Making a compost heap
as much as 10 percent soil by dry weight is the right target
Try thinking of soil somewhat like the moderators in an atomic
reactor, controlling the reaction by trapping neutrons. Soil won't
change the C/N of a heap but not being subject to significant
breakdown it will slightly lower the maximum temperature of
decomposition; while trapping ammonia emissions; and creating better
conditions for nitrogen fixing bacteria to improve the C/N as the
heap cools and ripens.
_Soybean meal._ See _Cottonseed meal._
_Straw_ is a carboniferous material similar to sawdust but usually
contains more nutrients. It is a valuable aerator, each stalk acting
as a tube for air to enter and move through the pile. Large
quantities of long straw can make it very difficult to turn a heap
the first time. I'd much prefer to have manure mixed with straw than
with sawdust.
_Sunflowerseed meal._ See _Cottonseed meal._
_Tankage_ is another slaughterhouse or rendering plant waste
consisting of all animal refuse except blood and fat. Locally it is
called meat meal. See _Hoof and horn meal._
_Tofu factory waste._ Okara is the pulp left after soy milk has been
squeezed from cooked, ground soybeans. Small-scale tofu makers will
have many gallons of okara to dispose of each day. It makes good pig
food so there may be competition to obtain it. Like any other seed
waste, okara is high in nitrogen and will be wet and readily
putrefiable like brewery waste.
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