preface
This method is dedicated to Stella, because it originated in her lifetime, and because she had an influence on the origin. No method without her.
The method below, to compost is divided into separate parts, to make it clear. The method was developed through years of trying out various possibilities and impossibilities. Often things went wrong, the compost had failed, we only had hay or we had to start over. Dry air humidity in particular caused problems. Portugal is not the most obvious continent to start composting, but there was no other way. We wanted to grow our own food. In principle, only vegetables first, and then perhaps grains, fruits and beans. The idea behind growing your own vegetables was not to depend on the supply and the sale in shops. This is because that vegetable is often sprayed with insecticides.
So the composting method came about through trial and error, simply because the circumstances dictated it to us.
The method is an unraveling of a piece of reality, as it happened to us. No doubt it would have been different in other circumstances. Every climate has its own law and someone depends on it, despite our cleverness and thanks to our experience, because it was there.
We hope it helps you, we took advantage of it. Our soil is now fertile, our vegetables taste and look good and it makes us feel. We are happy to get back to work every year, to bring in the harvest from the collection area, to be able to make compost, to make the soil even better, and to harvest the vegetables, which tastes excellent and is to our liking.
Enjoy reading:).
The conditions for this type of composting. The conditions under which we compost here in Portugal are characteristic of this country. Almost no rain, when it rains a lot of rain can fall. Why do we do it this way? What do we strive for? (Drought, heat, rock dust, availability of grasses and herbs, etc. None / less: meat, pesticides, machines, etc.)
If your earth is exhausted, you should first check whether there is still rock dust.
How do you know if there is still rock dust in your soil? There are only two situations where there is no rock dust, pure sand and peat soil.
Why do we do it this way? Versus charcoal, versus organic waste, versus manure, versus fertilizer The conditions here in Portugal mean that, due to the air drought, we are forced to make every attempt at composting, it is necessary to shut off the compost pile from outside influences. Heat, cold and drought, but also heavy rain showers and wind make this protection necessary. This can be completely different in a different environment. Perhaps one should think of composting in a desert as a comparison.
The report;
The method's report is presented as a deck of cards, with the aim of releasing it later, as a deck.
1. A: BAIT: GROUND
The soil as a gathering place for stone dust.
In this case, the soil is our garden soil.
In this garden soil we grow plants,
to provide us with food.
Stone dust arises because rocks are subject to,
weathering from rain, wind, heat and friction.
This stone dust contains the minerals that we need, among other things
have for the construction of our body.
The plants that grow in the garden soil release enzymes
to absorb the minerals. The bacterial life, whatever in
the soil is alive, minerals also break down, for themselves and for the plant.
This is only possible if there is enough carbon or organic matter in the
bottom is present. Bacterial life derives its energy from
the carbon. So rock dust, carbon or organic matter, bacteria, air and water,
determine if the soil is fertile.
2. TWO: The fetch area.
The fetching area is the area where we grow grass and herbs in the wild, in order to grow a crop, from which we can make compost. We let this crop continue to grow until the hay is ready. It can then self-seed again for the following year. We mow this crop by hand to make a good stubble. This stubble protects the soil from sunlight, wind and rain. Micro life, worms, etc. have protection. When the soil does not yield enough to grow a good crop, you can fertilize with garden waste, people's faces, and other residual flows. As long as they are not chemically contaminated, with antibiotics or hormone residues. The crop gets its energy from the sun and the rain, and because it is only one crop per year, normal soil can yield that. In the long run, there is a balance between plants that store nitrogen in the soil, legumes, and plants that need it. Plants can also extract nitrogen from the air. The area of the fetching area must be at least 15 times larger than the garden or field area. Hay is made up of more air than solid matter. The collection area therefore captures solar energy and CO2 in carbon, after composting. Get area, garden and arable farming are needed to have access to organic matter, to have bacterial life, and release minerals, in the rock dust, for plant growth, as food for people.
THREE: Mowing.
We mow with the clearing saw to get a good stubble. The mowing itself is a movement from the hip, which results in a circular shape. We hold the scythe with the right hand below and the left hand above. The circular motion starts from right to left, and is simultaneously pulled towards you in one motion. It is a skill that is easy to learn, but takes some strength. Any healthy person can learn it. It is more dexterity than strength. The scythe must be sharpened every now and then with a fingertip. This is a sharpening stone that you extend in line with the scythe, over the sharpest part of the scythe. In addition, a scythe must also be sharpened a few times a year on a soft turnstile, with a water bath. We mow in the evening, to avoid the heat of the day. We do not mow more than is necessary for the next day to immerse.
To keep the hay manageable throughout the process, we make hay packages that fit easily on the pitchfork and are not too heavy. We kick the hay packages in the morning, when there is still dew on the land. This will make the hay a little damp, which is good for the packet shape. The barrel (40 liters), which is topped, has a tapered shape, so the bottom is narrower than the top, so that the stepped package can be easily removed from the barrel by turning it over. The skill is in the fact that you do not pick up more hay with a rake than can in the barrel, to get a nicely balanced package. This requires some routine. We bring the ready-made packages to the place where it is dipped. We stack what does not fit in the immersion barrel for the next day. In this way, these packages can dry in the form in which they have been trapped.
