Gdday John Guth;
I come from a dry area too and our water is in short supply. Obviously your=
rainfall is not so low that you don't produce any green material, otherwis=
e why would you be wanting to produce compost. Now here are some tips you m=
ay find useful:
1. Compost requires a fair amount of water, especially in summer. Make your=
piles fairly big and if its beyond about 1 m high and two wide ( but as lo=
ng as you like) you may need chimneys to get some air circulation. Use reed=
s but not plastic pipes for the chimneys as they melt.You may then also nee=
d to place a bed of reeds below the pile to also help the air flow. This wa=
y you minimize your surface area. Cover you compost with a layer of loose s=
traw about 100mm thick. You can also make a frame to cover the pile leaving=
about 100mm clearance between the compost pile and the frame and a small a=
ir gap between the frame and the ground. Then cover the frame with 90% shad=
e cloth. You can cut down your watering to once a week even if outside temp=
. is 40 degrees C and humidity very low. Its the wind and the sun you want =
to keep off the pile.
2. Alternatively you can make vermicompost in a 200lt drum, preferably plas=
tic. This system uses virtually no water as the drum has a layer of litter =
on top to keep it moist and insulated. Also, if you keep a basin under the =
drum but with a few bricks in to keep the drum out of any water, then you c=
an re-use the water when you have added too much and it has run through the=
vermicompost. Just don't put the worms in before the drum has cooled after=
putting material in and watering. If the material is fresh it will heat up=
for a few days depending.
3. Start your compost pile just before winter so the thermofilic stage, whi=
ch uses more water, will be over by summer. I presume you also have a Medit=
erranean climate, winter rain, summer hell.
4. You can even include dags or lox2 in your pile although watch out for sh=
eep dung after dosing. If the anthelmentic dose kills worm, it will affect =
the pile.
5. A nice pile that works well is 1 part dung/manure (or chicken litter) to=
7 parts wheat straw with about 5% lime to get the ph up. Then in August yo=
u can make a pile with green material and possibly add the two piles togeth=
er. I presume you have little green material now. Wood shavings works well =
as does grape skins and stems. I have various recipes that have worked for =
me. Grape skins and stems actually can be used on its own with just lots of=
lime. Pips can take a while to digest.
Of course this isn't the Interbay P patch method. I'm sceptical about grey =
water too as it may accumulate some undesirables in the pile. I read over t=
he weekend that fish in rivers outside London were changing sex due to all =
the contraceptive pills the women were taking and these chemicals stayed ac=
tive even after treatment of the sewerage and release into rivers.Also a la=
ke as you describe sounds like an evaporation pond, or even a mosquito bree=
ding pond. Probably not desirable too close to your house.
Cheers mate
Steve Steyn
Received on Tue Mar 08 2005 - 23:38:39 EST
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