Sonu Soo

Timothy Norton wrote:Let me be the one to say, I would not sweat what you are seeing.

If you disturb the mulch, take precautions for breathing in the dust but I would not worry about it once it is placed. I have found cedar/conifer mulches go through an initial white mold phase that weakens their natural anti-fungal oils so other fungi can start processing down the lignin. You might be seeing an initial boom in population but it will settle itself out.

Thanks!

I probably should have mentioned the mold is dark green/grey. It basically looks like smoke rising from the pile when its disturbed. I am used to seeing white mold so i think thats why this surprised me a little.

Adam Dylan wrote:I do a Back to Eden style of permaculture and am dealing with large piles of wood chips quite often. I tend to get chip drops several times a year. In my opinion the mold or fungus is a feature not a bug! I want it to do this, and it enriches the soil food web. In my experience the dust is most bothersome in Day 3 to Day 20 or so when any fresh green in the pile is cooking down and the pile is steaming. It does bother me so if it's bad I wear a dust mask while spreading/moving the mulch. Once the pile cools down I notice it's not as bothersome though, your milelage may vary so you kind of need to get a feel for it. Other than that, it sounds like this is primo material to be spreading around your area!

Thank you! Would you suggest keeping it wet or just leaving it alone?

Oh no - i was hoping it was just an “im overthinking it” problem as I have probably 100 yards or so of the stuff already. I did actually want it to prevent the soil from drying out and less as compost so this is a bummer. Watering it down and stomping it might not be possible with the amounts i have. I could take the tractor and spread it over the ground to dry out - its about to get hot hot in Texas, but then it might not be good for much at all.

Hi everyone! So I am trying to start a small permaculture project. Initially i wanted to establish some berms full of natives around the edges of the property and then a food forest close to the house. I heard of chip drop and was excited to have a source of free mulch. I got a huge delivery (im talking 20 dumps) of freshly shredded juniper, elm, hackberry (I live in central Texas), but just within a few days it has turned moldy!! Even one inch below the surface it is releasing spore dust everywhere into the air. I think its because of all the shredded leaves in the pile plus recent rains. Can i still use this on all my berms and fruit trees and is there any health risk to people? I also wanted to create a few johnson-su piles but is it no good since its already moldy and probably quite anaerobic in the center of the piles? Thanks yall!

I really want to set up a composting bucket toilet system but I am seeing some pushback about having a compost pile with humanure on our land. I was watching Rob Greenfields house tour and he says that he just shuts his humanure up in a barrel and leaves it to age for a year, then spreads it out on the fruit trees. Can this work? I have seen a similar thing in India where public toilets have dual chambers. One is used for a year then covered and the other is used. At the end of the year the aged humanure is emptied to be used as fertilizer and the filled chamber is sealed. Would this cause any issues with anaerobic bacteria? I could even leave it closed up for two or three years, but this seems the simplest, cleanest way to do things if it actually works. Does anyone know of any issues?