J Stark

I’m not a market gardener, but I couldn’t help thinking about the pictures of Eliot Coleman’s trailer in his book, ‘The New Organic Grower’. They’re on page 177 in the 30th anniversary edition. Like everything he designs, it appears to be the ultimate in efficiency and utility.

Greg Peterson
Phoenix,AZ
urban farm.org

He’s encouraging people to grow more of their own food, regardless of their available space, and change our food system.  He has an annual fruit tree sale in Phoenix and holds periodic “seed-ups” to distribute open pollinated seeds at very low cost and encourage seed saving.
Very informative podcast — has interviewed many of the people on this list.

Jessi Bloom
Don’t know much of her bio, but she has a great book.

https://www.nwbloom.com/company/the-team/

My solution:
First I propped up the bottom of each barrel with the open end resting on a 5 gallon bucket lined with a plastic bag to drain what I could. I got over a gallon out of two barrels. It took the better part of a day because the stuff was like molasses and it’s been pretty cold outside.

Then I partially filled a 5 gallon bucket with hot water and poured it in. I sprayed the sides down with Simple Green and put the lid back on the barrel and let it steam for a few minutes.

Using a long handled scrub brush while the water was still warm, I scrubbed the inside clean in a matter of minutes. The Simple Green broke down the oil, making it safe to dump down the toilet and into the municipal sewage system.

It was a lot easier than I anticipated.
Thanks for all your suggestions.

Good call, Jay. I don’t have a wood stove or fireplace, and the amount of oil in the barrels is minimal. I just intend to use the saturated papers to start fires in a steel outdoor fire pit. I wouldn’t burn oil indoors anyway.

Thanks for the tips. I especially like the idea of wiping the barrels out with newspapers and using them as fire starters.

Can’t let the barrels overflow because the dogs will get into the stuff.

I mentioned soaps and detergents, particularly Dawn, because that’s what works best for cleaning oil soaked wildlife. We use it at the raptor rehab center I work at for the occasional bird that lands in an uncovered oil tank, thinking it’s water.

I didn’t think about the oil breaking down in the barrels, but the compost tea idea makes sense. I might have to make some tea in the first fill of each barrel since it’s getting close to planting time for some crops. The sunflower oil will be very dilute, especially after draining and wiping it out, so the micro-critters in the tea won’t get too overwhelmed. It’s going directly to the garden, so there’s no chance of ruining a whole bin of compost with a sudden influx of straight oil.

Thanks again guys!

I just obtained some used food-grade 55 gallon steel drums to use for rain barrels. They previously contained sunflower oil. I’m looking for suggestions on the best way to clean them out prior to water collection. I plan to use them strictly for watering the garden, not for drinking.

The guy I bought them from said he just pours a little hot water in them, seals the lid, and lets them sit overnight, which I guess steams them clean. Then he pours the water down the drain. Northern Colorado nights are cold this time of year, and I really don’t have room to bring them inside. Also, city municipal water And sewer departments frown on dumping any type of oil down the drain, as it congeals and can trap other waste materials, potentially clogging the sewer pipes.

Dishwashing detergents, such as Dawn will break down grease and oil, at least long enough to separate it from your dishes, but I’ve read that the oils can re-congeal later. It would be nice to be able to compost what I dump out, but I don’t want to add a lot of soap or oil to the pile. Small amounts of either seem to be tolerable, but I don’t want my compost to go anaerobic.

Are there any organic soaps (Dr. Bronner’s?) that will permanently break down vegetable oils to a compostable or flushable form, or is this too much to ask?

My less elegant idea is to clean it out with Dawn and minimal water pour it into a 5 gallon bucket lined with a kitchen sized trash bag, and leave it outside until the water evaporates. Then throw out the bag.

I welcome any other ideas.

Thanks,
Jeff