Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Cracking the giant compost bin

 Continuing my series of 'Gardening with Physics'.  

I bought a wonderful giant thermal compost bin a while ago - The Aerobin.  It was cheap then, but now costs as much as TS tickets from scalpers.  

This is an insulated bin, with a double layer of plastic.  After it is emptied, and about every two feet of new stuff, I start a thermal event.  This is done by adding a lot of dissolved miraclegro and closing the lid.  You need a proper mix for the stuff, and then it gets really hot.

It has a lot of ventilation but that becomes useless as you fill to the top.

The main event is breaking it open.  It has little doors at the bottom, but they are useless.  Compost is the secret to 'organic taste'.  Direct chemical nitrogen destroys that taste, and that's why I put all the nitrogen into the compost formation.  Nitrogen is the critical key that makes 'organic produce' an influencer myth.  These guys also want to destroy all farm animal raising.  Then there is no nitrogen for them.  

In order to feed everyone with reasonably-priced food you need chemical nitrogen.  Anything else is an influencer fairy tale, like windmills and solar panels.  In the US, I came across huge solar farms over fertile fields.  We aren't gaining anything here.

Now, in the Spring, we have to crack open that bin.  I was using hand-jacks to tilt it, to dump it, but then it all fell apart.  Everything snaps together, so this is a great way to open up.  However, the compost is a giant brick.  You have to hack it apart with a shovel, and then die with the stink.  I chopped it all up and there is a lot of anaerobic mush that stinks.  Thank goodness, it is raining now, and that cuts the stink.

This will be spread over the garden in big hunks.  If you are lazy, the worms will attack it, in time.  If you live with a fuss-pot, then you grind again with the electric tiller, which makes a nice sugar soil.  All the veggies become tasty, and you are happy paying twice as much for your garden produce, if you take everything into account.


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