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blutarski_gw

emergency compost question!

blutarski
14 years ago

Hi all,

Ummm, let's say I needed to compost a large...carcass, say, I don't know, about the size of an adult.

theoretically of course.

How much brown material would I need to make sure there would be no odor that might lead to discov, er, I mean complaints from the neighbors?

And, ahhh, how long before there wasn't any...evidence, let's say, of what I put there?

I kind of need answers like, NOW.

Thanks in advance.

Comments (11)

  • pmorrison2588
    14 years ago

    Actually I am scared to read it. What it is that you want to compost, and don't want to keep evidence of ??? Get an approximate weight of the thing, and then post.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bokashi

  • bpgreen
    14 years ago

    Since it's now 10/31

    You need to get a good chipper/shredder. If you want to make sure it goes away, chipping is required.

    Given your user name, I'm assuming the item you're trying to discard is pretty high in protein (spinach, even canned, is high in protein). You'll therefore need lots of high carbon matter.

  • burra_maluca
    14 years ago

    There will *always* be evidence!!!! The best you can hope for is that you can conceal it from the neighbours by containing the smell, but if forensic is called in, they will be still be able to tell even if there's nothing you or I coulld recognise. Best come clean now if it's anything they are going to be interested in!!!!!

    Personally, if I had something like a dead sheep to get rid of, I'd probably open up a current compost heap and bury it in the middle, making sure it was completely covered by already rotting material full of the necessary bugs and microbes, then add as much horse manure as I could lay my hands on (it's nice and dense, helps keeps smells in) and then cover with something 'nice' like straw and do my best to maintain the right moisture level. I wouldn't stick long pointy compost thermometers in too deep, and I wouldn't turn the pile - just leave it for a year. Maybe I'd also stick a black plastic cover over it, weighted down with bricks, to mark it as 'do not disturb', and just take the cover off to water if necessary every now and then.

    For interest, in Portugal they bury their dead for three years, then dig them up and if they are not completely decomposed they stick them back for another couple of years. This frees up the spaces in the cemetery. But presumably 'proper' composting would speed the process up a bit.

    Happy Halloween!

  • gjcore
    14 years ago

    I'm thinking that blutarski has some zombies on his hands. I'd recommend mixing those zombies with leaves and pumpkins.

  • Lloyd
    14 years ago

    Not that I myself would ever have need for this particular kind of knowledge...

    The Bare Bones of Carcass Composting

    Hey, some prisons have some pretty neat composting programs...I'm just sayin.

    Good luck

    Lloyd

  • blutarski
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    nevermind, I forgot I have a crawl space.

  • auntyara
    14 years ago

    I would make a huge bonfire, toss in the carcass and just keep it burning for a few days then mix what ashes are left into my hot compost.
    Gather up some road kill and toss that in to cause more doubt. Just in case.
    start working on an alibi, and destroy your p.c. Trust NO ONE!!!
    :) Laura
    Happy Halloween

  • mustard_seeds
    14 years ago

    To keep the crawlspace from getting smelly, cover the item with bread. Don't tell Annpat.

  • luckygal
    14 years ago

    Happy Halloween, Blu, and everyone! LOL My DH doesn't even let me compost mice for pity sakes so what would I know about larger carcasses. All of our farm carcasses got buried back in the forest where the coyotes dug them up and disposed of them. Got a forest and coyotes? They work quickly. ;-)

  • User
    14 years ago

    Blutarsky -

    For each large object, you need enough fresh pine sawdust to cover it to a depth of 2 feet.

    Make a flattened pile of sawdust 2 feet thick that covers enough area so that when you place the carcass on the pile you have 3 feet on all sides.

    Pile more sawdust onto the carcass until it's covered by at least 2 feet of the sawdust. Cover that with burlap and keep it moist.

    Or, just rent the movie Fargo and watch how they do it with a wood chipper. Run pine branches or other tree parts through both before and after you run the the carcass chunks through - you need 4x (by weight) more vegetable matter. Stack it into a bin and turn weekly, keep it moist and it will be composted in a couple of months..

    The DNA will degrade quickly, but spray down the wood chipper with bleach before you take it back to the rentalplace.

  • Lloyd
    14 years ago

    Okay then. LG seems to know a little too much about the subject. Witness protection plan member? I've read they send them down to Arizona for some reason!

    Lloyd