from work, (addiction treatment… much coffee consumed!). BGood luck to us both. Here’s the link: How To Make Compost Fast In a Trash Can th-cam.com/video/PA-b1rQ42vU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=auWVx0P4eOHzkiSA
Thanks for the reply. We have a stack house where we compost the dead and liter to spread on the pastures . I tried doing greens with the liter and for some reason it never really worked out. I give your recommendation a try. Again thank you
Wow! I followed your lead, built two 4'x4' piles and they hit 160 deg. by 3rd day. I'm located in Morganton, NC on 100 acre farm (mostly forest) but do some truck farming , sawmilling and sell firewood. If you are available and close enough to make travel reasonable (I'm 75 miles from Mars Hill), I would like to talk to about a possible consult. Feel free to contact me if interested. Thanks!
Can I also say - I would love to see a CoVid between you and Matt Risingher of the Build Show Channel. They don't really cover external ground and by taking a much more permaculture approach to Gardens with Food Forests etc. A builder could leave a new build with a garden that is set up to provide the new home owner with food throughout the year with minimal input which for a builder is just a minor fixed cost add that brings major differentiation in the market. Not only can people be in a tied but off grid house with Electricity, heating, lighting, water & sewage management, they can also live out of their own garden, something that climate risk and the sheer size of Texas must be an issue.
Not true. Every few days to a week should be flipped. Temps will get up to about 160 and when they drop to about 120 -130...flip. leaving 28 days before flipping is a waste of time.
Mate to me there’s way way tooo much still very green and needed to be left at least another 28 days before first flipp I wouldn’t want that any where close to even being a poor quality mulch let alone compost 😢😢😢😢
Anyone thinking about hiring William as a consultant, I highly suggest you do!! He helped me set up the entire layout and walked me through the different steps for each coming year on my property. Whatever you pay will be WELL worth it.
Thank you so much!!!
@@ThePermacultureConsultantI would love to get a consultation, how would I go about that.. I couldn’t find the links you discussed
@@jeanettehastings6915they are in the video description
My husband and I are thinking about seeking consultation from him. We live in the high desert and are confused on what we need to do to have healthy soil, a successful garden and bountiful harvest. This is a totally different environment than what we are both used to, we both were born and raised in the mid-west.
Where is he located?
I remember at the beginning, after learning composting from our friend Elaine Ingham, I fell into the trap of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. I was stressed about making sure every piece of material from the top was here, then the middle, bottom, etc. All the moves to make sure I got every cubic inch of material into the center for a time, and was regulating temperatures as well.
Well, I found I was not getting seeds into the ground! I was trying to wait until I had compost so I could have the extract to give them the best start. But, I knew about the perfect being the enemy of the good, and I knew about the 80/20 rule. So, I choose to chill, and plant seeds in my still kinda jacked soil, remembering that plants will grow in almost anything, and at that point, getting the exudate machines working was most important.
So, I learned! Now I am following Masanoba Fukuoka's policy of always asking, "What else can I NOT do."
Great video! I just gathered a lot of leaves behind my fence in my backyard. All leaves are all dry and I don't have enough greens to make my compost hot. I learn how to do my first flip. Thank you❤
Thanks! Started a pile Sunday, it's Thursday and I did my first flip! It was definitely cooking! Now for pile #2...
Love your instruction and demonstration. I found it very helpful and look forward to doing this and seeing the finished product.
Im very interested in seeing how your plants do in the clover. I wonder what variety of clover you used?
Thank you so much! I used a mixture of clover!
I love ALL The Permaculture Consultant videos!
Thanks buddy!
I use a double ring system. I simply fill it and forget it because the hollow center allows oxygen to penetrate into all of the compost. I occasionally water the pile, but I never have to flip it or cover it up with a tarp.
If we all composted.....our grace could go like this::: "If it's from the sun, it"s for everyone".
The comparison between initial pile and 2 days in should really drive it home for people to see that you need to start BIG because settling will occur, and size is required to build heat. Tarp good for keeping the moisture in piles that are built out in the open sunlight not in shade. The sound of the leaf material sounded too dry, but not there to see or touch so all one can judge by is audio and visual, look for steam, steam equals moisture present. Just not sold on 18 day finished fertility. Please be patient people, make successive piles so your not hard up waiting on just one to finish.
Been soaking up all the knowledge you been dropping boss. Stay killing it 👌
Thank you sir!