Standard hay, what are the characteristics? That the grass has turned into hay, that is, from green to yellow, and that it is able to stand independently due to the stiffness of the dryness.
No use of machines. Packages for handling and limited physical load in the process.
FOUR: Percolation moisture. Starter / Infusion
In order to submerge, we need percolation moisture. This is a mixture of water with cow dung. We need the bacteria in the manure to break down the hay if we are to compost. Only one cup of manure goes on one bucket of water. This is enough to top up the immersion bath later. We store this leachate in a separate vessel for later use. The manure can then spread through the water, containing the bacterial life. Bacteria need water to survive and each other. In that water it is just like war. After dipping, we will drip. That leachate also goes into the leachate container, which is a separate container for making and storing leachate. And so we are building our own kind of collection of bacterial species, which we need to literally contaminate the hay in the immersion bath with degradation mechanisms, in order to initiate composting. Moisture and bacterial life go together. In a dry environment, bacteria die and fungi take over their place. This is because fungal activity can develop more widely over wire than through bacterial life. And fungus activity is difficult to degrade for bacteria, so that moldy compost cannot supply energy to the bacterial species, which break down the minerals in the soil for the plant. It is therefore important to provide the hay with sufficient moisture and the good bacteria, so it must be immersed.
FIVE: Dipping. Bacterial infusion
To initiate the bacterial action for the composting process of the hay, we dip it in the moisture. Sufficient moisture is needed in the entire stem of the hay to start this bacterial action. Otherwise, it would just be sticky moisture, which is not enough for the bacteria to work if the hay is put in a heap as packets. We dip a number of hay packs (14) in a dipping bath, stack them well spread over them, and press them into the leachate liquid. In this example, this immersion bath has a capacity of 300 liters. Because we are dealing with upward pressure (equal to the weight of the displaced liquid), 14 packages require approximately 60 kg. I will get up and cover this later with a stone of the same weight. This pressing in the leachate also requires some dexterity and experience, but is a simple task
and good to learn. The hay remains in the immersion bath for 24 hours. This involves the penetration of moisture and bacterial life into the stem of the hay. This is decisive for the smooth progress of the further composting process. The humidity of the environment of the submerged hay will always be lower in the further process and therefore extract the moisture from the compost heap. So overfeeding with moisture in the hay will have to control the composting process to the end. It is usually not possible to wet the heap afterwards, because moisture always goes its own way and does not evenly moisten the compost heap. Therefore, from the very beginning, tackle it right away.
SIX: The dripping. To breathe
If we have removed the stone from the immersion tray, which is still quite heavy, so remember your back, the hay packages will automatically float to the surface. We then take a handle or pitchfork and pierce each individual hay package from the immersion tray. We let the leachate dripping out as much as possible and put a number of packages in a ready, non-leaking wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow will also collect leachate moisture and this will have to be emptied in a ready container. This moisture is then returned to the immersion tray. We can now stack the hay packs, which are nicely wet, in the drip tray. The packs are crushed by the leachate and the pressure in the immersion tray and fit in the drip tray. Meanwhile, the packages can absorb air. Air in and the excess leachate out. The packages stay in the drip tray for 24 hours. The bacteria, which is now in the hay via the leachate, can now multiply because it comes into contact with air, ie oxygen. This releases heat and we call this process scalding. In order to retain as much organic matter as possible, it is important not to work with too high temperatures (20C-40C) in the composting process. We also do not want to cause too much CO2. The forcing process can already begin. It is good to check this process and measure the drip tray temperature. If there is no scalding or you measure too high temperatures, it is important to adjust the conditions. The hay package now has internal and adhering leachate, and can start its way from hay package to compost, but it still has a long way to go. After 24 hours, the packages of hay are transferred to a storage room, which must be moisture-tight. This, to keep the moisture in the packages (think of humidity that can be lower) and to keep rain out.
SEVEN: The Storage. Pre-brewing and scalding
From the drip tray, the already slightly brewing hay packages go to a temporary storage bin or space. The point here is to build up enough volume to eventually fill the big bag or trunk. The big bag and trunk both have a m3 capacity (approximately 107 hay packages in total). This is sufficient to get to 40 to 60 degrees of forcing. But first back to the hay. While the hay was still standing, with the actual function of a seed-bearing culm, it is now on its way to be upgraded to a soil improver via a bacterial process. The digestion already takes place in storage. By stacking the packages lightly, the forcing process can develop further. The leachate bacteria find oxygen and moisture here, and build up heat through interaction, movement and nutrition. There is also a battle between the various types of bacteria, it is literally eating or being eaten. Precisely the protected space of the storage gives the bacterial life the necessary space to develop, grow and eat on the culms and leaves. Both from the inside and the outside of the hay. If after 8 days of storage the big bag or trunk are going to be filled, the hay is in fact already digested. The bacterial life has been able to spread over the compressed culms, through the leachate (moisture) as a means of transport, the oxygen as breathing and the culm as food. The shape of the hay parcels, which we have stepped into a barrel, also makes it possible here to stack and easily empty the barrel or bin. Now that we have enough stock, we are going to fill the big bag or trunk.
