Author Topic: talking s*** fym (Read 2780 times)

ho !sheep! · « **on:** March 30, 2017, 05:41:19 pm »

hi sorry I didn't know where to put this
well I'm looking at hot box composting my myf and other poo from dogs and horses lawn clippings and veg waist
so bedding what brakes down fastest in a hot box straw or shavings I'm looking at adapting a skip or 2 to compost in with a drain to tank to spate of fluids.
have any of you tried hot box composting in big boxes? What advice experiences do you have that you could pass on to help my not mess this up.

ho !sheep! · « **Reply #1 on:** March 30, 2017, 11:11:37 pm »

thanks I'm sure I will have more questions 1 acer+ of formal gardens generates plenty of green.

devonlady · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2017, 07:29:43 am »

Plenty of grass clippings also mean lots of mulch on formal and veg. beds.

TheGirlsMum · « **Reply #3 on:** March 31, 2017, 08:02:57 am »

Don't put the dog poo in it!

Fleecewife · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2017, 12:32:58 pm »

Quote from: TheGirlsMum on March 31, 2017, 08:02:57 am

Don't put the dog poo in it!

Yes, that's a real no-no. Dog muck

contains pathogens (ie things which cause illness) which can be passed on to humans, which will not be destroyed in the degree of heat you can achieve in a compost heap. The only manure I process is from poultry and sheep. I would also use horse, goat and other grazers, although I avoid wood shavings.
Dog muck is best either cleared up and disposed of in the rubbish, or you can dig a deep disposal pit, which you gradually top up with soil or sawdust, then eventually cover it over with turf. Make sure it's away from a watercourse, and from the source of a domestic water supply.

arobwk · « **Reply #5 on:** April 06, 2017, 11:55:37 am »

Presumably, you are not satisfied with results from a simple, large pre-mixed and dampened heap (?). Skip mods would need to ensure good drainage and ventilation. Thinking aloud, would a large metal container risk absorbing too much heat on a sunny day unless shaded?
Will be interested to know results if you go down the skip route.

ho !sheep! · « **Reply #6 on:** April 08, 2017, 11:54:59 pm »

Well there are 2 ways I can go with the dog Poo hot box or worrmery, can't do open muck heaps as need to get it processing faster and less smell and run off the skips would have holes in them for pvc pipes more heat just means free hot water for the dogs huge paddling pool. I can cool the heap easily in 2 ways with wind or with clod water pipes. Anoyingly the only place for muck heap is right next to the office and the lane. But with the skips I can just tuck them out the way. I get what you are saying about the dog Poo but 70deg c for 5 days will kill them off fine + It's not going on to our vegie patch it will get ploughed in on our fields. And traded with the arable farm across the road in exchange for straw for lambing on
We will generate a lot of Poo from doggy day care.
Bedding I'm looking at is wood pellets. this year as we have decided not to bread this winter we plan to get ewe lambs witch can winter out if there are delays in building them their new barn. + it gives us more time to get more grass down as we have 3 large arable fields and only the 2 as grass 9 acres and 14 respectively.

arobwk · « **Reply #7 on:** April 10, 2017, 12:59:18 am »

You've clearly thought a lot about this ho!sheep! and I am no expert on hot-composting, but all the things I've read suggest upper temp' of 60-65 degree C, after which beneficial micro-organisms really really start to suffer, apparently. I'm not about to research optimum temp's for dog-poo composting, but seems to me that extremely careful management of composting temp's will be required to sanitize dog-poo and, in the worst case, that your target 70 degree C could potentially halt the effective aerobic break-down of the composting materials. !!??

Buttermilk · « **Reply #8 on:** April 10, 2017, 07:14:37 am »

You would need more than one skip as you have to keep turning the potential compost and transferring from one to another would be the best way. Also you would need a third to be filling as you do this. A commercial compost place near here turns each load (shedful) at least 4 times during the making process. This is domestic wheelie bin waste - dog poo not accepted but food scraps are - mixed in with garden waste and using shredded pallets to dry the mix up. The first shed has a heated floor to get the compost quickly up to temperature, the follow on ones use the heat already in the product. The compost has to hold the 65º for a certain length of time - several days but I am not sure how many.

Then there is the minor detail of a third party needing a toxic waste licence to move and use the compost. This applies to regular muck heaps too, no matter if the muck is horse, cow, sheep or any other type.

ho !sheep! · « **Reply #9 on:** May 29, 2017, 08:05:12 pm »

The toxic waste licence is not sorting I'd considered, It's all on hold again now till September and we may be taking on the whole farm witch brings us up to 150 acres, but we will have help for the first 4 years from the current farmer