Proper composting not only destroys seeds, it also kills pathogens like e. coli and salmonella while even breaking down things like diesel and TNT.

There’s a ton of misinformation about composting and I think the central cause is that multiple decomposition methods that produce different results are all lazily called composting by lay people.

As an example, composting uses biological heat produced by thermophilic microorganisms (mostly bacteria) to destroy pathogens etc. and which eat the material to produce compost. Worms, used in vermiculture, do not raise the temperature, have much less success destroying pathogens, and produce worm castings, which are physically distinct from compost and typically sell for around 10x the price.

I’ve even seen discussions where people think that fire, which produces ash, is compost. Like… you can see a pile of compost, and a pile of ash, and literally can’t tell the difference? Add water (and oxygen) to compost and you’ll get compost tea for plants and trees. Add water to ash and you’ll get lye used in drain cleaner products. They are not the same.

My background is in permaculture but there’s significant overlap between that and solarpunk. My point of view is that permaculture and/or solarpunk work at the individual level. They work even better at the household level, and even better at the community level, even better nationally, and best internationally.

You don’t have to change the whole world to be successful. You’re not responsible for the entire world, only your own actions. So be a part of the solution, lead by example and persuade others to do the same. But you’re not expected to carry 8 billion humans on your shoulders, all the other animals, the trees, the weight of all of the oceans, etc. People only believe this because it gets repeated incessantly but take a step back and realize how obvious it is that you can’t be expected to be personally responsible for basically all of existence. You’re not omnipotent. Let go of weird expectations that anyway are probably promoted by fossil fuel types to overwhelm people into inaction.

Be responsible for your own actions, be part of the solution, and let go of the rest.

Yes!!!

Here’s a related, short video, from Brad Lancaster in Tucson, Arizona: How wall color can cool (or heat) you by over 25˚F (13˚C), & shade can cool you by over 45˚F (25˚C)

Pathogen destruction is a function of time and temperature. Generally speaking, a compost bin at 140F/60C for an hour will kill most pathogens, or 130F/55C for a day, or 120F/49C for a week. And generally, compost bins will hold a peak temperature for between 24-72 hours before slowly dropping again, while adding fresh material will make the temperature rise again. Part of the reason time matters is because it isn’t just heat that kills pathogens - it’s also compost microorganisms that physically kill pathogens in the bin.

Getting compost very hot like 160F/71C like you say will kill pathogens quickly but it’s not only unnecessary, it’s also harmful, as a lower temperature will result in a more diverse culture of bacteria in the finished compost. Personally I aim for about 140F/60C.

And anyway, note that I said above 120F. It sounded like the GP was having issues with their compost that made me think that 120F would be a reasonable target to shoot for given their current situation.

Love the biking and zazen!

I did really well last winter then got out of the habit when it got warmer (I have a thing about smells).

Can you describe your setup? A properly maintained compost bin doesn’t smell at all.

How to make one: take some fencing (you can get it for free from Craigslist) and make a bin a little over 1 meter tall and roughly 1 or 2m around, outside, on top of soil. Put dead dry plants or leaves inside on the bottom at least half a meter deep. That’s your sponge material to keep certain things from leaking into the soil. Now it’s ready to start taking inputs like toilet material, kitchen and yard scraps, dead animals, etc. Form a hole in the center with a pitchfork or other tool and put all inputs into that hole. Then put cover material on top of the freshly added material. Good cover materials are hay, straw or leaves, and they prevent smells. This cover material should also be present on the sides of the bin. Finally, get a compost thermometer and stick it in the middle of the material. The goal should be to get the temperature above 120F/49C. This will take a good amount of material and consistently adding it through the winter.

Next steps are going to be ground cover

But everything is going to be native 100% to include the ground cover plants.

Excellent! Heavy mulch + diverse living ground cover is a powerful combination. In my yard you can see the difference between locally-appropriate “native” plants and those that aren’t, as the former just grow and grow, and the latter struggle and require tons of babysitting. I’m slowly letting them die to open up space for plants that actually want to live here. Lesson learned.

When choosing fruit trees, please consider local diseases. For example in the beginning I bought an apple tree from a local nursery, not knowing it was susceptible to fireblight (prevalent in my area). Lo and behold, this year we’ve had lots of rain and that tree is dying from fireblight (I’ve removed the dying parts and will just cut the whole thing down in winter). Starting around 2019 or 2020 I began planting apples and pears that are naturally resistant to fireblight and they’re doing great. So, call some local arborists and ask which fruit tree diseases are prevalent in your area. Skim the wikipedia pages for those diseases to get a sense of what they are, and then look exclusively for trees that are resistant to those diseases. Spend 2 hours to save 2 years (and money too)!

I ate a pawpaw once and it was incredible. They need a lot of shade when young, and unfortunately don’t seem to grow well in my area.

Sorry but I’m not ready to post pics of my place yet, too shy for that.

Colorado, USA:

• https://www.waterwiseplants.org/
• https://www.fcgov.com/vegetation/
• https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/native/FrontRangeSm.pdf
• https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/garden/treereclist.pdf
• https://csfs.colostate.edu/seedling-tree-nursery/
• https://www.coloradohardyplants.com/

I did this starting about 5 years ago (still adding and iterating)! Trust me, before long you’re going to be going outside all the time just to be in it, and it’ll fill you with happiness just looking at it from inside. It’ll change your life.

A quick note for your woodchip addition. First, I would “plant the rain” as Brad Lancaster talks about in his books Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond [1]. Basically, you do small earthworks in the yard to promote water harvesting and infiltration. This is much easier to do with bare ground. Once you’ve done that bottom layer, I’d strongly recommend laying down contractor’s paper aka builder’s paper [2] and covering that with about 4" (10cm) of woodchips. This paper, which is basically like a huge roll of the same kind of paper from paper grocery bags, will prevent grass from coming up and taking over. Some people use cardboard, which I find extremely tedious to tear down, remove plastic, and lay on the ground in any meaningful quantity. It flops around and won’t stay put when adding the woodchips and it’s really annoying. You should overlap the paper at the edges so grass doesn’t sneak through.

What else are you going to plant? I strongly suggest going wild with locally-appropriate nitrogen fixers, especially those that bear fruit.

Notes:

1. https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/
2. https://www.homedepot.com/p/35-in-x-140-ft-Builders-Paper-BR14035/319133879

Sure. But it’s even better to build a compost toilet and compost your pee, poo, menstrual fluid, toilet paper, and any other organic material that would normally go into a flush toilet, like the occasional vomit from food poisoning or whatever. (Any pathogens will be killed in a properly maintained compost bin.)

You can get free instructions for building a compost toilet and maintaining a proper compost bin from the author of The Humanure Handbook (click “read free online” and then scroll down):

https://slateroofwarehouse.com/Books/Joseph_Jenkins_Books/Humanure_Handbook

Just want to note that composting doesn’t occur in the toilet, which is merely a receptacle. You empty the toilet contents in batch mode, like 5+ receptacles all at once, into your compost bin, then clean the receptacles all at once and cover the new material added to the bin with fresh cover material to prevent odors. I mostly use hay and yard scraps as a cover material outdoors, and shredded leaves as a cover material indoors.

I’ve read The Humanure Handbook maybe 5 times and consider it one of my holy books, along with Dune.