18 day hot compost

As part of the Permaculture Design Course taught at Kin Kin Souls by Tom, he shows students how to make an 18 day hot compost. This is a fungal based compost, which is great for trees; they thrive in a fungal based environment. First we have to get the material together, which consists of:

Freshly cut vetiver grass and weeds/grass

Cow manure

Compost and a dead bird for activation

Diameter established, fresh grass and manure,
ready to be covered with hay

We cut vetiver grass and weeds/other grasses and had cow manure "harvested" from our cows, both high in Nitrogen. We alternately layered fresh cut grass, cow manure and hay (dried, old cut grass, high in Carbon), with the bulk made up from the grasses. The ideal ratio is 25 Carbon to 1 Nitrogen. To get that ratio right is the art of composting.

We had a dig through our compost bin for some citrus and other bits and pieces. A small chicken unfortunately died not long ago, so we used it with the food scraps to "activate" the compost: heat it up from the inside. When we were about halfway up, we added the activator, then buried it under more layers. We needed at least 1 cubic metre of volume for the compost pile, otherwise there would not be enough bulk to be able to heat it up adequately.

We watered the pile after every several layers and then again at the end, after which we covered the pile with a tarp for 4 days.

James watering the compost

Covered for 4 days

After 4 days we turned the compost for the first time, and stuck a thermometer in at various stages to measure the temperature. The temperature was between 52 and 74 degrees Celsius. 74 degrees was too hot, all the beneficial bacteria start dying at temperatures over 65 degrees. But we were pretty happy with the average temperature of the pile, which was around 63.

The first turning after 4 days

Fungal activity already started;
at first turning

From then the compost was turned every 2 days (thanks to Scott, who did most of the turning!). The smell was not very pleasant at the first turning, but after that the smell seemed to have gone. Tom tested the moisture of the pile by grabbing some and squeezing it. It was moist enough if there was water dripping out, otherwise it needed some more water. If there is not enough moisture, the composting process is slower and we don't want it too wet either.
After every turning we covered the pile with the tarp again, to protect it from the elements (rain would have cooled it down, wind would have dried it out etc.)

STEAM!! Only permaculturists get joy from playing with a steaming pile of .......

Fungal activity was obvious at every turning. Below are some photos on the development of fungal activity in the compost:

Fungal activity day 6

Fungal activity day 8

Fungal activity day 10

Fungal activity day 12

The temperature stayed pretty consistent during the subsequent turns, between 55 and 65 degrees C. It started cooling down at about day 14 to around 50 to 55 degrees C. By day 18 the temperature was down to around 45 degrees C.
We regretted we were unable to make the vetiver grass smaller; there were still quite substantial chunks in the compost. Next time we will use an old chaff cutter we have been able to get, so our finished compost will have a finer consistency.

Day 18: turning the finished product

And up close... Ready for use by day 18

18 day hot compost

As part of the Permaculture Design Course taught at Kin Kin Souls by Tom, he shows students how to make an 18 day hot compost. This is a fungal based compost, which is great for trees; they thrive in a fungal based environment. First we have to get the material together, which consists of:

Freshly cut vetiver grass and weeds/grass

Cow manure

Compost and a dead bird for activation

Diameter established, fresh grass and manure,
ready to be covered with hay

We cut vetiver grass and weeds/other grasses and had cow manure "harvested" from our cows, both high in Nitrogen. We alternately layered fresh cut grass, cow manure and hay (dried, old cut grass, high in Carbon), with the bulk made up from the grasses. The ideal ratio is 25 Carbon to 1 Nitrogen. To get that ratio right is the art of composting.

We had a dig through our compost bin for some citrus and other bits and pieces. A small chicken unfortunately died not long ago, so we used it with the food scraps to "activate" it: heat it up from the inside. When we were about halfway up, we added the activator, then buried it under more layers. We needed at least 1 cubic metre of volume for the compost pile, otherwise there would not be enough bulk to be able to heat it up adequately.

We watered the pile after every several layers and then again at the end, after which we covered the pile with a tarp for 4 days.

James watering the compost

Covered for 4 days

After 4 days we turned the compost for the first time, and stuck a thermometer in at various stages to measure the temperature. The temperature was between 52 and 74 degrees Celsius. 74 degrees was too hot, all the beneficial bacteria start dying at temperatures over 65 degrees. But we were pretty happy with the average temperature of the pile, which was around 63.

