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halifaxearthtech) wrote2011-10-20 02:22 pm
halifaxearthtech) wrote2011-10-20 02:22 pm
Entry tags:
record rains and the humanure project
Most of Halifax's weather in the autumn comes up the Eastern Seaboard from the Caribbean. Therefore it tends to be warm, low-pressure, and very very wet. Today is one of those, with a "heavy rainfall warning" in effect from Environment Canada.
I ran over to the first pile (well, I drove), to cover it with a tarp and found that the pile's volume has decreased by about a fifth. This could be because of settling, or compaction from the rain water, or it could be because the compost has gotten very hot and is losing volume to CO2. This would be the most desirable scenario. I've put the steel pipe back into the pile that I was using as a temperature probe, so we'll know soon.
The piles at location #2 have turned out to be very poorly situated, as the driveway is in a bit of a hollow and pools with water. I will have to find other places for them on the property and shovel the material there.
There has been a problem with people using enough sawdust. Most seem to think that the buckets are to be used as urinals and the signs are useless. This creates unfair burden of work on volunteers to mix the sawdust after the fact, and doesn't allow enough time for the sawdust to "soak". I'll try having the buckets filled with sawdust ahead of time by volunteers. If that doesn't work the project might have to fold due to a lack of adherence.
I ran over to the first pile (well, I drove), to cover it with a tarp and found that the pile's volume has decreased by about a fifth. This could be because of settling, or compaction from the rain water, or it could be because the compost has gotten very hot and is losing volume to CO2. This would be the most desirable scenario. I've put the steel pipe back into the pile that I was using as a temperature probe, so we'll know soon.
The piles at location #2 have turned out to be very poorly situated, as the driveway is in a bit of a hollow and pools with water. I will have to find other places for them on the property and shovel the material there.
There has been a problem with people using enough sawdust. Most seem to think that the buckets are to be used as urinals and the signs are useless. This creates unfair burden of work on volunteers to mix the sawdust after the fact, and doesn't allow enough time for the sawdust to "soak". I'll try having the buckets filled with sawdust ahead of time by volunteers. If that doesn't work the project might have to fold due to a lack of adherence.