EIGHT: Filling the big bag or trunk. Composting
Now that we have stored enough hay packages to fill a big bag or trunk, we are going to work with it. A trunk is a three-sided box on wheels, with a 4th wall to close temporarily. The big bag is a large nylon bag that you can put in the trunk to fill it. You can also fill the trunk with the packages from the storage, then put a plastic bag and the big bag over it. I will explain both methods later. But get started first. We will fill the trunk or big bag with the oldest packages first. The first two layers (what is a layer?) (A layer is one wheelbarrow full of packages) are not yet stamped, in order to retain a kind of bubble at the bottom. Only start at the third layer. This is necessary to stamp out the excess air, so oxygen. Otherwise we will get too much forcing, at the expense of the final volume. In this way, the forcing will not go further than 40 degrees and you will have as much compost as possible. (With composting methods with higher temperatures, so more forcing, you lose more volume and you therefore have less compost at the end of the process. Also with forcing CO2 is released. We do not want to participate in an excess of CO2 emissions, so we have to slow down the forcing where possible.) It is useful to have an extra box on top of the trunk when filling, which is higher than the big bag. For example, more packages can be stacked when the trunk or big bag is full. After about 8 days the whole has shrunk to trunk or big bag level. This way we can fill the big bag to the maximum. As I said there are two options: 1. Fill a trunk with hay packs instead of the big bag, then remove the trunk after filling and pack the hay hay pack with a plastic bag with big bag over it. 2. If you fill a big bag in a trunk, you pack it with plastic to keep the moisture in the heap and to protect it from drying out. That is very important in this hot region. With method (1), the air can get in well from the bottom. The rising moisture, due to the heat development, draws oxygen with it. An ascending circulation takes place in the hope of that moisture. This drips down the sides again, and continues as long as there is heat development. As long as there is moisture and oxygen in the hay, the breakdown process continues. With method (2) no more air can be added, there is no more air than the heap can contain, and the heating stops after a while.
NINE: Monitoring and converting the big bag (s). Maturing and fine-tuning.
In order for the composting process in the big bag to run smoothly, it is important to monitor this process. The hope should be checked at least once a week for moisture and temperature. She should also smell good, so don't stink sour or sulfurous. A good compost pile, when still young, smells faintly of the manure we used for the leachate. At the end of the process it no longer smells at all, the process has gone its way, and all the smells have disappeared. Composting in summer or winter can affect the length of the process
After three months in the big bag, we look at how far the compost process is. We do this by unpacking the hope and putting it in with a shovel. If the outside temperature is above ten to fifteen degrees and the shovel goes in easily, we can convert the heap and combine any multiple big bags. At this point, converting comes down to maturing. After maturing, the heap is saturated with oxygen, allowing the bacterial process to do its job without loss of volume. We unpack the heap, cut the compost with the shovel and convert it into a new heap on the earth and cover it again with plastic.
If the shovel is still difficult to do, two things can be done. Wait and see further (if it has been very cold, for example), or convert the hope to bring in air. As long as the compost pile is moist, bacteria can do their job. Once it has dried up or the process has stopped, there is only one way: re-moisten with leachate and convert and cover again. If you want to speed up the process, you can choose to add manure to the heap. But this will decrease the volume and increase CO2 emissions.
How long after ripening ??? (This again depends on the ambient temperature, and how the heap has developed towards compost, it remains a living process).
TEN: Sifting the compost. Make it manageable.
When the hay has gone through all the degradation processes, it is black, not too moist and loose in texture. (What if too humid? And what is too humid?) (If too humid, aerate until the moisture evaporates, but be careful not to let the heap dry too much). She can now be sieved. We do this to reduce the compost, make the structure more spreadable and remove any branches and stones. By sieving we bring the compost back into contact with oxygen and make it easy to spread for mixing with the soil, for which it is ultimately intended. It is useful if the sieve is on supports and is attached to a wall (so not movable) and so high that a wheelbarrow can stand under it. The compost to be sieved is in a 2nd wheelbarrow, close to the hand. With a small trowel we push the compost through a sieve with 2 cm large openings. It is easy if the compost has a good structure. The loose compost falls automatically through the sieve, but the formed clumps must be pressed through. Dried out clumps, thick branches and stones make this operation difficult. Do you suffer from dry lumps do the material (the compost)then another week in a barrel and moisten it. Afterwards, these clumps pass through the sieve more easily. Any branches and stones can still serve separately in another process (compost tea?) (Branches for biomailer, stones for pavement of the road). The compost is now ready for use in the garden or can be stored in bags, for example.
FARMER: Using compost in the garden.
