Willow NyteEyes

See half... I only grinned at the second one.

stalk_of_fennel wrote:
lol i didnt think you where going to drink the pee.  i was responding to someone's post above that said not to drink pee unless you where possibly dying of dehydration.  it's a survival tactic i've heard about pretty often and it's wrong.  i was trying to be silly and give some relevant info.

Didn't know you were directing the comment to Len... I thought you both were trying to stop a foolish newbie from poisoning herself.   ops:

[quote author=Adam]I'm not sure how interested you are in the science behind all these questions, but you can find the scientific evidence and answers in these guidelines for the safe use of wastewater and excreta from the World Health Organization http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuww/en/index.html (Volume 4 is probably what you are interested in there).

Love science. If I don't know how something works I can't help but break it by accident.

[quote author=Adam]One important exception is Schistosoma haematobium)[...], which is endemic in certain tropical areas like the Middle East, India, and Africa (and possibly Portugal).

Great White North here. No tropics (except maybe some very small parts of BC) so no worries.

[quote author=Adam]The WHO guidelines do not really go into vermicomposting, but as a vermicomposter myself I would expect the worms would not eat 100% of the material and therefore could still constitute a pathogen risk. And as Joel said, I am not sure if they would really be killed passing through the worm's digestive system anyway.[...] It is good to store compost even if you are using thermophilic composting, because cold spots within the compost could provide a haven for fecal pathogens to survive the composting process.

That's what I thought, and good to know. I'm getting a much better picture of the whole idea now.

[quote author=Adam]The treatment process you describe should be sufficient to eliminate almost all risk of pathogen transmission.[...]In my mind, sawdust is better to add to feces as that will create the perfect aeration and C/N ratio for the composting process.

Awesome news & more to think about.  I love this site.

Thanks guys, girls and those with gender-neutral screen names. You're full of awesome. 

What if I halfway understand the math jokes? (I can follow but wouldn't be able to use that math for my own purposes)

Thank you Joel. Your answer was by far the most detailed and answered not only the letter but the spirit of the question. I appreciate you taking the time. 

I don't know why everyone thinks I'm gonna drink pee when I have perfectly good tap water right in the next room. 

Also, I'm not really worried the larva or red wigglers are gonna me me sick cause I don't plan on eating them(although the chickens will) I was more worried about the castings/leftovers/whatever-you-call-it that I'd be mixing in the garden.

From everybody's input and the reading I've done:
- Pee goes in sawdust or straw, poop and produce go in the bug bin.
- When those are full/done they go in a "normal" compost pile with the garden stuff and sit for a year or two.
- Some wax is okay. No plastic. Recycle/sell your metals.
- Stinky compost is imbalanced compost.

Did I miss anything vital?

Instead of a "chicken tractor" which is just a dragable cage... why not a chicken trailer?

Imagine a hen house on wheels.
They have shelter when they need it and you just move it when you move the chickens. Everyone's happy.

They've even found it in some baby bottles.

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

Spread the word.

jacqueg wrote:

Willow, I think you are right to be concerned about these issues. It took me a while to satisfy myself about humanure composting. In previous lives, I was a nurse and a field biologist. So I didn't take this lightly. Now I use a bucket toilet at home, and cringe when I have to contaminate perfectly good potable water with my waste, and then flush all those valuable nutrients into a centralized system that expends a good deal of energy and my tax dollars to return that water back to a potable state!

Exactly the reason I'm interested in this topic(that and I don't want to dig a septic tank system that only makes "sewage" that still needs disposing of every year or two.)

From what I've read HERE Soldier Fly Larva DO eat poop.

During 2003, 169 kg of fresh manure (67.8 kg dry wt) was delivered to the manure basin. A total of 45,000 live black soldier fly larvae were added to the basin. These larvae converted the manure into 41.6 kg dry weight of black soldier fly digest, resulting in 37,978 prepupae for harvest, weighing 26.2 kg.

They were using livestock poop so I'm still interested on getting more info on human waste pathogen reduction/elimination. Even if it were possible to start with an entirely "pure" system, I don't want to bring home something from restaurant food and just have it multiply over and over til we're dead.

Dandelions are definitely yellow flower, green toothy leaves, big taproot.
The long green stick and blue flower plant is chicory.(or as my mom calls it "chick weed")

Robert Ray wrote:
Some nano houses
  http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nine-tiny-feet-cabin

What? There's more porch than house!

Find myself wishing for a "Like" button. Definitely going into my bookmarks.