This is very cool, but hotbeds seem like a smaller and simpler option. (They're coldframes with manure under the soil.)
Thanks, Simon St.Laurent Thomas Shelley wrote: >> On Oct 7, 2008, at 8:05 AM, Patricia Haines wrote: >> >>> does anyone locally use the heat generated by decomposing wood chips >>> for greenhouse and/or cold frame heat? > > Patricia--There are, or were, a couple of farmers in the area that have > used compost to heat greenhouses. However, you can't use wood chips > alone. Wood is very high in carbon and decomposes only very slowly by > itself. The usual procedure is to mix large animal manure (cow, horse) > about 50-50 with the wood chips, giving a better balance of carbon and > nitrogen. When this composting mixture enters the thermophilic mode it > yields the heat used for greenhouses, hot water, etc., al a' Jean Pain. > > One commonly used technique is to mass the composting mixture on the > exterior walls of the greenhouse, up to about 4-5 feet above the ground, > and then circulate air through the compost pile into the greenhouse. A > system of perforated pipes is imbedded within the compost feeding air > through the pile, where it is heated and fed into the > greenhouse. Sometimes this is a "gravity fed" system, essentially using > convection, and sometimes small fans are used to move the air through the > pile and into the greenhouse. > > I have also seen a system wherein long, thick beds of composting material > were directly sown with plants in the green house. The heat from the > compost kept the roots and the plants above from freezing. This system > wasn't as effective as the first system mentioned above and only works well > with cold weather plants that are usually grown in cold frames--kale, etc. > > I think it would be feasible to make hot water with a properly constructed, > sufficiently massive compost pile and use the hot water to heat a > greenhouse or system of cold frames. I suppose there are other possible > arrangements given the materials at hand and the quantity of thermophilic > compost available. I would be very interested in hearing of your progress > on any projects developed at Level Green Institute. Take care. Tom > > ****************************************** > Tom Shelley > 118 E. Court St. > Ithaca, NY 14850 > 607 342-0864 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Compost Educator and Sustainability Scion* > > What Does Zero Waste Mean? > "If it cant be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, > resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned, > or removed from production." > Berkeley Zero Waste Resolution > See http://www.cityofberkeley.info/council8/newsletter.pdf > > *noun: a shoot or bud of a plant, esp. one for planting or grafting > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > !DSPAM:48ee304f318105604918794! > _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
