making a thermophillic compost heap Pt 3

[TTLM77]

Great videos on composting. Although you need to take care with some wooden pallets. Not sure if you're aware many pallets used in shipping will be treated with methyl bromide. Now it is toxic to humans. There's scant material on whether it is broken down by microorganisms, so i'd stay clear of using pallets in case it does enter my food chain.

Check out 'ISPM 15' on Wiki for more on the treatment of pallets with methyl bromide.

[greenman023]

@TTLM77 yes timber treatments, such as CCA, PCP and MB treated woods do pose a problem when it comes to e-use/recycling....If I remember rightly I do raise this issue briefly at the beginning of the video but sadly we do live in a toxic world (even cardboard contains mineral oil contaminants from printers ink) however I do try to use steam sterilized pallets of Scandinavian origin......

[alx2112]

it will be better compost if when everything cooled down, put worms and make vermicompost.

[builder37660]

you are one with mother earth.

[greenman023]

note from author.

although youtube have added DRM software to prevent downloads of this or other videos as author I give full and unrestricted rights to everyone to download, copy, distribute and use for any purpose whatsoever without need to cite or refer to the origin of the material: you are totally free to claim this as your own as you are with all my videos and text.

[TheBrassHole]

Good stuff. 5 stars.

[keithallenlaw]

I did this once. I used old produce from a grocery store. Layering leaves, fresh cut clover, straw, manure, and the produce, in a 6x10 wire mesh build. I used some sort of inoculate to start the process but I think you can get to much heat and actually destroy the beneficial microbes. I used this on my raised bed garden and WOW, my tomato plants where 8' tall! Lots of work but it depends on what your into. I do cold piles now and have a worm bin. Thanks for sharing! Cool hat!

[greenman023]

glad you like the hat keith, I bought in Peshawer, Pakistan frontier city.....

and you are right... too high a temp can destroy the mesophiles which are what give youi that great benefit when growing with the resultant compost. the optimum range in the first and second heating process is 55-70 degress celcius over a two week period. temps above 70 cause the death of the mesophiles whilst temp below 55 fail to destroy weeds and pathogens or the permit the rapid breakdown of lignin.

[greenman023]

Ps if you make two turn thermophillioc compost as in the videos and then after 6 weeks feed it in layers to worms they produce a very fine granulated compost that is an amazing substrate for potting mixtures... just add some leafmould and vermiculite in roughly 3 parts worm, 2 parts leaf mould and 1 part vermiculite... if you want to save on the vermiculite get it from a builders merchant , where it is used as agregate in lightweight concrete or loft insulator rather than a garden supplier

[Noz7777]

I like your understanding of the composting process.

[Fire4FX]

composting is exciting! look at all that wasted heat.

[greenman023]

ohh..not wasted..the thermophiles (heat loving bacteria) generate it through respiration (possibly as a means of making the environment initially unsuitable for mesophiles) . The heat however ensures pathogen & weed seeds are destroyed. It can be harvested; i.e the Victorians heated glass houses to grow pineapples & the horticulturists of Paris filled trenches & planted melons. The same heat is generated by cold composting but over a longer period: thus losses are equal but the benefits are not

[greenman023]

it means to experiement (trial) and thento adjust your experiment based on the results (errors) but I as I haven't a clue why or in what context 'K1NG1T posted it I haven't replied ... I suspect it was mean't to be a critism but perhaps it just reveals the commentators ignorance that trial and error is the predominant method of human advancement.

[jazio86]

why is a trial and error, can you explain me please??

[K1NG1T]

your methodology is trial and error