The compost is needed to activate the soil life. For this we mix it through our garden soil. Depending on the status of our garden soil, the size of our garden and our goals, it can be useful to make beds and remove large stones. Then undercut and mix with the shovel. If left on top of the ground, it can dry out from the sun. If it has been worked through the ground, the process can start better. We assume that 10% of the garden soil should be compost. If the soil activity is still developing, we add more compost. As the soil improves, this can take several years, we will need to add less compost. Because we compost at low temperatures, the seeds are not all grown in this process. To keep these unwanted weed seeds out of the garden, we are now doing this. For this we put anti-root cloth over the mixed soil. Moisture can get into the ground and the sun shines on the canvas, creating heat. This is how the seeds germinate, but they don't get a chance to grow. The root cloth in the top layer of the soil also creates a heat development that is favorable for the time of sowing. And we don't do that until everything is ready. After each harvest, we prepare the garden soil again by adding compost so that the 10% is always maintained and the soil life has enough activity.
How much compost should I add? (Assuming 10% organic matter from the soil, the formula is: thickness of the building furrow, times length times width times 10%. Every year.
And how often? When? Ones a year, before the crow season starts
Wife: The use of manure.
Our vegetables, fruit and beans or grains grow in our garden. We are self-sufficient in our food and try to keep all pesticides out of our environment and food as much as possible. As much as possible, we grow our own proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. We need cow manure for our composting process, but if we only eat organic, that could also be human manure. People think differently, but with twelve billion people, we simply cannot all eat meat anymore. So, if you can do without it, it is preferable. Because we eat beans and peas, we hardly need meat. There are enough proteins in legumes, in addition to our grains and vegetables. For every kilo of meat, an animal has Cow? need ten kilos of grain, so the math is done quickly. Meat requires many times more energy than legumes.
However, because a cow has so many stomachs (5) and because of its intestinal tract, its manure is so suitable to use in making the leachate for composting. Preferably, of course, the manure from a cow that is also free of medication. In addition, a cow can of course supply milk, and you can make milk from milk, among other things. (only with several cows with calves) (cheese is made from the number of liters, times rennet and starter: so if a cow gives 10 liters you can make cheese from it, every day) But the use of dairy is also debatable. When a cow is at its end, you can eat its meat. That means that we would eat almost no meat, only if a cow had to be replaced by a new cow. So, in an agricultural community, having cows could have a function for this. It is then only about what we want and what is possible. And then we are not even talking about the rural area in which we would like to live, work and live (enjoy).
Gentleman: The basic consciousness.
Sunlight, air, heat and water are the basis of our existence. Without these sources, our plants would not be able to grow. Therefore, more attention should be paid to these sources. The bacterial life in the soil cannot do without it. We depend on that bacterial life to loosen the minerals from the soil. So the connection between the mentioned sources, our soil, our food and our bodily functions, are related. Our culture hardly pays attention to that. In fact, our movement, our thinking and doing should be more focused on that. Why? (Because if we were to live closer to nature, we would also have to live closer to nature). Could we imagine it would be normal, if we dance, that we could represent a cauliflower, or a green bean, or food. We need it to be able to live, but it is not reflected in our art experience. Only the painter and visual art pays attention to it, but that is kept behind closed doors, and costs a lot of money. It has been pushed into the background in ordinary thinking and doing. Plant life, food and the connection between all those separate sources of existence should be central in a society
14: Double bait.
The earth, when it was not yet earth, but a gas cloud, existed v.l. from minerals, metals, acids and salts. When she cooled, it solidified into rocks, water and air. Still later, rocks were cut into rock dust by erosion. When real life started, through cell growth and division is not yet clear, but it is not so important. It is there and the Earth needs these basic elements for its existence to further evaluate. What we need to do is return to those basic elements and evolve from them towards those basic elements. Estimate the value of these basic elements.
To reconcile ourselves with our scope, and there is still enough space in it. The basic soil particles give us the direction. To grow plants, we just need to mix compost and soil. If we do this in a pot, the conditions have already been created for the plant to grow, in addition to water and air. How we handle the plant determines our harvest usage. If we take the path of removing the basic elements, we encounter it again in the form of waste. But if we go the way of reuse, everything is a product. The Earth has been lent to us to live on and with it. We are earth, we return to it and we shape it. That formative causation returns in our behavior and use of that earth. It is the circle from rock dust to spirit, and back, through the plant, the air, the water and the inner fire, which prompts us to preserve. It is all that remains for us in this life and on this earth. Which currently seems to be timely.
15: Joker: Compost but completely different, think about it.
In most cases, compost is seen as a food for our plants. Due to the rise of fertilizers, we have come to think that this is the food for our plants. That's true, but we could also call this junk food. If you knew that earth consists of rock dust and that it therefore has all the necessary nutritional value, namely all minerals known to date, why should you add something ??
However, in most soil types these minerals are not easily accessible. For this you need an active soil life. Without an active soil life, the minerals are stored in the stone dust. Plants cannot absorb them directly. By bringing bacteria and carbon into the garden soil, this soil life gets going. The plants themselves also release substances to the garden soil that affect soil life to protect and preserve themselves. Once the soil life has been activated, the stored minerals are released for the plants and thus for our food. So forget that something is missing and needs to be added! Understand the circumstances that are needed to use the available potential.
Thanks to Kashi, Magda and Hans for their corrections and cooperation.
Hendrik :).