The first turning after 4 days

Fungal activity already started;
at first turning

From then the compost was turned every 2 days (thanks to Scott, who did most of the turning!). The smell was not very pleasant at the first turning, but after that the smell seemed to have gone. Tom tested the moisture of the pile by grabbing some and squeezing it. It was moist enough if there was water dripping out, otherwise it needed some more water. If there is not enough moisture, the composting process is slower and we don't want it too wet either.
After every turning we covered the pile with the tarp again, to protect it from the elements (rain would have cooled it down, wind would have dried it out etc.)

STEAM!! Only permaculturists get joy from playing with a steaming pile of .......

Fungal activity was obvious at every turning. Below are some photos on the development of fungal activity in the compost:

Fungal activity day 6

Fungal activity day 8

Fungal activity day 10

Fungal activity day 12

The temperature stayed pretty consistent during the subsequent turns, between 55 and 65 degrees C. It started cooling down at about day 14 to around 50 to 55 degrees C. By day 18 the temperature was down to around 45 degrees C.
We regretted we were unable to make the vetiver grass smaller; there were still quite substantial chunks in the compost. Next time we will use an old chaff cutter we have been able to get, so our finished compost will have a finer consistency.

Day 18: turning the finished product

And up close... Ready for use by day 18

Yacon syrup

"Yacon syrup is a sugar substitute native to the Andean region of South America. It is glucose-free, and does not increase blood sugar levels. Because of this, yacon syrup is often recommended as a sweetener to those suffering from diabetes or at risk of becoming diabetic.


The syrup is derived from the roots of the yacon plant, and according to some studies is a good source of antioxidants. The yacon plant tastes similar to jicama, but is biologically closer to the sunflower family. The component that gives the roots a sweet taste is Fructooligosaccharide, or FOS. The tuberous roots may be made of nearly 50% FOS, and are believed to be the greatest producers of the saccharide in the natural world.

Because the body cannot process FOS, it passes through the system without leaving behind absorbable sugar compounds. It also is relatively low in calories, compared to most other sweeteners. " - Source: www.wisegeek.com

We had an over-abundant supply of yacon that had to be harvested. Yacon (also known as ground apple) grows very easy in our (sub-tropical) climate, one plant produces many rizomes for division and re-planting. It needs very little attention when in the ground and Tom is of the opinion that it improves the soil where it has grown. 


One can only eat so much yacon and we do not like wasting resources, and after visiting a health shop and noticing the latest health craze is yacon syrup, I decided to try and make some. 


I researched a bit on the internet and found that yacon syrup is a healthy sweetener, just what the doctor ordered for us. So if I could get this yacon syrup to work, it would mean we would no longer need to buy any sweeteners, be one step closer to self reliance and receive health benefits.

So I started by digging up a patch of yacon and washing it. To wash it, I put it in a crate and set the hose on it with a fair bit of pressure. I ended up with about 2/3 of a crate of yacon.

I peeled 2 big bowls full of yacon with a potato peeler (about 2/3 of the amount I had). Then I juiced the peeled yacon and poured the juice into a big pot (around 4 1/2 Litres of juice). The pulp ended up with the chickens and the geese.

The pot is on the stove and as you can see some scum is already floating on the top. I kept skimming the scum off the top and once it started to reduce I skimmed it from the sides of the pot as well. 
I brought the pot to the boil and then let it simmer. I started in the afternoon and let it sit on our wood stove overnight. In the morning I brought it to the boil again and skimmed off more scum from the sides and top. By this time the juice had reduced to about 800ml. The juice had become very dark and the smell was a delicious molasses or treacle smell.

I took the pot off the stove and filtered the juice through a fine metal mesh. Any thicker material staying behind I put in a separate container (for use as well, just to experiment with it. It can be added to dishes that require cooking as a sweetener).

Finally I ended up with a jar with 750ml of yacon syrup. It has a beautiful, sweet treacle like flavour. I keep it in the fridge, but I don't think you need to. We add it to drinks, desserts and just use it as a general sweetener. This abundant resource in our garden is allowing us to enjoy healthy sweets and we no longer need to buy other sweeteners. As a comparison, the jar of yacon syrup in the health shop was around 200ml for $24... And it was most likely imported from South America.


Tom is now looking at possible other uses for this resource, eg adding it to animal fodder or making it into a fuel, if he can get to it before I do.

Finished jar of yacon syrup