Compost storage

Food, Nutrition and Agriculture
PrepDad
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed May 11, 2022 12:27 am

Compost storage

Post by PrepDad »

Now my basic bugging in plan is sorted, I'm starting to think a bit more long term, but also trying to keep costs and complexity down and I was thinking of stashing a couple of bags of compost indoors to possibly start some greens off should the need arise, seems a pretty cheap prep and was wondering has anyone got any thoughts on this, I'm assuming id have to keep it moist and sealed with maybe a bottle of liquid fertilizer to get things going.

Thanks in advance

PD
pseudonym
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Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:11 am
Location: East Midlands

Re: Compost storage

Post by pseudonym »

Might be wrong but it has a use by date:

https://thrivingyard.com/can-compost-go ... 20go%20bad.
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
jansman
Posts: 13625
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Compost storage

Post by jansman »

PrepDad wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 1:54 am Now my basic bugging in plan is sorted, I'm starting to think a bit more long term, but also trying to keep costs and complexity down and I was thinking of stashing a couple of bags of compost indoors to possibly start some greens off should the need arise, seems a pretty cheap prep and was wondering has anyone got any thoughts on this, I'm assuming id have to keep it moist and sealed with maybe a bottle of liquid fertilizer to get things going.

Thanks in advance

PD
This might give you a few ideas :D https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyl ... s-indoors/
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
jennyjj01
Posts: 3430
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Compost storage

Post by jennyjj01 »

PrepDad wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 1:54 am Now my basic bugging in plan is sorted, I'm starting to think a bit more long term, but also trying to keep costs and complexity down and I was thinking of stashing a couple of bags of compost indoors to possibly start some greens off should the need arise, seems a pretty cheap prep and was wondering has anyone got any thoughts on this, I'm assuming id have to keep it moist and sealed with maybe a bottle of liquid fertilizer to get things going.

Thanks in advance

PD
Hi Prepdad,
Please expand on your objective with this. It sounds an interesting new idea.

Are you thinking long term into a post fallout situation? For cultivation indoors during a crisis or outside after a crisis?
Are you into gardening already? Jansman and British Red are the goto guys here on this topic.

Do I understand correctly that you mean to set aside a few growbags or home made compost, indoors in case the outer environment got ruined by fallout? This to be used as a miniature proxy for your veg garden? Sort of an Arc for the new Garden of Eden for want of a better description. Maybe to be migrated outdoors after fallout had decayed, as your precious uncontaminated soil?
Do you have a garden that you use now and could get back out to in whatever circumstances?

A few issues strike me.... And I might be completely misunderstanding your objective.

Scale: Let's say you had half a dozen big 40L growbags and could only cultivate from them from scratch. Pop in some salads and tomatoes. It would be two months before your first crop of anything. Then you'd get a glut. The scale of your production would just not sustain a small family. For the same money you could stash a lot of tins of spinach and tomatoes and multivitamins. To give perspective, it took me ten bags of compost to fill a raised bed one metre square to a depth of 30mm..... And then it sunk down. You can't grow much on a square metre.

Sunlight: Deep indoors, would you plan to start anything? Would anything prosper, even if you got it near the window?

Season: If we got nuked in say October, your growbags would be pretty useless for 6 months or so.

Reusabilty: Long term, you'd need nutrients to replenish or replace your compost. That's a problem today, let alone post apocalypse. You only get out of the compost the goodness that you put into it.

Ability to practice: I've found how hard it is to grow a first crop. Cultivating anything needs practice. Are you practised in the art of gardening in any form? Forgive me if you are.

Microgreens: A suggested way of getting a rapid crop of vitamin rich food. You can literally get a crop in a week just by popping a handful of mungbeans in a damp jar. No immediate need for compost. Of course, all you are doing is rehydrating a seed LOADED with goodness already.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
Arzosah
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: Compost storage

Post by Arzosah »

Hi PrepDad - such an interesting idea, whyever you're doing it! I was assuming microgreens - I've grown microgreens from ordinary shop-bought packs of dried lentils, and something to hold the seeds in place is necessary. If it's compost you're using, you could grow them a bit bigger than microgreens maybe. If they're this kind of size, no need for liquid fertiliser - as Jenny says, the seed is already packed with nutrients. Bigger, then yes.

The only alarm bell that rang for me is when you described keeping the compost "moist and sealed" - I've no actual knowledge about this, but that sounds like a recipe for lots and lots of mould, sorry!

As to why ... this was interesting too! Here's the things I can think of:
- your house is secure but your garden is flooded, yet you can't evacuate.
- more pandemic, and wanting fresh nutritious food.
- a crime wave for whatever reason.
- a bad eruption from an Icelandic volcano, needing to stay inside because volcanic dust can cause lung problems etc.
- contamination of some sort, train wagons spilled or an attack or even a dirty bomb or shtf with an actual nuclear attack. We keep hearing Putin's crazy and/or dying, and though we also keep hearing about potential refusal to follow nuclear orders or a coup in Russia, it's theoretically possible.

