Mulching...

[di]

....and really thick too....beat that thistles!!!Ha ha!!!

[veggiechicken]

Erm? Cardboard boxes of what? Earwigs? Apologies, JD, pretend you haven't read that!

[veggiechicken]

So to answer your question, it only takes one earwig. *shudder*

OK JD, no more mockery from me - you need some "therapy" before you go and live off grid. A wormery would be a good start as you have to get used to seeing your little friends doing you a big favour by converting your food waste into delectable compost.
Remember, you are bigger than all of these little creatures, you hold their life in the power of your hand, or the sole of your shoe. They have absolutely no desire to antagonise you unless in self defence. - like a bee or wasp might.
I regard the spiders that live in my house as mates, they eat the flies and look after my interests. I never deliberately destroy a spiders web, if I do so by accident I apologise. Learn to appreciate the beauty of a spiders web, look at it closely with the morning dew glistening on the gossamer threads, admire their creativity and remember none of them can harm you in any way.
Thus endeth today's lesson!!

[snakeshack]

would get involved in this thread but I need to pee on my compost heap or possibly add to the compost toilet installed on my site by the council last year,Icertainly put the used tissue down that and stick a hand full of hempcore on top,can't wait to dig it out later this year and spread it on my rhubard either!

[Two_Sheds]

to be infected you'd have to pick up a fresh snotty tissue (heat, UV, dessication and generally not being inside a human body will kill viruses within hours) and either eat it, try and inhale it, or eat your lunch without washing your hands after touching it. More risky to take a single journey on public transport.

That's exactly what I wanted to be able to say, but lack the science bit !
Thanks Kaiya, succinctly put.

Bazza, we're going to have to agree to disagree I think. You seem determined not to consider the alternatives to the WC system.

you talk about "ignorant people" who don't use a WC properly

Ignorant in the true sense of the word "lacking knowledge", yes. Most people (?) treat the WC as a wet bin, chucking all kinds of plastic rubbish down there, which ends up in the sea, killing wildlife.

it should be noted it is quite knowledge and labour intensive

What is? I read and digested the book in a couple of evenings. It's less labour intensive than learning to ride a bike.
If you mean building a compost loo (for home use) again, a couple of hours work. Emptying the loo: half an hour once a week, says the author.

the author admits you’re [potentially] dealing with disease organisms and that flies also [potentially] present a disease threat.

Sorry, I had to add the 'potentially'. As I've already said, if you don't have worms, you can't pass them on.
Flies? You keep the manure/compost covered, with a layer of carbon (newspaper, sawdust, leafmold) so the flies aren't attracted.
Many home compost heaps attract fruit flies: these are easily dissuaded by covering the rotting fruit with a layer of soil etc.

the procedures require scrupulous application and become considerably MORE complicated than our current WC system... I notice the author lives on a 143 acre estate

He does live in a big place, but his advice is applicable to small home compost systems. If you care to do a little deeper research, you will see that humanure composting is done successfully by many UK citizens, simply and without fuss.
It need be no more complicated than it is complicated to compost a banana: poop is mostly digested and undigested food: 67% solid matter; 33% liquids that have not been absorbed; unused fats and fibre; old blood cells, etc.

Based on an assumption that it’s wisest to put distance between you and any source of disease or infection, waste is transported away and dealt with relatively simply.

I've always found it really odd that people are happy to get their hands into animal poo and chuck it on their veggies; they'll change baby's nappies (surely the most disgusting thing ever?); pick up dog poo; but their own poo, something from their own body, is treated as this vile disgusting disease-ridden yuk that should be taken far, far away for someone else to deal with...? It's all poo.

the compost toilet installed on my site by the council last year

Yay! They're brilliant. There's a Woofing farm down in Cornwall that's got them, that was my first experience. A bit strange, to be sat up in a tower in the open air, but jolly pleasant and NO SMELL!

[jdlondon]

.... you need some "therapy" before you go and live off grid....

I regard the spiders that live in my house as mates, they eat the flies and look after my interests..... none of them can harm you in any way.
Thus endeth today's lesson!!

Exposure therapy is working already, but so far it's only been little bugs like fruit flies. Maybe because it's a balcony garden and so quite safe from a lot of garden creepies.

But not harmful? I read somewhere that we are getting poisonous insects, spiders, scorpions even, as they come through exotic food packaging etc. That friendly neighbourhood spider might not be so friendly!!

But I get your point

[bazzaboy]

Bazza, we're going to have to agree to disagree I think.

Yes on some aspects possibly, but don’t overlook several areas of agreement as well including
* agree alternatives possible
* ordered copy and reading Humanure
* “we need to learn to waste less, re-use and recycle more”
* “I don’t need persuading this procedure can work…”
* as an emergency procedure
* for individuals to use “off grid”.

Where we seem to differ is
* I see the benefits of a WC system that you appear only to criticize and
* you want a policy implementation of Humanure that I think is impractical.

So 6 agreements and 2 differences! Not so bad.

[Two_Sheds]

you want a policy implementation of Humanure

Er, no I don't. When did I say that?

What I do want is for humanure/compost toilets to become a real, affordable and socially acceptable alternative to the flush WC system. At the moment composting loos are seen as "weird, wacky, off-grid, alternative".

Half of the UK is already in drought conditions. We need to seriously consider alternatives to wasteful flush systems.

[Two_Sheds]

Yes, we're still friends

Debate is good. I just wish that the folk looking on would sometimes jump in and comment, not just leave me on my own ...

[bazzaboy]

Yes, we're still friends .

Oh good, little fingers...! Do kids still do "little fingers"? - ages since I heard mention of it. Even Google was struggling, came up with "Pinky Swear" which is different. Always best to see the glass 75% full...

And to keep this thread vaguely on topic, I did some mulch preparation today.....!

[di]

I planted my first potatoes through card today. It really was all I could do, not to dig first but I just laid down the wet card, made some holes, popped in the spuds and filled the holes with compost. Then covered the cardboard a bit with coffee grounds and leaves.
Out of interest, and maybe I've done it wrong?, how come the potato foliage will find it's way through the cardboard but the weeds won't?

[Two_Sheds]

The weeds will if they're directly beneath the hole like the potato is

[Matt94]

you will always get weeds di - i think its just to reduce them.

[di]

I think I'd need to cement my plot to get rid of the docks. I just wondered, why if the cardboard inhibits some weed growth, how come the spuds can push through. I'll wait antil I see foliage and maybe put some more down.

[di]

They were only accidentally sprouted new potatoes, so I won't have lost anything.