This method is dedicated to Stella, because it originated in her lifetime, and because she had an influence on the origin. No method without her.
The method below, to compost is divided into separate parts, to make it clear. The method was developed through years of trying out various possibilities and impossibilities. Often things went wrong, the compost had failed, we only had hay or we had to start over. Dry air humidity in particular caused problems. Portugal is not the most obvious continent to start composting, but there was no other way. We wanted to grow our own food. In principle, only vegetables first, and then perhaps grains, fruits and beans. The idea behind growing your own vegetables was not to depend on the supply and the sale in shops. This is because that vegetable is often sprayed with insecticides.
So the composting method came about through trial and error, simply because the circumstances dictated it to us.
The method is an unraveling of a piece of reality, as it happened to us. No doubt it would have been different in other circumstances. Every climate has its own law and someone depends on it, despite our cleverness and thanks to our experience, because it was there.
We hope it helps you, we took advantage of it. Our soil is now fertile, our vegetables taste and look good and it makes us feel. We are happy to get back to work every year, to bring in the harvest from the collection area, to be able to make compost, to make the soil even better, and to harvest the vegetables, which tastes excellent and is to our liking.
Enjoy reading:).
The conditions for this type of composting. The conditions under which we compost here in Portugal are characteristic of this country. Almost no rain, when it rains a lot of rain can fall. Why do we do it this way? What do we strive for? (Drought, heat, rock dust, availability of grasses and herbs, etc. None / less: meat, pesticides, machines, etc.)
If your earth is exhausted, you should first check whether there is still rock dust.
How do you know if there is still rock dust in your soil? There are only two situations where there is no rock dust, pure sand and peat soil.
Why do we do it this way? Versus charcoal, versus organic waste, versus manure, versus fertilizer The conditions here in Portugal mean that, due to the air drought, we are forced to make every attempt at composting, it is necessary to shut off the compost pile from outside influences. Heat, cold and drought, but also heavy rain showers and wind make this protection necessary. This can be completely different in a different environment. Perhaps one should think of composting in a desert as a comparison.
The report;
The method's report is presented as a deck of cards, with the aim of releasing it later, as a deck.
1. A: BAIT: GROUND
The soil as a gathering place for stone dust.
In this case, the soil is our garden soil.
In this garden soil we grow plants,
to provide us with food.
Stone dust arises because rocks are subject to,
weathering from rain, wind, heat and friction.
This stone dust contains the minerals that we need, among other things
have for the construction of our body.
The plants that grow in the garden soil release enzymes
to absorb the minerals. The bacterial life, whatever in
the soil is alive, minerals also break down, for themselves and for the plant.
This is only possible if there is enough carbon or organic matter in the
bottom is present. Bacterial life derives its energy from
the carbon. So rock dust, carbon or organic matter, bacteria, air and water,
determine if the soil is fertile.
2. TWO: The fetch area.
The fetching area is the area where we grow grass and herbs in the wild, in order to grow a crop, from which we can make compost. We let this crop continue to grow until the hay is ready. It can then self-seed again for the following year. We mow this crop by hand to make a good stubble. This stubble protects the soil from sunlight, wind and rain. Micro life, worms, etc. have protection. When the soil does not yield enough to grow a good crop, you can fertilize with garden waste, people's faces, and other residual flows. As long as they are not chemically contaminated, with antibiotics or hormone residues. The crop gets its energy from the sun and the rain, and because it is only one crop per year, normal soil can yield that. In the long run, there is a balance between plants that store nitrogen in the soil, legumes, and plants that need it. Plants can also extract nitrogen from the air. The area of the fetching area must be at least 15 times larger than the garden or field area. Hay is made up of more air than solid matter. The collection area therefore captures solar energy and CO2 in carbon, after composting. Get area, garden and arable farming are needed to have access to organic matter, to have bacterial life, and release minerals, in the rock dust, for plant growth, as food for people.
THREE: Mowing.
We mow with the clearing saw to get a good stubble. The mowing itself is a movement from the hip, which results in a circular shape. We hold the scythe with the right hand below and the left hand above. The circular motion starts from right to left, and is simultaneously pulled towards you in one motion. It is a skill that is easy to learn, but takes some strength. Any healthy person can learn it. It is more dexterity than strength. The scythe must be sharpened every now and then with a fingertip. This is a sharpening stone that you extend in line with the scythe, over the sharpest part of the scythe. In addition, a scythe must also be sharpened a few times a year on a soft turnstile, with a water bath. We mow in the evening, to avoid the heat of the day. We do not mow more than is necessary for the next day to immerse.
To keep the hay manageable throughout the process, we make hay packages that fit easily on the pitchfork and are not too heavy. We kick the hay packages in the morning, when there is still dew on the land. This will make the hay a little damp, which is good for the packet shape. The barrel (40 liters), which is topped, has a tapered shape, so the bottom is narrower than the top, so that the stepped package can be easily removed from the barrel by turning it over. The skill is in the fact that you do not pick up more hay with a rake than can in the barrel, to get a nicely balanced package. This requires some routine. We bring the ready-made packages to the place where it is dipped. We stack what does not fit in the immersion barrel for the next day. In this way, these packages can dry in the form in which they have been trapped.
