[AT] A really stupid question...

[Steve W.]

Dick Day wrote:
> Really?  I remember, many years ago, my mom's relatives, who are dairy 
> farmers, had just put up hundreds of large square bales in their new shed. 
> The shed was less than a month old. They said the fire was started by a bale 
> catching on fire.  I remember they saying it was due to the heat building up 
> in the center of a bale.  The shed was a total loss.

That is common if hay is green or just a bit wet when put up. What
happens is the bacteria and other microorganisms get going too fast on
the bales. This generates a lot of heat and with a lot of bales stacked
together the heat builds up. We have at least one barn fire a year from
this, usually when folks try farming for the first time.


> 
> I guess that's why I panicked.
> 
> Should I let it "bake" for a while longer?  What is the optimal time to let 
> it sit before spreading?

That depends on what you want out of it. If your spreading it to add
nutrients to the soil then you want to spread it NOW and with the
grass/hay short so it has time be absorbed in and not damage the hay.

If you want to use it in a garden or sell it as composted manure then
wait a couple years. The easy way to tell if it is finished turning is
to smell it. If it still smells like horse manure it isn't done.

> 
> Thank you so much.  I told you it was a dumb question :)
> 
> Dick

Now if you have a HUGE commercial style compost pile you can get them to
light on fire. That is usually because the material is too dry and has
too much straw/paper or other fuel sources in it.

If you want to make some great compost horse manure actually works
better than cow manure because it is usually better digested and
composts faster. It also doesn't generate the methane odors that cow
manure does because of the different bacteria at work on the manure.

I built a three bay composter and toss the leaves, grass clippings and
organic trash in it along with some shredded newspaper, straw and horse
manure. As long as I remember to turn it once a week or so and water it
if needed I get a couple of nice batches of compost every year to add
more raised beds.


-- 
Steve W.
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