Thank you, I was wondering how you flipped the compost from one of the other videos but this one answered my QA.😊👩🏾🌾
Oh awesome, glad you found it! Thank you!
Gotta bad back rather sheet mulch layer in place and plug in finished compost in diagonal patterns for efficient spacing where I plan to plot the bed.
Not a bad plan. You can even use less compost if you'd like. I'll show how in future videos, when this one is finished.
@@ThePermacultureConsultant Love your channel keep up the good work!
I'll tell you what. I saw your dad demonstrate this but you explained it so much better. I understand it now. Thank you!
Oh wow, thank you so much!
The original 18 day compost videos were very good but these new videos are INCREDIBLY helpful and well-done!
Thank you so much!
Fine surface network of roots grow up into my leaf mold pile and it keeps me from harvest the bottom, which is the best layer. Congratulations for being able to bend over in those pants!
I love composting. It is a different kind of life doing its thing. Compost that has fully matured really is black gold.
Literally can save your garden and homestead.
I am obsessed to see how productive I can make my soil, my wife worries
Thank you! This is the first time I really saw how to do composting with all the steps. I am in the city and have a two tumbler black composter. I am not sure whether it has 1/2 a cubic foot each tumbler. Do you have any suggestions on how I can make that support the necessary microbial life needed? I also have troubles getting the material hot enough to kill seeds. I also have chicken manure to put in from my chickens.
May I ask why you didn’t use the wire fencing for the flipped pile? TYSM
Hi William,
My wife and I started our first hot compost recently, but it's not breaking down as fast as we expected. We used close to equal parts brown to green and around half the amount of cow manure. Although it got hot, we've noticed that many of the leaves and grasses we put into the compost have not fully broken down yet. According to the 18-day plan, Monday, April 22nd, will be our last flip. We're wondering if we should keep flipping if it stays hot to help break down the remaining leaves and other brown materials, or should we turn it into a cold compost and let it mature for a little while? We love your videos and would appreciate your advice on this. Thanks! #pimp #compostyourenemies #Permacultureq&a
At some point during 18 days do we add more water?
Would Duck weed and Lily pads be a good mix for this method? Along with dry leaves as well. Also does Dog Fennel work for a source of material?
Watching From India: Thanks for the demonstration of a simple way to create compost using only 2 incredients (greens and browns)! Two questions: 1) can we add earthworm in the mix, if so in which layer and on what day? 2) how big an area this quantity 3 cub yards (or feet?) will be capable of fertilizing? . Also i have heard of people using alternating layers of dry (green biomass?) leaves and urea , is that workable?
This is awesome. Almost went for it, but hearing that compost fires are a thing… may need a slower option, given where I live.
It's not very common but it's possible. Just make sure you don't go crazy on the super high nitrogen sources.
Q&A - I did everything like you showed, or at least I thought I did, but the middle of the pile didn't get hot at all once I took 1/3 off. What do I do now? It would be useful if you cover how to fix common mistakes like this one. Do I finish flipping? Do I add water? Do I leave it alone?
You probably need to add volume. That's the most common mistake.
I really like watching compost get made. Steaming piles get big thumbs-ups from me 👍👍
SGB, you just gave a great lesson about life. Once you hit bottom it's nothing but up from there. 👍
Keep up the great work, bro.
God bless.
Wu Tang out.
Thank you so much Brother!
We only have walnut trees in our yard. Can we use shredded paper instead of leaves?
Compost is what I enjoy doing at my parents house
And I feel more people should make compost
Absolutely!
Imagine the man fruit/vegetable scraps, fallen leaves, grass clippings, eggshells, etc that the average suburban family goes through a year
Even if they don't garden, better soil can improve alot
Do you need to add any more water? How can you tell it’s moist enough? How high did the temperature get before flipping? Did you see any actinomycetes? Do you ever look under the scope for what’s in this first stage?
I can tell it is not wet enough just by looking. The squeeze test is how you tell for sure. Squeeze as hard as you can on a handful and if you get one drop 💧 out you are wet enough. More than one drop you are too wet.
Use the squeeze test to see if you need more water. I don't really care how high it got for this particular recipe. There wasn't any actinobacteria on this first flip but there was the second flip. Don't bother looking until after the flipping is done.
