I pee on a new compost pile to get the dogs attention. Once it’s tagged, the two Golden Retrievers and two Great Pyrenees give it a shower whenever they pass. 😊 Dogs are amazing helpers when they focus on desirable tasks instead of digging tank traps in the driveway. 😂
Hello! Thanks for this. We are putting one in now. Have 6x6 area next to green house dug out. Have the fencing ready. Getting fresh horse manure and fresh wood chips. Will do a mix of both on top of the tubing, have it ready. So we are thinking Oct 15 or so to run it. Will insulate tubes going in and out of greenhouse to pile. Thanks again....will keep it wet. This is also right next to our "three sisters" plot where the finished material will go in the spring. Desert here so sun/heat is no problem to heat the compost. Not adding any nitrogen....just manure and "black swamp" water.
Sounds good man! Best of luck, we’ve done this for a number of years now and I feel like I’m still learning. Sharing our observations and experiments hopefully help eliminate too much trial and error for folks. Thanks for checking this out!
Most places in the world have such problems, managing them responsibly can be a challenge but not impossible. Thanks for watching, we just wanted to share our free heating system that saved us a small fortune in heat costs last winter.
So if I build my compost pile a bit smaller than yours it will heat just not last a year? I'm going to use a cattle panel to be my outside fence. That would be a 16 foot circumference and about 4-5 feet tall. If thats all I build it should last me from Sept to May?? I want to use grasses and refuse from the garden as well as wood chips etc. I thought I might get a bag of alfalfa pellets to toss in as well. I don't know anyone who has chickens so no chicken poop. Do you think a clear plastic cover or wrap might be better than say a tarp? I was also thinking that when I cover it I want to grow mushrooms on the top few inches. I would have to separate the strata so the mushrooms don't try to take over the whole pile. I have blue oyster, lions mane and 'shrooms. (good for brain health) I wonder how much a plastic cover will hold the heat because the mushrooms can't freeze they need room temps. Maybe an insulating layer of bubble wrap and then the plastic sheet. will see.
Whatever you can throw together to get some heat, and insulating it is a great benefit to the longevity of the pile. Not allowing external temps to exchange with the pile can buffer temp loss during very cold times when it’s most important. Clear was my best option I had on hand, just an extra piece of poly that was large enough to cover the pile. We notice natural fungi activity once the ambient temps warm up a bit in spring. Inoculating the outer pile could work if the temps are right, that’s an interesting harvest too thanks for that idea. Fungi break the woodchips down to usable nutrients rather efficiently too!
This is awesome content. I’ve watched a couple videos now and subscribed. We are in centra/north Alberta. Our greenhouse was built with 12/12 pitch roof and I’m trying to think of ways to keep it warm enough this winter to 10- 15c. Overwintering some plants with the plan to tear it down next spring and start over. We have some warehouse windows. The kind that are framed in heavy steel with a grid of wire between the panes of glass. Some with transom windows. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this idea. Thank you.
