Kevin Lane

[size=18]Myrna, I have the same question. I have been piling partially decomposed - partly composted horse manure and bedding material over the wood. I am trying to figure out what I can grow in there as well. This is such a strange situation, I have more manure and compost than I need, I feel like a glutto with it

Anyone have some help out there?

I am using vermicomposting for horse manure. Anyone try to plant directly into the windrows with active composting worms?

Here is the second idea that I would appreciate feedback upon. My chief question is do I have to innoculate with compost worms?

I intend to set up four windrows for compositiung the stable waste that is dumped from now on. Each windrow will run east - west, a total of ten feet wide (to allow walking space on both sides), and six of so feet tall.

The windrows will be separated by dividing walls made out of the stable waste that is compositing on site now. These walls will be four feet wide, again 100 feet long, and perhaps three feet tall. I intend to plant various things in the top of each dividing wall, perhaps first putting on a layer of well composted material - soil mix some six or so inches thick. The area around between the plans would be covered by burlap (bags from a coffee roasting business).

My hope is that the divising walls will be thorugh muchof the hot composting, leaving slight amounts of hay and a fair amount of wood chips from bedding left in the compost. Other parts of the walls will have larger amounts of "fresh" manure and hay. Assumie the proper moisture content is present.

QUESTON ONE. I wonder if I need to buy worms and inncoulate the syestem with those words. My recent turnings of the piles has revealsed active worms even at this time of year. Does anyone have any experience or reference material insofar as natural colonization by worms of such compost piles?


Part TWo

The fresh stable waste that is dumped will be dumped 2/3 of the way towards the back. It will be moved further back as I turn it. At the end it will wind up flush with the dividing rows, in which once again we will be growing various vegetables, flowers, shrubs and tree seedlings.

Question TWO - will this set up allow for the migration of the worms into the newer material?


Many thanks,

Kevin

I have volunteered to take over the handling of the manure waste at a 10 or so horse stable near my home outside of Buffalo, NY. I have a coupple of thoughts for this year that I would appreciate receiving criticism and suggestions upon. Incidentally, I have been turning all of this manure by hand since last month and it is a neat way to have dropped some 40 pounds.

Idea # 1


Picture the composting area as a rectangle, like a football field, that is 60 feet wide (north south) and 120 feet long (east - west). My first idea is to use some of the space to build temporary greenhouses or hot houses, the walls of which would be made out of the material that is going through the composting process right now.

My thought is to build up two east - west windrows of the present manure being composted, each four feet wide, separated by a distance of perhaps four feet. The southern most windrow would be four feet tall and the northern windrow would be six of so feet wide. one of the north - south walls would be made of another compost dividing wall and the other by a temporarty door, the top of both would be at the angle. The roof would be made out of 6 mil clear plastic on 1" x 2" boards. The area between the two windrows, under the clear plastic roof, would be for starting and early growth of various plants. The entire thing comes down once outside temperatures permit plainting in the garden locations.

1. Anyone know if this sort of thing has been done?

2. I am looking for a solar fan to ventilate the hot house during the day. Anyone have any thoughts?

3. I would like to figure out a way to store some of the heat from the sun as well as from the compositing process going on in both walls under the plants so that it retains more warmth at night and during inclement weather. Any low cost ideas? I thought of plastic bins filled with water with the flats for plants on top of the bins, possibly with hoses running from each bin, into the walls, and then back into the bins. It would be an open system - the two hose ends would be submerged in the bin water and would not be connected to one another. If that sort of thing might work, any thoughts on how much volume needs to be in the composting walls verses water within the bins? I am looking for a ratio there

Thanks,

Kevin
(Orchard Park, NY)