agriculture burning

[Norman Albers]

How should I advise my neighbor on getting rid of prunings of grape vineyard canes? They are tough and need to be gotten out of the way. He thoughtfully said he does not like burning them but wants to. In a way it may not be so bad; see if you agree with my logic. You don't want these sticks on the ground, for the nuisance and for possible bugs. So maybe we rake them out and compost them, say, getting to broken down fiber which then continues further decomposition. Will their carbon will fairly well liberated in two or three years? My point is that once you start a repeating cycle and burn yearly, yes for the first two years, maybe, you are speeding carbon addition to the atmosphere, but after that the steady state is as it would have been composting. Shredding takes fuel and these are a tangle much worse than tree limbs; I'm not sure this is reasonable.

[Glider]

Burning things that have grown is essentially carbon neutral. It releases only the carbon is has taken up during its growth. However, burning plant matter also releases particulates and other less pleasant substances.

 

If you compost them, they will take ages to break down, but they will eventually. Hot composting would speed the process considerably. What results is excellent for putting back into the soil or as a mulch. Whether or not you cut them by hand or put them through a shredder or chipper depends on how much there is.

 

As I say, burning waste from crops is more or less carbon neutral, but it does produce other pollutants and is a bit of a waste. If you have a large compost area you can mix the cuttings with other material and just leave them. If the heap is more than 1 cubic metre and you get the mix right, hot composting will happen and things break down rapidly then.

[Norman Albers]

Thank you Glider. My next-door (ha) neighbor has at least ten acres of vineyard; down the road are hundred of acres. Keep those thoughts coming. I have another example staring me in the face: Halfway to town I pass an organic family farm whose vegetables in summer are magnificent, and I won't buy agribusiness tomatoes. He invites folks to pile up small branches and leaves and runs several large piles, two meters. I asked him about the huge cabbage, and how we always assumed (parse it) that manure for nitrogen, as well as fiber and minerals, was needed. He surprised me, saying those are not especially "heated" composts. I puzzle.

[Glider]

I asked him about the huge cabbage, and how we always assumed (parse it) that manure for nitrogen, as well as fiber and minerals, was needed. He surprised me, saying those are not especially "heated" composts. I puzzle.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. Are you talking about growing cabbages or composting?

[Norman Albers]

This farmer uses only these compost piles made pretty much only with leaves and small branches. I will double-check whether he heats the piles with manure to get small sticks, like the canes would be, to decay faster. I think he said not. Stacks of vineyard cane cuttings would need leaves or something to thicken up the pile, I suspect. See, we had always thought nitrogenous manure was necessary for composting and gardening.

[YT2095]

you need Layers to make an efficient compost "heap" I personaly would burn the more woody parts and keep the ash for when they start to flower and develop fruit, the rest I would shred and pile in layers, if you can get some old wooden pallets they make great compounds to store the compost in!

you can use accelerants such as Ammonium sulphate or Male urine (never use female urine!).

 

don`t let it ever go dry or too wet, and it needs plenty of Air. the rest does it`self, he`ll not have anything usable This year, he`ll have to make another one next year, but then Last years will be good to go

 

it`s also a good idea to turn the heap over after about 6 to 8 months.

 

 

that`s how we do it

[Norman Albers]

Excellent, YT2095. Farmer Dave just keeps several piles always available for the people from miles around to drop their grass, leaf, and small brush up to quarter-inch sticks. I'll bet he flips them with a tractor bucket once or twice. They are two-meters tall and just out in the elements. As far as the viticulture is concerned, they may or may not like shredding, depending if it leaves bug eggs, but I will pass along this accumulating wisdom............Oops, I see, you are saying to shred and compost, cool.

[YT2095]

it May be worth contacting any local Stables also, when they clean them out they often have to Pay to have it disposed of, they will More Than welcome your friend taking it off them for free

 

but be sure they use Straw and not sawdust! sawdust will rob all the nitrogen and take a few years to give it back again, straw will be gone within the year, you get the horse crap in there for free and the straw makes a great layer

 

Spent Hops from the local brewery are fantastic also

[Norman Albers]

No shortages here, there are six hundred dairy cows two miles away, and many folks have a few horses. Recall my inspired Themonuclear Box gedanken.