So do tell, what was your thinking? Great thought experiment.
grenfell
Posts: 3953
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 7:55 pm

Re: Compost storage

Post by grenfell »

Just a suggestion but if you are going down the grow indoors in bags route I'd suggest getting some racking. That way you could place the racking near the windows for light and you'd have two , three or four depending on the crop taking up the footprint of a single bag. If you have a conservatory that could be filled as they really are little more than a greenhouse nailed on the back of the house. Course that might be a problem if the neighbours are starving and looking at all the crops in your windows. In terms of replenishing the nutrients then it looks likely that at some point you'd have to install a composting toilet but that would be a long term plan.
GillyBee
Posts: 1047
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2020 6:46 am

Re: Compost storage

Post by GillyBee »

Check out the "kratky" hydroponic system. No need for compost or complex setups - just water, fertiliser and a way of supporting the plants. This seems to be an effective way of producing indoor salads - lettuce for example, if you have a gro-light but also works outdoors in season.
I am just starting my very first Kratky setups - I like the idea of the "house tomato" i.e. a dwarf variet able to live on a windowsill and give me a handful of something fresh in winter.

This video shows a 25l box set up for lettuce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws9hDTwYXno
And this one is a very cheap DIY system using yoghurt pots and glass jars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-DNrQoKcnc

I have only been trying this for a few weeks. So far I can report that my hydroponic basil from seed seems much happier than my compost grown.
jennyjj01
Posts: 3430
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Compost storage

Post by jennyjj01 »

GillyBee wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 11:17 am Check out the "kratky" hydroponic system. N

And this one is a very cheap DIY system using yoghurt pots and glass jars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-DNrQoKcnc

I have only been trying this for a few weeks. So far I can report that my hydroponic basil from seed seems much happier than my compost grown.
Loving the look of that. The guy using yogurt pots and mason jars led me to a lady showing her Tomatoes (Oo Er Missus :)) growing in mason jars. They were very impressive. If anything they needed pruning. She compared the Kratky ones with one in compost, and the one in compost was stunted by comparison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNCMktFHSq4

I Like free, after all the money I laid out recently on compost. So, Yogurt pots it is,,,, And I'm doing to use coffee jars to save another £1
There was another guy who just used a chopped up pool noodle and a bit of down spout to save even more money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXKfIASdSqM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU1e5Oe_DmQ

So..... What food are you giving yours? I have a big bottle of tomorite, so will probably use that, If I can get the dilution right.

Question for the experts...... Apart from needing fertilizer, what's the downside of hydroponics compared to bags of compost???
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jennyjj01
Posts: 3430
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Compost storage

Post by jennyjj01 »

jennyjj01 wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 1:15 pm
GillyBee wrote: Sun May 15, 2022 11:17 am Check out the "kratky" hydroponic system. N

And this one is a very cheap DIY system using yoghurt pots and glass jars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-DNrQoKcnc
Loving the look of that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNCMktFHSq4

I Like free, after all the money I laid out recently on compost. So, Yogurt pots it is,,,, And I'm doing to use coffee jars to save another £1
Just had to give it a go...... I'll be getting some downspout or plastic duct and a pool noodle for the deluxe version.

Kenco coffee jar. Trifle pot that's a bit too wide but who cares.
1tsp Tomorite
Water to just reach up into the trifle pot
Seedlings germinated in loo roll.

The secret seems to be that as the seedling reaches down into the water and drinks it, the water goes down. the roots grow down. VERY seldom need to add more water. The roots will be only half submerged.
As the plant grows it might need some support with a stick taped to the jar.
Oh. And wrap the jar with brown paper or newspaper
kratky 2.jpg
kratky 1.jpg
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
GillyBee
Posts: 1047
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2020 6:46 am

Re: Compost storage

Post by GillyBee »

The one thing I have learned recently is to be careful if you need to top the water level up. Don't top it up all at once. Apparently the plants grow "air roots" and "water roots". If you think the water level is looking low and just fill right up you may drown the plants.
This explains the problem I had with an old IKEA hydroponic lettuce system based on the same model. The lettuce were about ready to harvest when I realised the water was almost all gone. I should have just harvested the lettuce over the next week or so. Instead I filled the tank right back up and they promptly all turned sickly and started to die.
My reading suggests that while most keen Kratky growers shell out for "proper" hydroponic feed, it is quite possible to use other fertilisers. The key thing is to understand that you need the micronutrients in there as well as the big 3 NPK (nitrogen, phosphate & potash) A compost or soil grown plant can get these from the soil but a water grown plant is completely dependent on you giving it the good stuff. I have the current ones running in a mix of MiracleGro and seaweed extract which seem happy so far. the next batch will be getting Chempak no 3 which states it's micronutrient content to see which works better. Tomorite is I think going to be very similar to my MiracleGro and seaweed extract mix.