MY projects receive a lot of attention whilst being built up until they become functional. And by then my attention is usually demanded on something else and so the project is often not totally finished (actually I seem to have quite a few like this). The methane gas bio-digester has been waiting for an input for quite a while. It is working but untidy and a bit tricky to work with. The area around the inlet chamber was just dirt and the intention has been to concrete this to make it more usable . Also weeds and grasses like to grow here because of the high amount of nutrient that gets spilled and splashed around when feeding the chamber.
The freshly concreted area around the Inlet chamber.
Feeding the chamber takes some time each day and the process was taking a bit longer because of the restricted access due to the overgrown weeds and the wish to not spill material onto the ground creating even more weed growth. It will now be easier. There will need to be several more steps to this concreting process which I hope to achieve over the next few weeks.
The objective of going through this process is to eliminate the need of tidying up the area on a regular basis and to minimize waste of manure that will now wash down into a natural filtration system which is the next project that I really want to get on with! Mind you it will probably have to wait in line because there are a few other projects that are wanting attention also.
I actually enjoy concreting jobs for the fact that it will be a long term achievement. It hard work and also has quite an environmental impact however if designed well and done properly the embodied energy is extended over a long period of time. And then I get a good feeling each time I see the result. The bio-digester gets a lot of interest when people come and do property tours to see what we are doing here and what is in place. Now it will be a bit more presentable.
Till next, Tom
©2016 Tom Kendall; permeco.org, incorporating Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast, simplicity, permaculture, self reliance and homesteading, bio-digester concreting.
Author: Tom Kendall
Tom is a lifelong agriculturalist and co-founder of the Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast Inc. His site "Maungaraeeda" is a Permaculture Demonstration and Education Site. He is a Permaculture Educator and Consultant, and has a wealth of knowledge about how to be truly sustainable. Water management strategies, alternative fuel generation, animal systems and numerous other Permaculture Designed Solutions are his speciality.