Great Videos, William. just getting started with my garden venture, would you have any comments on using mushroom compost, I have 3 piles going
I don't have much room. Can I use garbage pails? 🦋 Thanks in advance for your guidance🙏🌻
Thank you for this. I am terrible at compost
Why don’t you use the ring to keep it together?
It's not really needed. You can use the cage to build another pile.
Q& A I started my compost in the fall with garden scraps and leaves we mowed up and put them and put them in a structure my husband made with pallets( 3 sides and a top) covered with a tarp. Will it work in that? We still have some below freezing temperatures. Not sure what I need to do right now.
#Q&A
My compost pile can't seem to get hotter than 97 degrees. It stays at 97 degrees for 4 to 5 days then begins to cool down. This is when I flip it. It goes back up to 97. It contains a mixture of food scraps, chicken & horse manure, bedding from chicken coops, & dried leaves. Am I doing something wrong?
Good question, I'll be doing a compost faq video soon.
I'm guessing your pile isn't big enough or you need more nitrogen.
Does it need to be in full sun?
#permacultureqanda We planted some fruit trees that aren’t blooming on the limbs of the established growth. Instead they have new growth from the base of the tree. What should we do? Should we cut down the older growth, and let the new growth establish? Type of trees: plum, pear, peach. They were in pots, except the pear which was bare root.
Good question! The rootstock of those trees is what's popping up at the base. You definitely want to cut those off. I'll address this in a video coming up.
I got my pile pretty hot. Whne I went to check on it over the weekend, found a nice rat snake enjoying the warmth. Just be careful when you check your piles. I left him alone. He is great for getting rid of rats and other critters.
You’re a better man than me. After going to war with snakes in Australia, I’m a little shell shocked 😂
@@ThePermacultureConsultant 😂
Man! I wish I would of seen this before I flipped mine🤦♂️. 3 separate piles made alot of sense. I did mine wily nily. Note...my pile is 4x4 and from Sunday to today the temperature of the pile rose to 140. Do you still flip anyway? I did. Just got inside from Flippin. Gased out. I live in Chicago. Also wanted to share with you that urine to the pile is beneficial to getting it hot. Also William, i only cover mine when a down pour is in the forecast. Right or wrong? I would love to hear your insight.
Urine totally works to get the pile hot. I wouldn't recommend it for those on meds though.
I like to cover mine just to make sure the minimum amount evaporates off.
@ThePermacultureConsultant . Thank you for taking the time to answer questions Will, that goes a long way. Big fan here brother. God bless you on all your futute endeavors.
You can see the steam btw! I love it!!!
Should i be letting my compost "cool" before using it? 👀
Yes you should. I'll be showing how and why after this pile is finished.
Can we mix both green and brown insted of layring while filling ??
#PermacultureQA We discovered a big patch of grassburrs where a previous lessee had fed some infested hay. What would you recommend for getting rid of what's already established, and stopping the spread? I'm 90% sure you're going to say to fix the soil, but what specific steps would you take towards that goal? Thanks, and keep up the great content!
😂 that’s literally what I was going to say. I would start by cutting down what’s there and reseeding with something preferable. It may take a few shots but it will eventually switch over.
If you’re grazing over it, just roll out some hay over it after mowing down what’s there.
#PermacultureQ&A
Can I use sweet potatoes to rapidly improve soil?
I live on poor, sandy soil in South Carolina. Sweet potatoes grow well with little effort. I'd like to grow a patch of potatoes, bring chickens in when their done for a couple months to clean up the vines and apply a layer of manure, then introduce red wriggles, cardboard and lasagna layers for several months until ready to install a guild.
Am I correct in thinking the sweet potatoes left on ground would be a good source of food for the worms and build the soil quickly after being eaten and decomposing?
Not sure what your timeliness on this is, but if you put in red wigglers to overwinter, they will stop working below 60 degrees & worm death occurs below 40 degrees. Maybe call your state extension service for a chart/graph of soil temps for your area. Red wiggler are a more tropical worm species.
Some people are able to overwinter red wigglers out of doors with low ground temps, but they provide a large area where decomposing mass (about 2 ft deep) where the worms can stay warm & feed.
That's not a bad idea! I wouldn't waste the worms on this though. Keep them in your worm bin. Doing your plan will naturally invite the worms needed.
Does the first flip get soaked down with water like when it was first started?
How many trees would that compost pile put to bed in the late fall?
It depends on your application. I'll show how to use it when it's done.
