The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Techniques and skills => Topic started by: richardg on March 07, 2009, 08:49:29 pm
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Can you please help?
Just bought a field, grass cuttings from which have been dumped in a corner. These now resemble sludge.
I need to move them. I have two new compost bins. Will they be any good for compost - and if so what should I throw in with them?
Many thanks.
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hello richardg,
you can use it , as long as you do mix it with other stuff. You could buy some old straw and mix it with that or you could get some farmyard manure or horse manure , as long as there is plenty of straw in it !! , and mix it with that . You can use it in the compost bins ( well mixed ) or you could just mix and pile it in situ ...it will rot down fine either way . You just need to make sure you mix it well . If you use just straw, you will need to make sure you soak the straw well first , then mix it with the grass cutting sludge. It is heavy work doing the mixing , but it doesn't need to be done all in one go . So take care and don't overdo things . It is very easy to put your back out doing this....Hope that helps a bit...
cheers
Russ
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Helps a lot - thank you.
Would cardboard have a similar effect? I've got lots of it.
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cardboard would be ok , as long as you don't just lay it all in flat . Thats what goes wrong with the grass cuttings , they all lay flat together and exclude the air. Thus you end up with a stinking mess of anearobic decomposing gunk. This would still be ok to use , but it isn't nice stuff to work with . It smells much like the sludge at the bottom of ponds , because thats what that is !!! organic material (leaves etc ) rotting without air (anaerobic). Tear any cardboard up well , or shred it , and mix it in very well with the grass cutting sludge. Try to add some manure/straw as well if you can , it will help the heap to heat up and it will add much to the feed value of the compost.
cheers
Russ
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And what about a wee nugget I've read about adding my own liquid recycling? Presumably will add heat?
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lol...yep ... pee is very good for the compost heap . It acts as an accelerator, so yes it will help the heap heat up . Male urine is said to work best ...but female urine can also be used ....if you can get them to sit on the compost heap ???? :o :o ::) ;D
cheers
Russ
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Not in this weather, thanks! ;D
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Hey, Compost heap or not - I'm getting to the 'martini' stage in my pregnancy - anytime, anyplace, anywhere !!! :o :o :o ;)
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i've known a few girls like that ??? ??? ::) eh what ? oh having a wee you mean .... ::) ::)
cheers
Russ ;D ;D
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You can make liquid feed out of almost everything. Just fill a large container with your grasscut, top up with water, lid on and wait until it smells. Weeing in it might speed it up lol :&>
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Hey, Compost heap or not - I'm getting to the 'martini' stage in my pregnancy - anytime, anyplace, anywhere !!! :o :o :o ;)
maybe you could bottle it and sell it on lol as compost speed up lol
Linz
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I have got plenty of old jars with lids ;) ;D
Any takers ??? LOL!
(please don't anyone ACTUALLY take me up on this - I'm just joking)
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I think I should add something here??? A program on tv recently (senior moment ,can't remember which one !!!), was talking about the affect the contraceptive pill was having on fish !. It was turning male fish into female fish!!! The water comanies have made a filter system that can filter it out , but it is very costly (as in millions £'s), but on the whole there isn't much they can do about it. The residue of the pill is entering the water courses via the sewage system , direct from womens urine. Once in the water course it is causing huge problems with fish ...and with anything that eats those fish !!! ie other fish , birds , otters etc, and then of course humans. So therefore this may well be a problem if it was used on a compost heap?. I would think that any medication could , in theory , possibly cause other problems too . However , the pill being one of the most common , it is causing the most problems (talk about men having a feminine side !!!). Funny how something so natural can be altered by mans interference , and then affect the whole animal infrastructure !! ( at least we know we can strust them when they tell us how safe GM is?????) mmmmmm, maybe NOT!!! Still , maybe best not to use any urine if the person is on medication or the pill ???
cheers
Russ
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OMG !
I remember something about that too Russ, with the fish. But on the subject of garden compost what effect do you think it would have - do you think it would turn the asparagus from masculine green to girly pink ? ;)
Not that it matters to me really cos I'm obviously not taking the pill since I'm pregnant and after this one hubby's getting the snip (he just doesn't know it yet !!! :o :o :o) so no more hormonally imbalanced pee from me ;D
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Just floppy asparagus maybe ???? :o ::) or a garden full of transgendered veggies?? Oh I think the program was Country file that I saw the male/female fish thing on . Funny really though as I remember something about this some 10 years ago ? Then they were linking it to sterility in men? Same old same old .......we never learn do we? or should that be ...do wee? ;D ;D
cheers
Russ
oh by the way ..hubby could apply for a job at the council maybe? 10 o'clock start too!!!! ::) ;D
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I remember hearing about a tribe in Peru that washed themselves with their own urine. Apparently your own is sterile to you. It's also meant to be a good moisturiser....no wonder swimming in the pool makes your skin go soft...... I found my not so wee nephew crapping into the composter once, he said he figured it'd be good for it. That load didn't go on the veggies! lol
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Your Laughing Morgan, but a few years ago, a German living near Joe's parents house near Boyle, was growing organic in tunnels and selling his produce from the farm and in local shops he was making a fortune as this was fairly new at the time and he was one of the first guys to do this in the area ( 12 or 15 years ago).
Apparently news hit the paper that a human poo was found in one of his lettuce - he said they always re-cycled their own manure onto the patch - and he could not see what was wrong with it - that it was good practice!! :o :o :o
People stopped buying his stuff - I don't know why ::)
I believe is is a healer now and specialises in Hypnotism :D He's probably telling them all to start buying his vegetables again whilst they are under :o
Julie
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As marge simpson said to homer, in an episode where they went back to live on his old farm. Homer we need some fertiliser...his rely... marge, I'm only one man!
Hope we've managed to bury the hatchet (and not in each others backs ;D), best if we let bygones be bygones. We actually seem to be rather like minded...if you don't mind me saying so. Forgive and forget, and all that.
Regards,
Morgan
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Dont know what you are talking about!. ::)
Except on the Like minded front. ;)
All the best :)
J
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;D
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I think I should add something here??? A program on tv recently (senior moment ,can't remember which one !!!), was talking about the affect the contraceptive pill was having on fish !.
So now I can't go on the pill for ecological reasons!!! The Doc says that a woman can't be sterilized on the NHS anymore! So the snip is the only alternative then!!! ;D Hubby WILL be pleased ;D ;D