Logo primary
Logo secondary
Kendall Permaculture Farm
Kendall Permaculture Farm
Details
Commenced:
01/08/2005
Submitted:
30/01/2011
Last updated:
28/10/2020
Location:
93 Golden Gully Road, Kin Kin, Queensland, AU
Phone:
0444522374
Website:
https://permeco.org
Climate zone:
Sub tropical





My Projects

(projects i'm involved in)

PermEco Inc.

PermEco Inc.

Kin Kin, AU


Followers
allie godfrey Angelo Branca Anthony Hofer Ben Hamley Carolyn Payne-Gemmell Chris Garcia Crystal Rickerd Danes David Perry Dustin wallerwork@gmail.com Fionn Quinlan Francisco Amaral Gordon Williams James Reid Karyn Maher Lilian Raeijmaeckers Luiz Pereira Mark Brown Nick Huggins Paul Tan Penelope Kothe rob durham Salah Hammad Silvia Floresta Simon van der Klei Stephanie Ladwig-Cooper Ute Bohnsack Valeria Andrews Vanessa Monge Augusto Fernandes Vasco Neves

Back to Kendall Permaculture Farm

18 day hot compost

Project: Kendall Permaculture Farm

Posted by Zaia Kendall over 12 years ago

Describes the process of making an 18 day hot compost as part of our Permaculture Design Course.

As part of the Permaculture Design Course taught at Kin Kin Souls by Tom, he shows students how to make an 18 day hot compost. This is a fungal based compost, which is great for trees; they thrive in a fungal based environment. First we have to get the material together, which consists of:

Freshly cut vetiver grass and weeds/grass and cow manure:

Freshly cut vetiver grass and weeds/grass

Cow manure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compost and a dead bird for activation, the diameter is established with fresh grass and manure, ready to be covered with hay:

Compost and a dead bird for activation

Diameter established, fresh grass and manure,  ready to be covered with hay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We cut vetiver grass and weeds/other grasses and had cow manure "harvested" from our cows, both high in Nitrogen. We alternately layered fresh cut grass, cow manure and hay (dried, old cut grass, high in Carbon), with the bulk made up from the grasses. The ideal ratio is 25 Carbon to 1 Nitrogen. To get that ratio right is the art of composting.


We had a dig through our compost bin for some citrus and other bits and pieces. A small chicken unfortunately died not long ago, so we used it with the food scraps to "activate" the compost: heat it up from the inside. When we were about halfway up, we added the activator, then buried it under more layers. We needed at least 1 cubic metre of volume for the compost pile, otherwise there would not be enough bulk to be able to heat it up adequately.


We watered the pile after every several layers and then again at the end, after which we covered the pile with a tarp for 4 days.

James watering the compost and the pile, covered for 4 days:

James watering the compostCovered for 4 days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After 4 days we turned the compost for the first time, and stuck a thermometer in at various stages to measure the temperature. The temperature was between 52 and 74 degrees Celsius. 74 degrees was too hot, all the beneficial bacteria start dying at temperatures over 65 degrees. But we were pretty happy with the average temperature of the pile, which was around 63.

The first turning after 4 days with fungal activity already started at first turning:

The first turning after 4 days

Fungal activity already started;  at first turning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From then the compost was turned every 2 days (thanks to Scott, who did most of the turning!). The smell was not very pleasant at the first turning, but after that the smell seemed to have gone.

Tom tested the moisture of the pile by grabbing some and squeezing it. It was moist enough if there was water dripping out, otherwise it needed some more water. If there is not enough moisture, the composting process is slower and we don't want it too wet either.After every turning we covered the pile with the tarp again, to protect it from the elements (rain would have cooled it down, wind would have dried it out etc.)

STEAM!! Only permaculturists get joy from playing with a steaming pile of .......

STEAM!! Only permaculturists get joy from playing with a steaming pile of .......

Fungal activity was obvious at every turning. Below are some photos on the development of fungal activity in the compost (days 6, 8, 10 and 12):

Fungal activity day 6

Fungal activity day 8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fungal activity day 10Fungal activity day 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The temperature stayed pretty consistent during the subsequent turns, between 55 and 65 degrees C. It started cooling down at about day 14 to around 50 to 55 degrees C. By day 18 the temperature was down to around 45 degrees C.

We regretted we were unable to make the vetiver grass smaller; there were still quite substantial chunks in the compost. Next time we will use an old chaff cutter we have been able to get, so our finished compost will have a finer consistency.

Day 18: Turning the finished product and up close... ready for use!

Day 18: Turning the finished product

And up close... ready for use by day 18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (1)

You must be logged in to comment.

Report on 18 day hot compost

Reason:

or cancel

Courses Taught Here!
Project Badges
Rural Residential Community Demonstration Educational
Administrators
Tom Kendall - Permaculture Teacher Zaia Kendall - Marimba Teacher / Admin
Team Members

Report Kendall Permaculture Farm

Reason:

or cancel

Hide Kendall Permaculture Farm

Reason:

or cancel

Hide 18 day hot compost

Reason:

or cancel

Legend of Badges

Note: The various badges displayed in people profiles are largely honesty-based self-proclamations by the individuals themselves. There are reporting functions users can use if they know of blatant misrepresentation (for both people and projects). Legitimacy, competency and reputation for all people and projects can be evidenced and/or developed through their providing regular updates on permaculture work they’re involved in, before/after photographs, etc. A spirit of objective nurturing of both people and projects through knowledge/encouragement/inspiration/resource sharing is the aim of the Worldwide Permaculture Network.

Member

Member

A member is a permaculturist who has never taken a PDC course. These cannot become PDC teachers. Members may be novice or highly experienced permaculturists or anywhere in between. Watch their updates for evaluation.

Male memberFemale member

Permaculture Matchmaker

One of these badges will show if you select your gender and the "I'm single, looking for a permaculture partner" option in your profile.

unverified

PDC

People who claim to have taken a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course somewhere in the world.

verified

PDC Verified

People who have entered an email address for the teacher of their PDC course, and have had their PDC status verified by that teacher. Watch their updates for evaluation.

pri_verified

PRI PDC

People who’ve taken a Permaculture Research Institute PDC somewhere in the world.

pdc_teacher

PDC Teacher

People who claim to teach some version of PDC somewhere in the world.

pri_teacher

PRI Teacher

With the exception of the ‘Member’ who has never taken a PDC, all of the above can apply to become a PRI PDC Teacher. PRI PDC Teachers are those who the PRI recognise, through a vetting board, as determined and competent to teach the full 72-hour course as developed by Permaculture founder Bill Mollison – covering all the topics of The Designers’ Manual as well as possible (i.e. not cherry picking only aspects the teacher feels most interested or competent in). Such teachers also commit to focussing on the design science, and not including subjective spiritual/metaphysical elements. The reason these items are not included in the PDC curriculum is because they are “belief” based. Permaculture Design education concerns itself with teaching good design based on strategies and techniques which are scientifically provable.

PRI PDC Teachers may be given teaching and/or consultancy offerings as they become available as the network grows.

pri_teacher

Aid Worker

The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to be involved in permaculture aid work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture aid worker experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.

pri_teacher

Consultant

The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to do paid permaculture design consultancy work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture consultancy experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.

community

Community Project

Community projects are projects that help develop sustainable community interaction and increase localised resiliency.

Report 18 day hot compost

Reason:

or cancel