Standard hay, what are the characteristics? That the grass has turned into hay, that is, from green to yellow, and that it is able to stand independently due to the stiffness of the dryness.
No use of machines. Packages for handling and limited physical load in the process.
FOUR: Percolation moisture. Starter / Infusion
In order to submerge, we need percolation moisture. This is a mixture of water with cow dung. We need the bacteria in the manure to break down the hay if we are to compost. Only one cup of manure goes on one bucket of water. This is enough to top up the immersion bath later. We store this leachate in a separate vessel for later use. The manure can then spread through the water, containing the bacterial life. Bacteria need water to survive and each other. In that water it is just like war. After dipping, we will drip. That leachate also goes into the leachate container, which is a separate container for making and storing leachate. And so we are building our own kind of collection of bacterial species, which we need to literally contaminate the hay in the immersion bath with degradation mechanisms, in order to initiate composting. Moisture and bacterial life go together. In a dry environment, bacteria die and fungi take over their place. This is because fungal activity can develop more widely over wire than through bacterial life. And fungus activity is difficult to degrade for bacteria, so that moldy compost cannot supply energy to the bacterial species, which break down the minerals in the soil for the plant. It is therefore important to provide the hay with sufficient moisture and the good bacteria, so it must be immersed.
FIVE: Dipping. Bacterial infusion
To initiate the bacterial action for the composting process of the hay, we dip it in the moisture. Sufficient moisture is needed in the entire stem of the hay to start this bacterial action. Otherwise, it would just be sticky moisture, which is not enough for the bacteria to work if the hay is put in a heap as packets. We dip a number of hay packs (14) in a dipping bath, stack them well spread over them, and press them into the leachate liquid. In this example, this immersion bath has a capacity of 300 liters. Because we are dealing with upward pressure (equal to the weight of the displaced liquid), 14 packages require approximately 60 kg. I will get up and cover this later with a stone of the same weight. This pressing in the leachate also requires some dexterity and experience, but is a simple task
and good to learn. The hay remains in the immersion bath for 24 hours. This involves the penetration of moisture and bacterial life into the stem of the hay. This is decisive for the smooth progress of the further composting process. The humidity of the environment of the submerged hay will always be lower in the further process and therefore extract the moisture from the compost heap. So overfeeding with moisture in the hay will have to control the composting process to the end. It is usually not possible to wet the heap afterwards, because moisture always goes its own way and does not evenly moisten the compost heap. Therefore, from the very beginning, tackle it right away.
SIX: The dripping. To breathe
If we have removed the stone from the immersion tray, which is still quite heavy, so remember your back, the hay packages will automatically float to the surface. We then take a handle or pitchfork and pierce each individual hay package from the immersion tray. We let the leachate dripping out as much as possible and put a number of packages in a ready, non-leaking wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow will also collect leachate moisture and this will have to be emptied in a ready container. This moisture is then returned to the immersion tray. We can now stack the hay packs, which are nicely wet, in the drip tray. The packs are crushed by the leachate and the pressure in the immersion tray and fit in the drip tray. Meanwhile, the packages can absorb air. Air in and the excess leachate out. The packages stay in the drip tray for 24 hours. The bacteria, which is now in the hay via the leachate, can now multiply because it comes into contact with air, ie oxygen. This releases heat and we call this process scalding. In order to retain as much organic matter as possible, it is important not to work with too high temperatures (20C-40C) in the composting process. We also do not want to cause too much CO2. The forcing process can already begin. It is good to check this process and measure the drip tray temperature. If there is no scalding or you measure too high temperatures, it is important to adjust the conditions. The hay package now has internal and adhering leachate, and can start its way from hay package to compost, but it still has a long way to go. After 24 hours, the packages of hay are transferred to a storage room, which must be moisture-tight. This, to keep the moisture in the packages (think of humidity that can be lower) and to keep rain out.
SEVEN: The Storage. Pre-brewing and scalding
From the drip tray, the already slightly brewing hay packages go to a temporary storage bin or space. The point here is to build up enough volume to eventually fill the big bag or trunk. The big bag and trunk both have a m3 capacity (approximately 107 hay packages in total). This is sufficient to get to 40 to 60 degrees of forcing. But first back to the hay. While the hay was still standing, with the actual function of a seed-bearing culm, it is now on its way to be upgraded to a soil improver via a bacterial process. The digestion already takes place in storage. By stacking the packages lightly, the forcing process can develop further. The leachate bacteria find oxygen and moisture here, and build up heat through interaction, movement and nutrition. There is also a battle between the various types of bacteria, it is literally eating or being eaten. Precisely the protected space of the storage gives the bacterial life the necessary space to develop, grow and eat on the culms and leaves. Both from the inside and the outside of the hay. If after 8 days of storage the big bag or trunk are going to be filled, the hay is in fact already digested. The bacterial life has been able to spread over the compressed culms, through the leachate (moisture) as a means of transport, the oxygen as breathing and the culm as food. The shape of the hay parcels, which we have stepped into a barrel, also makes it possible here to stack and easily empty the barrel or bin. Now that we have enough stock, we are going to fill the big bag or trunk.
