Just had an idea due to all the fresh horse manure I have been getting for the garden. Sorry if it has been brought up before.
Has anyone thought of using a few 55gal barrels of fresh manure in the greenhouse for heat? I was shoveling the manure into the bed of my truck and noticed how warm it was even though it was only about 40* outside. If it was composting in a few buckets over the winter, I would think the heat it put off could at least provide a little supplemental heat.
You could even cover the barrels and just put small vent holes in it to keep the smell to a minimum. Maybe it's from growing up in the country (comparatively) I don't find the smell very offensive at all anyways. But I'm sure some would rather not smell it. Whatever the case, the thought was more about the heat than the smell. Then you could use the composted manure in the spring, and refill the barrels in the fall.
Good info CY. I wonder if it would work in a 50 gallon drum. Would a closed drum still work getting air from the mixture itself? I would think that a sprinkle of blood meal would heat up the mix some! Can you imagine 5-- 50 gallon compost heated drums that you could simply turn over from end to end to mix every week! If it needs air how about a aquarium air pump that would come on every 4 hours for 15 minutes!
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DoubleDogFarm
- Super Green Thumb
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Jeff,
Take look at some of Will Allen's videos "Growing Power", on Youtube.
Takes 4 large piles to heat one large greenhouse. He grows food year around.
I'm skeptical on the small batch idea. A 3 cubic foot compost pile will heat in the center, but you don't feel much on the surface. Flipping the barrel from end to end will do no mixing. You would most likely have to dump out the contents, mix , add and refill. Then wait for it to heat up again.
Eric
Take look at some of Will Allen's videos "Growing Power", on Youtube.
Takes 4 large piles to heat one large greenhouse. He grows food year around.
I'm skeptical on the small batch idea. A 3 cubic foot compost pile will heat in the center, but you don't feel much on the surface. Flipping the barrel from end to end will do no mixing. You would most likely have to dump out the contents, mix , add and refill. Then wait for it to heat up again.
Eric