@@ThePermacultureConsultant thanks
Thanks for this. I found it really helpful
Thank you!
Just checked my new pile today...well, chickens found it . Did not ha e it totally covered. There is always tomorrow. Hopefully it will not be raining.
That's ok, just rake it back up and put it in the cage. The chickens can be really helpful with making compost!
Is there a reason you didn’t put the cage next to the original pile so you could just put the new first level then the next 2 layers so you don’t have such of a mess?
It's not needed after the first flip. Just keep watching and you'll see it break down with no issue. You can also use the cage to make your next pile.
#permacultureq&a I have lots of sheep poop and not enough compost heaps. Is grass fed sheep poop too hot to sprinkle on the garden? Or can I make liquid poop tea? If so, how?
Yes it can go straight into compost heap.
Straight onto and into garden and
be made into liquid fertiliser
You can add it straight to the garden but I would avoid making liquid poop. If it's not done correctly, in the correct container, it can breed anaerobic bacteria.
Permaculture Q&A:
Can you add horse manure to this?
Would sprinkling Bokashi bacteria on pile help?
Good question! Thank you!
Thank you William
Thank YOU!
What is the diameter of the pile? Is 42" the recommended height? JQ thanks
Regarding composting, when doing a slower compost would you introuduce worms to the pile?
Looks like I need another tarp just for the compost pile!
I have red wrigglers that I could add.
no, worms need low temperature. If you keep it long enough they will enter the pile alone. My husband hate them, as we find them all over the garden and he does not want me to make it anymore. Well I guess I will half comply but hot composting is just a marvelous thing and it grows on you. It is work, before at preparing all the material and cutting it to piece but well worth it when you taste your vegetables. I do check the temperature every day and turn it as Elaine Ingham indicates. It can be every day, every other day or three days. Even twice a day if I use chicken poo for a few days. And I need to go to my garden by public transportation. Quite near otherwise half an hour walk. (City garden). But this is perfect !
If it has contact with the soil, then the worms will invite themselves once the temperature is right. They can't take the high temps.
Great video! I make compost like,that because i live in a island,i have all the material.But i have problems with ants.Any sugestions.
I would try increasing the nitrogen and keeping it at a hotter temp. You could also keep it on a pallet.
What microphone do you use?
Can I use that as a raised bed as filler to cut cost using bagged soil?
You could but it would be a huge waste of compost. You're better off buying topsoil and inoculating it with the organisms from this compost.
"And without using a compost thermometer, I'm just going to stick my hand in there, and yes, it is definitely warm, so that means everything within the center of this pile has [over the course of four days] gone to a high enough temperature where the weed seeds are killed as well as the pathogens." I'm very skeptical. You need to get compost to 50°C (122°F) for 24 hours to assure that common pathogens would be killed. (Ref.: OpenSourceEcology). A 2013 study, The_Effect_of_Temperature_on_the_Viability_Of_Weed_Seeds_in_Compost, by A.C.Grundy, published by Research Gate, showed that a temperature of 55°C (131° F) for three days was needed to destroy the seeds of a sampling of eight types of weeds. That pile would have been much steamier it it had gotten to those temperatures. Use a thermometer and expect results much less impressive than what this video claims.
How much drier than this would it have to be for you to be adding water? Thanks
This is too dry. I make tons of compost and always have mine much wetter.
Composts hotter and faster
It's not too dry. I want just enough to keep the microbes without it going anaerobic.
#permacultureqanda
We inherited hay with our property (and cattle). I know nothing about the hay, including if it was sprayed or not. If the grass/weeds grow back fairly quickly where the hay was places for the cattle, can I assume that it's not sprayed and use the leftovers the cattle don't eat for compost, or is that a bad assumption?
If it's a bad assumption, is there any way to find out if it's safe for my plants? We may not have the cattle any longer but still have several bales of hay.
Just wanted to let you know that if there is Grazon on the hay it would not kill the grass. It will kill anything you are trying to grow in a garden though. Be very cautious. A good test is trying to grow beans since they are quite sensitive.
This is exactly my concern
If new seeds germinated then I would say it's most likely ok to use. Depending on how long it's been there, the part coming into contact with the ground should have started to decompose.
Is this possible to do in a 25 gallon big plastic bucket with tiny holes drilled in sides and big holes drilled in bottom?