EIGHT: Filling the big bag or trunk. Composting
Now that we have stored enough hay packages to fill a big bag or trunk, we are going to work with it. A trunk is a three-sided box on wheels, with a 4th wall to close temporarily. The big bag is a large nylon bag that you can put in the trunk to fill it. You can also fill the trunk with the packages from the storage, then put a plastic bag and the big bag over it. I will explain both methods later. But get started first. We will fill the trunk or big bag with the oldest packages first. The first two layers (what is a layer?) (A layer is one wheelbarrow full of packages) are not yet stamped, in order to retain a kind of bubble at the bottom. Only start at the third layer. This is necessary to stamp out the excess air, so oxygen. Otherwise we will get too much forcing, at the expense of the final volume. In this way, the forcing will not go further than 40 degrees and you will have as much compost as possible. (With composting methods with higher temperatures, so more forcing, you lose more volume and you therefore have less compost at the end of the process. Also with forcing CO2 is released. We do not want to participate in an excess of CO2 emissions, so we have to slow down the forcing where possible.) It is useful to have an extra box on top of the trunk when filling, which is higher than the big bag. For example, more packages can be stacked when the trunk or big bag is full. After about 8 days the whole has shrunk to trunk or big bag level. This way we can fill the big bag to the maximum. As I said there are two options: 1. Fill a trunk with hay packs instead of the big bag, then remove the trunk after filling and pack the hay hay pack with a plastic bag with big bag over it. 2. If you fill a big bag in a trunk, you pack it with plastic to keep the moisture in the heap and to protect it from drying out. That is very important in this hot region. With method (1), the air can get in well from the bottom. The rising moisture, due to the heat development, draws oxygen with it. An ascending circulation takes place in the hope of that moisture. This drips down the sides again, and continues as long as there is heat development. As long as there is moisture and oxygen in the hay, the breakdown process continues. With method (2) no more air can be added, there is no more air than the heap can contain, and the heating stops after a while.
NINE: Monitoring and converting the big bag (s). Maturing and fine-tuning.
In order for the composting process in the big bag to run smoothly, it is important to monitor this process. The hope should be checked at least once a week for moisture and temperature. She should also smell good, so don't stink sour or sulfurous. A good compost pile, when still young, smells faintly of the manure we used for the leachate. At the end of the process it no longer smells at all, the process has gone its way, and all the smells have disappeared. Composting in summer or winter can affect the length of the process
After three months in the big bag, we look at how far the compost process is. We do this by unpacking the hope and putting it in with a shovel. If the outside temperature is above ten to fifteen degrees and the shovel goes in easily, we can convert the heap and combine any multiple big bags. At this point, converting comes down to maturing. After maturing, the heap is saturated with oxygen, allowing the bacterial process to do its job without loss of volume. We unpack the heap, cut the compost with the shovel and convert it into a new heap on the earth and cover it again with plastic.
If the shovel is still difficult to do, two things can be done. Wait and see further (if it has been very cold, for example), or convert the hope to bring in air. As long as the compost pile is moist, bacteria can do their job. Once it has dried up or the process has stopped, there is only one way: re-moisten with leachate and convert and cover again. If you want to speed up the process, you can choose to add manure to the heap. But this will decrease the volume and increase CO2 emissions.
How long after ripening ??? (This again depends on the ambient temperature, and how the heap has developed towards compost, it remains a living process).
TEN: Sifting the compost. Make it manageable.
When the hay has gone through all the degradation processes, it is black, not too moist and loose in texture. (What if too humid? And what is too humid?) (If too humid, aerate until the moisture evaporates, but be careful not to let the heap dry too much). She can now be sieved. We do this to reduce the compost, make the structure more spreadable and remove any branches and stones. By sieving we bring the compost back into contact with oxygen and make it easy to spread for mixing with the soil, for which it is ultimately intended. It is useful if the sieve is on supports and is attached to a wall (so not movable) and so high that a wheelbarrow can stand under it. The compost to be sieved is in a 2nd wheelbarrow, close to the hand. With a small trowel we push the compost through a sieve with 2 cm large openings. It is easy if the compost has a good structure. The loose compost falls automatically through the sieve, but the formed clumps must be pressed through. Dried out clumps, thick branches and stones make this operation difficult. Do you suffer from dry lumps do the material (the compost)then another week in a barrel and moisten it. Afterwards, these clumps pass through the sieve more easily. Any branches and stones can still serve separately in another process (compost tea?) (Branches for biomailer, stones for pavement of the road). The compost is now ready for use in the garden or can be stored in bags, for example.
FARMER: Using compost in the garden.
