[AT] Rambling about waste.

[Indiana Robinson]

On 12 Apr 2005 at 21:42, JAHaze at aol.com wrote:

> I think I have been told in the past that you can use lime to disolve organic 
> things quickly.  I have two dogs in a kennel, and a big pile of "left-overs" 
> that I would like to get rid of without having to bury the stuff.  Can I just 
> get some lime from the elevator to spread on the stuff and accellerate the 
> decomposition?  Is there a special type?  Will they look at me strange and report 
> me to the authorities when I tell them I need to disolve some organic remains 
> quickly?  Is there something that will work better?



	You can haul "remains" with antique tractors so it should be on topic...   :-)
	I have not used the lime but have seen some sheep and goat folks use it all over the 
place. I have read comments about it being possible to burn animals feet with it. I have 
no idea of the veracity of that statement personally...
	Are the "remains" in a pile outside of the pen from cleaning or are they just 
accumulating inside of the pen and you want them to dissolve in place?
	Our two watch dogs are in what is now a roughly 16'x40' pen. It keeps up with them 
fairly well. I do add mulch from time to time.
	I don't know how much space you have available but one of the best way of dealing with 
such "remains" is simple composting by adding them to other already decomposing stuff. 
Leaves, saw dust, wood chips (from tree trimmers) and household scraps etc., all work 
well. I have several compost piles "working" here. One is a commercially made unit that 
is all plastic and sits not far from the house. We use it mostly for the few kitchen 
scraps the dogs and chickens don't eat (which isn't much) and garden cleanings. I add 
other stuff to it for bulk now and then.
	I also have a plastic pickup truck bedliner sitting out behind some trees that I use for 
bigger stuff like when we rake up garden stuff or if I happen to have some spoiled grain 
or feed. Even most of that gets given to the chickens first to sort through. Chickens 
will eat about anything but metal scraps...   :-)   Chicken manure gets added to the 
compost bins some of the time. So do dropping from the rabbits. That bedliner is sitting 
with the back end a few inches lower than the front so it will drain well.
	Those that were here for Cubfest last year likely saw my big piles of composting wood 
chips down near the barns west of the house. A local tree trimmer has been unloading 
chips there for several years. We re-stack them a few times a year, usually when son 
Scott has a big backhoe/loader home from work. The quantity varies, sometimes they are 
really huge piles and Scott gets them stacked up about 8' to 10 tall. At other times they 
get "cooked" down to about 5' tall. I was using some last summer and in many areas of the 
piles you could pick up a double handful of the composted stuff and there would be over 
50 good sized earthworms in that double handful. Works great for growing stuff. I use 
some of it to mulch around trees. I have sold a little of the stuff and given more away. 
I won't be giving much more away since several of those I gave it too kind of abused the 
privilege...   One guy I told that he could have a truck load for "some spots in a 
waterway" brought in his big farm truck and a big loader and took 4 huge loads... Another 
guy did the same thing. They don't grasp that this stuff has value to me and just 
consider it a free ride. They forget that it cost us to turn it, takes up ground that 
could be in crops and does require a bit of our time.
	Son Scott, a neighbor and a fellow that rented a sleeping room from Scott were big into 
4 wheeler ATVs for several years and they used to ride on those big piles. It was a 
little unstable at times but did make for a fairly soft landing. The ATVs helped keep the 
tops of the piles stirred which helps in decomposition.
	I will be mixing horse manure in with the composted chips along with some crushed ag 
lime and then spreading the whole mix on the fields using a common manure spreader. 
Pulled of course with an antique tractor...   :-)

	I know of a number of folks on some of my list that use composting toilets in homes and 
some in workshops. Some are pretty complex but some are remarkably simple. The most 
simple is a seat ring mounted to a 5 gallon plastic bucket. The bucket is started with a 
couple of inches of sawdust then after each use a layer of sawdust is added. When the 
bucket needs emptying they change it for a clean bucket. Somewhere, usually "out back" 
someplace they have a row of several covered barrels (plastic works best). The bucket 
containing the "remains" is dumped into a barrel and then rinsed well with a hose. That 
bucket is usually left hanging upside down for a few days to "dry and air". I understand 
some keep a jug of cheap bleach to use in the rinsing process. The bleach water is never 
put in the barrels because it would impede the composting. By the time the 3rd or 4th 
barrel (depending on how many use the toilet) is full the first barrel is totally 
composted and can be used as compost. The more going, the more barrels are in the line. 
An added improvement to that unit is a wooden box for the bucket to sit in that has a 
vent pipe that runs up to draw like a chimney and keep the box vented well. There is 
usually some sort of lid over the seat.

	I added that last paragraph since I know most don't have a bathroom in the shop and some 
shops are not handy to the house. In some cases each entry to the house is scrutinized 
closely by the "guardian of the floors" and any trip in that can be avoided helps with 
general serenity...   ;-)
	In a discussion on a woodworking list one fellow mentioned that he reduced trips to the 
house by having a large potted plant in his shop... Hmmmm, maybe not... I don't mind my 
shop smelling of grease, oil, paint, varnish and sawdust but a "giant piss plant"? I 
think I will skip that one.    ;-) 


-- 
"farmer", Esquire
At Hewick Midwest
      Wealth beyond belief, just no money...

Paternal Robinson's here by way of Norway (Clan Gunn), Scottish Highlands,
Cleasby Yorkshire England, Virginia, Kentucky then Indiana. Here 100 years 
before the revolution.


Francis Robinson
Central Indiana USA
robinson at svs.net