That’s a good question… couldn’t hurt to try. If it didn’t compost, you could break it out…
Hey, I just checked TH-cam for Trash Can composting & found this one for accelerated cold composting in a $20 Lowe’s trash can, (with a locking lid). It’s slower, but was mostly done in 2 months. I think it could be sped up with one or more accelerators or by hot composting. It takes a hole saw for bottom drainage, (or could do bunches of smaller, regular bit holes). Also has boodles of side holes (7:8” -ish), for aeration. Guy suggests screen repair tape if concerned with mosquitos or bugs. I wonder if for hot composting, it might be better fireproofing to use a metal can & paint it black? I’m going to try the accelerated cold process as I have some trash cans I’ve been saving leaves in. No access to greens here, so finally bought some alfalfa meal & will source coffee grounds from work, (addiction treatment… much coffee consumed!). BGood luck to us both. Here’s the link:
How To Make Compost Fast In a Trash Can
th-cam.com/video/PA-b1rQ42vU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=auWVx0P4eOHzkiSA
I wouldn't recommend it. Everywhere the plastic comes in contact is going to go anaerobic.
I saw the steam coming out of the pile .
Oh good. I always like seeing it.
I have access to poultry house litter. How would I use that in a compost pile?
I would use your litter as half of the carbon input on your pile. Check out perma pasture farms 18 Day Compost w/ Animal Bedding playlist.
Thanks for the reply. We have a stack house where we compost the dead and liter to spread on the pastures . I tried doing greens with the liter and for some reason it never really worked out. I give your recommendation a try. Again thank you
Can pine needles be composed?
They can but they have a carbon ratio similar to wood chips.
Wow! I followed your lead, built two 4'x4' piles and they hit 160 deg. by 3rd day. I'm located in Morganton, NC on 100 acre farm (mostly forest) but do some truck farming , sawmilling and sell firewood. If you are available and close enough to make travel reasonable (I'm 75 miles from Mars Hill), I would like to talk to about a possible consult. Feel free to contact me if interested. Thanks!
Oh that's awesome to hear man!
Very informative video!!
Thank you so much!
#peracultureqna If I have a compost pile against my house will bugs be more likely to get into my house?
I wouldn't do that. There's nothing good that can come from that 😂
Awesome. Thank you
Thank YOU!
As usual, Great Video.
Thank you!
Enjoying your videos 👍
What material is best for the cage to be made of? Would like to avoid steel that contains lead..Any thoughts on this?
I just use scrap pieces of woven wire fence. If you're working with smaller material, then I would line the inside with hardware cloth.
You never know what will grow if you don't mow....Hail to Mother Nature!!
Good video... Great cap!
Thank you sir!
Good flippin" video.
😂 Thanks man
Wrap with cardboard it helps with heating you pile✌️
I seen the steam😮👍
Can i set this up under a tree
What Sythe would you recommend?
Not this one, it's way too short for me 😂 Check out scythesupply.com they have a pretty good selection.
@@ThePermacultureConsultant thank you
where did you buy your scythe?
I wouldn't buy this one. Check out scythe supply.com
Can I also say - I would love to see a CoVid between you and Matt Risingher of the Build Show Channel. They don't really cover external ground and by taking a much more permaculture approach to Gardens with Food Forests etc. A builder could leave a new build with a garden that is set up to provide the new home owner with food throughout the year with minimal input which for a builder is just a minor fixed cost add that brings major differentiation in the market. Not only can people be in a tied but off grid house with Electricity, heating, lighting, water & sewage management, they can also live out of their own garden, something that climate risk and the sheer size of Texas must be an issue.
That would be awesome
That would be pretty cool! I'll have to reach out to him. Thank you!
Wow with in 4 days so much vegetation grown next to the pile
I know, right!
Sounds just like his dad lol
Not true. Every few days to a week should be flipped. Temps will get up to about 160 and when they drop to about 120 -130...flip. leaving 28 days before flipping is a waste of time.
What are you talking about? No ones said to wait 28 days
This wasn't directed at you or your video. Another commenter mentioned 28 days.
Mate to me there’s way way tooo much still very green and needed to be left at least another 28 days before first flipp I wouldn’t want that any where close to even being a poor quality mulch let alone compost 😢😢😢😢
It’s 18 day compost. Not 4 month compost mate
Tell me you don't know how to make compost without telling me you don't know how to make compost mate 😂
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