The compost is needed to activate the soil life. For this we mix it through our garden soil. Depending on the status of our garden soil, the size of our garden and our goals, it can be useful to make beds and remove large stones. Then undercut and mix with the shovel. If left on top of the ground, it can dry out from the sun. If it has been worked through the ground, the process can start better. We assume that 10% of the garden soil should be compost. If the soil activity is still developing, we add more compost. As the soil improves, this can take several years, we will need to add less compost. Because we compost at low temperatures, the seeds are not all grown in this process. To keep these unwanted weed seeds out of the garden, we are now doing this. For this we put anti-root cloth over the mixed soil. Moisture can get into the ground and the sun shines on the canvas, creating heat. This is how the seeds germinate, but they don't get a chance to grow. The root cloth in the top layer of the soil also creates a heat development that is favorable for the time of sowing. And we don't do that until everything is ready. After each harvest, we prepare the garden soil again by adding compost so that the 10% is always maintained and the soil life has enough activity.
How much compost should I add? (Assuming 10% organic matter from the soil, the formula is: thickness of the building furrow, times length times width times 10%. Every year.
And how often? When? Ones a year, before the crow season starts
Wife: The use of manure.
Our vegetables, fruit and beans or grains grow in our garden. We are self-sufficient in our food and try to keep all pesticides out of our environment and food as much as possible. As much as possible, we grow our own proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. We need cow manure for our composting process, but if we only eat organic, that could also be human manure. People think differently, but with twelve billion people, we simply cannot all eat meat anymore. So, if you can do without it, it is preferable. Because we eat beans and peas, we hardly need meat. There are enough proteins in legumes, in addition to our grains and vegetables. For every kilo of meat, an animal has Cow? need ten kilos of grain, so the math is done quickly. Meat requires many times more energy than legumes.
However, because a cow has so many stomachs (5) and because of its intestinal tract, its manure is so suitable to use in making the leachate for composting. Preferably, of course, the manure from a cow that is also free of medication. In addition, a cow can of course supply milk, and you can make milk from milk, among other things. (only with several cows with calves) (cheese is made from the number of liters, times rennet and starter: so if a cow gives 10 liters you can make cheese from it, every day) But the use of dairy is also debatable. When a cow is at its end, you can eat its meat. That means that we would eat almost no meat, only if a cow had to be replaced by a new cow. So, in an agricultural community, having cows could have a function for this. It is then only about what we want and what is possible. And then we are not even talking about the rural area in which we would like to live, work and live (enjoy).
Gentleman: The basic consciousness.
Sunlight, air, heat and water are the basis of our existence. Without these sources, our plants would not be able to grow. Therefore, more attention should be paid to these sources. The bacterial life in the soil cannot do without it. We depend on that bacterial life to loosen the minerals from the soil. So the connection between the mentioned sources, our soil, our food and our bodily functions, are related. Our culture hardly pays attention to that. In fact, our movement, our thinking and doing should be more focused on that. Why? (Because if we were to live closer to nature, we would also have to live closer to nature). Could we imagine it would be normal, if we dance, that we could represent a cauliflower, or a green bean, or food. We need it to be able to live, but it is not reflected in our art experience. Only the painter and visual art pays attention to it, but that is kept behind closed doors, and costs a lot of money. It has been pushed into the background in ordinary thinking and doing. Plant life, food and the connection between all those separate sources of existence should be central in a society
14: Double bait.
The earth, when it was not yet earth, but a gas cloud, existed v.l. from minerals, metals, acids and salts. When she cooled, it solidified into rocks, water and air. Still later, rocks were cut into rock dust by erosion. When real life started, through cell growth and division is not yet clear, but it is not so important. It is there and the Earth needs these basic elements for its existence to further evaluate. What we need to do is return to those basic elements and evolve from them towards those basic elements. Estimate the value of these basic elements.
To reconcile ourselves with our scope, and there is still enough space in it. The basic soil particles give us the direction. To grow plants, we just need to mix compost and soil. If we do this in a pot, the conditions have already been created for the plant to grow, in addition to water and air. How we handle the plant determines our harvest usage. If we take the path of removing the basic elements, we encounter it again in the form of waste. But if we go the way of reuse, everything is a product. The Earth has been lent to us to live on and with it. We are earth, we return to it and we shape it. That formative causation returns in our behavior and use of that earth. It is the circle from rock dust to spirit, and back, through the plant, the air, the water and the inner fire, which prompts us to preserve. It is all that remains for us in this life and on this earth. Which currently seems to be timely.
15: Joker: Compost but completely different, think about it.
In most cases, compost is seen as a food for our plants. Due to the rise of fertilizers, we have come to think that this is the food for our plants. That's true, but we could also call this junk food. If you knew that earth consists of rock dust and that it therefore has all the necessary nutritional value, namely all minerals known to date, why should you add something ??
However, in most soil types these minerals are not easily accessible. For this you need an active soil life. Without an active soil life, the minerals are stored in the stone dust. Plants cannot absorb them directly. By bringing bacteria and carbon into the garden soil, this soil life gets going. The plants themselves also release substances to the garden soil that affect soil life to protect and preserve themselves. Once the soil life has been activated, the stored minerals are released for the plants and thus for our food. So forget that something is missing and needs to be added! Understand the circumstances that are needed to use the available potential.
Thanks to Kashi, Magda and Hans for their corrections and cooperation.
Hendrik :).
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