composting with wheat
- Thread starter Aiden
- Start date
digitS'
Garden Master
If I have any understanding of this at all, "H1" high protein wheat is a grade and just hard wheat with a protein level of, say, about 12 or 14%. Nothing really outrageously high . . .
For the simple act of composting, perhaps one isn't interested in the say 14% protein level but the 16% of that protein that is nitrogen. I believe that 16% of ANY protein is nitrogen (N). So, we are only dealing with a 2% nitrogen component for our compost pile.
That's a good level of nitrogen and compares well with something like cow manure at .5% N or chicken manure at 3.5% N. Composters might talk about Carbon to Nitrogen ration, with an ideal of 30 to 1. If everything is either carbon OR nitrogen in the material, it is simple to think of that in percentage terms: multiply the 30 by 3.3 and 1 x 3.3 and we see that a 3.3% N component is ideal for very quick composting.
Composting is a living process and in life, things are not simple
. There are other components in a compost pile like air and water so, something like chicken manure that should compost really quickly, may not. The easiest way to deal with the "may not" is to just give your compost pile LOTS of different material to work with -- coarse material, fine material, material high in nitrogen, low in nitrogen, water retaining, dry and loose - you get the idea.
If you were to pile up and wet wheat much of it would probably sprout. Then, that pile would heat up and the sprouted wheat would begin to kind of cook. You could almost be on your way to making beer
!
Brewery and distillery wastes are becoming more and more important to agriculture, usually as a livestock feed. Still, they are quite high protein, so high N, and useful for composting I'm sure. Just doing a google look for "spent grains" composting turns up this (click). Not real useful to you but you don't have brewery waste, your grains aren't "spent."
The suggestion in that info on brewery waste is to consider it as "kitchen waste" and not use the grain by itself but mix it well with other material. You usually think of kitchen wastes as high-nitrogen(N) and something like leaves and straw as low-nitrogen (C). A rule of thumb is to mix them in equal parts, by weight, for composting.
Personally, I would be very inclined to use your wheat as seed for a cover crop instead of composting it. Maybe I should have said that at the onset.
. . . and that is my 2.
Steve
For the simple act of composting, perhaps one isn't interested in the say 14% protein level but the 16% of that protein that is nitrogen. I believe that 16% of ANY protein is nitrogen (N). So, we are only dealing with a 2% nitrogen component for our compost pile.
That's a good level of nitrogen and compares well with something like cow manure at .5% N or chicken manure at 3.5% N. Composters might talk about Carbon to Nitrogen ration, with an ideal of 30 to 1. If everything is either carbon OR nitrogen in the material, it is simple to think of that in percentage terms: multiply the 30 by 3.3 and 1 x 3.3 and we see that a 3.3% N component is ideal for very quick composting.
Composting is a living process and in life, things are not simple
. There are other components in a compost pile like air and water so, something like chicken manure that should compost really quickly, may not. The easiest way to deal with the "may not" is to just give your compost pile LOTS of different material to work with -- coarse material, fine material, material high in nitrogen, low in nitrogen, water retaining, dry and loose - you get the idea.If you were to pile up and wet wheat much of it would probably sprout. Then, that pile would heat up and the sprouted wheat would begin to kind of cook. You could almost be on your way to making beer
!Brewery and distillery wastes are becoming more and more important to agriculture, usually as a livestock feed. Still, they are quite high protein, so high N, and useful for composting I'm sure. Just doing a google look for "spent grains" composting turns up this (click). Not real useful to you but you don't have brewery waste, your grains aren't "spent."
The suggestion in that info on brewery waste is to consider it as "kitchen waste" and not use the grain by itself but mix it well with other material. You usually think of kitchen wastes as high-nitrogen(N) and something like leaves and straw as low-nitrogen (C). A rule of thumb is to mix them in equal parts, by weight, for composting.
Personally, I would be very inclined to use your wheat as seed for a cover crop instead of composting it. Maybe I should have said that at the onset
.. . . and that is my 2.
Steve
April Manier
Deeply Rooted
Layering is my best advise. Get as much different stuff in between your layers.
Remember, Compost just "happens." The world is one big mass that is heating up and degrading...that's entropy/composting. If you leave it, it will happen.
Oh, and throw some red wigglers in there with your layers!
Please let us know how your success arrives....
Remember, Compost just "happens." The world is one big mass that is heating up and degrading...that's entropy/composting. If you leave it, it will happen.
Oh, and throw some red wigglers in there with your layers!
Please let us know how your success arrives....
