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PERMAGULTUBE
peaking of the symbiotic
Srelationships essential to
life on this planet, Donna
Haraway writes, “We require
each other in unexpected col-
laborations and combination,
in hot compost piles.
We become with each
other or not at all.”
In the same book,
she explains that
ecosexual activ-
ists Annie Sprinkle
and Beth Stephens
designed a bumper
sticker for her pro-
claiming “Compost-
ing is so hot!” But
is it sized to fit on a
bike or a car?
I often ponder what they
mean as I add to or turn my
compost piles. Most times I
find a new arrival becoming
with something else placed in,
attracted to or arisen from the
compost heap.
This heap is slowly, inter-
actively evolving into humus,
which is the final stable form
of organic matter. Think of the
dark springy duff that seems
waist-deep in the Olympics.
Understanding this process
is a lifelong effort exempli-
fied by composting alchemists
like Karl Hammer of the Ver-
mont Compost Company. He
has composted everything
from donkey manure to dairy
waste and uses chickens,
which he claims not to feed, to
:turn and enrich his piles. His
When’it comes to your toédo
By ALEX
FETHIERE
commercial compost operation
needs 1,000 chickens on staff.
A friend on Harstine Island
also has his compost tended
by his chickens, and keeps it
exposed in his orchard. He el-
evates the tempera—
ture to 150 degrees
for 15 days to kill
weeds and seeds,
which is a key point
of hot composting.
It takes him 45
days to produce us-
able compost, some-
times 90 depending
on weather. It would
be best to cure it for
three to six months
after that, but he
doesn’t bother.
In winter he uses more
chicken and rabbit manure,
kitchen waste and coffee
grounds to heat it up by stok—
ing microbial activity. His
“browns” (in contrast to nitro-
gen-supplying “greens”) are
Timbthy hay, leaves and wood-
chips. He also turns it with a
tractor and makes sure it’s ad-
equately moist.
On my smaller scale, I con-
tain the compost in Earth Ma-
chine compost bins. Because I
don’t have the help of livestock
symbionts, I keep the precious
nitrogen sealed up in this plas-
tic likeness of a huge licorice
gumdrop.
I check the temperature
with a 3-foot compost ther-
mometer (rarely over 60 in
list,- put your future first.
To find out how to get your financial
goals on track, contact your Edward
Jones financial advisor today.
Karen L Schade
Financial Advisor
Shelton. WA 98584
360-426-4590
1051 Se State Route 3 Suite E
edwardlonesson‘:
~ Member SIPC
MAKING ss'use‘or i‘NV'iss'flNe
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 — Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-1i
Compostingis hot! I
winter) that reaches to the bot-
tom of the pile and turn it with
an ice auger. This aer’ating
procedure provides a hearty
upper body workout because
I’m boring through organic
matter and 3 feet of maple
leaves.
My kitchen waste is very
rich in Lactobacillus cultures,
because I am always ferment-
ing something. I’ve noticed
that since adding spent fruit
steeped in water kefir, retired
kombucha mothers and dregs
of brine ferments, my pile
never smells foul a common
complaint of composting.
Foul odors are a good sign
that the process has gone
awry. A pile that doesn’t
breathe invites anaerobic bac-
teria to stink up the area with
hydrogen sulfide emissions.
Turning the pile, letting it dry
a bit and adding some browns
(leaves, woodchips, shredded
cardboard) can help.
Because our soil can always
use more available calcium, I
pulverize, eggshells in a Cui-
sinart and stir them liberally
into the compost. Earthworms,
which move into the compost
as it matures, use the egg-
shell fines as grit in their gul- ‘
lets, which helps them grind
up their food as chickens do.
When they pass the eggshells
out as castings, they are richer
in stabilized slow-release cal-
cium carbonate.
Eggshells also help lower
One of my licorice gumdrops, ice auger and composting
thermometer. Photo courtesy of Kathy Ross
the pH of a compost pile. This
favors the microorganisms
who do the invisible digestive
work; they prefer a neutral
pH. Wood ash, as I mentioned
last week, has a similar action
and also introduces potassium.
In warmer months, comfrey
leaves can substitute.
Always integrate a couple
shovels full of your previous
compost to populate your na-
scent pile with established cul-
tures. Over time, Haraway’s
“unexpected collaborations
and combinations” become ac-
customed to digesting the fa—
miliar refuse of our lives, just
as they will return us someday
— whether we’re composted in
Seattle or not.
I Alex Féthiere has lived on
Harstine Island long enough to
forget New York City, where he
built community gardens and
double-dug his suburban sod .
into a victory garden. He can
be reached at onlandist@gmail.
com.
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