Compost Piles on Fire!

...sting facilities that covers this common problem. So what situation(s) can lead to a fire? Here’s what can happen with a low moisture, large pile with little air exchange, combined with water getting into the pile in a place where there is enough air to support biological activity and chemical oxidation, but not enough to cool the pile. An old, dry compost pile, or a pile of overs screened out of the finished product, is a case in point. Water see...

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The Biochar Solution

...robial life Bind heavy metals (this is a big selling point for me with our lead and zinc contaminated soil) U of W suggests purchasing biochar rather than trying to make it yourself. According to the authors its not easy to achieve proper pyrolysis at home. And they caution that biochar can cause problems for acid loving plants and worms. I’m interviewing a biochar expert for our podcast today. Look for that episode in two weeks. Have you used bio...

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2014: The Year in Review

...und to building new raised beds to replace some that we had taken out. Our lead and zinc contaminated soil necessitates this, but I wish I didn’t have to use raised beds for reasons I outlined in this post. March Is Ham Radio Useful? The jury is still out on this question, to be honest. I got my license late in 2013 (I’m KK6HUF, in case you’re one of the tribe). I have have a handheld 2 meter/70 centimeter radio and a rooftop antenna, but I haven’...

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Backyard in Progress

...I made a bridge so that when it rains water will flow under the path that leads to our shed. This is why you hire an outsider expert: Kelly and I would never have thought of this rain garden or the idea of running the flow under the path. Yes, one of these days I’ll remove the bar code from that pipe! We plan on planting this area with native plants in the fall. Laramee and his crew also hauled up some rock to better define the paths in our yard...

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Everything Must Go Part 5: The nitty gritty

...ral dusty old 12 oz bottles of homemade mead–a few of which were helpfully labeled, “Bad Mead?”–which have sat on a back shelf unloved and undrunk for many years, for so long the printer ink on the labels was fading. Far longer than any aging period. Erik caught me draining the bottles and just about had kittens. He’d planned on carbonating these bottles…someday…to see if that would improve the flavor and now I’d gone and ruined all of his work. H...

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