w lai

Hi:

I live in an urban environment and my bamboo sheds a lot of leaves that I have to gather up. They are hydrophobic and high in silica, and I've found it hard to compost them in my regular compost bin.

Does anyone have any advice for how to decompose them faster?  I wonder if a fungal compost may work better, and if so, are there strains of fungi that I should try to foster in my compost?


Thanks.

Thanks for all the comment. Great to hear the positive results using this method.

One tip I heard from other places is that to avoid large amount of steam (which may cause concerns to my nextdoor neighbors) is to add water from the bottom up, rather than douse it from the top.

Yes I know the drum won't last but that's ok. I just need to get rid of a large batch and don't expect I'll have too much to do on an ongoing basis.

Hi: I'm interested in making biochar in my 1/4 acre. After looking at various design, it looks like the cone pit / trench method will work best, but I don't have the room to dig a large trench. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this approach that Edible Acres on YT (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOSDwp20EKM) used: Take a used metal drum and cut it open, and use it as an "above ground" trench. Add material as it burns and drench out the fire at the end, just like the cone pit or trench method.

Thoughts? I'd love to hear your advice!