[PyrNet-L] Re:in-ground composter

[Victoria Green <vgreen@abbeyeast.com>]

Hi all --

Sorry for the delay in adding my .02 to this discussion (is it over? 
Hope not!), but I've been behind in reading the digests.  I had the
"doggy dooley" system, & it worked fairly well.  2 caveats:  I only had
1 Pyr using it, & I never really used properly in the winter. You're
supposed to water down the contents, & it's too cold here to have
the outside spigot on all year round.  Also, I dug the hole (ok, my
brother dug the hole) deeper than suggested, & we have excellent
drainage.  From another dog list I was on, one of the main problems
people have occurs when they don't have great drainage; you end up with
a disgusting stinky soupy mess.  Dumping dirt or sawdust, etc., on the
poop serves the same purpose as the digestive powder.  I used dirt when
I ran out of digestive powder & got roughly the same result.  My 2
biggest mistakes were not placing the pit near a water source (duh!) and
planting rose bushes around 3 sides of it.  I figured I should get some
benefit from this high-quality fertilizer, & since I don't eat roses,
they'd be a good choice for using the doggie compost.  Well, the stupid
roses LOVED the doggie compost & grew so big it was really hard to get
to the composter.  I ended up moving the roses & planting ground cover
around it.  (The stuff was supposed to grow no more than 4-6" & it hit 1
foot easy.  Doggie compost is powerful stuff.)  I had no problem with
stink or flies, but again, it was very deep & the drainage was good.  

I like the idea of just digging holes that get buried, but for those who
don't have a whole lot of yard for digging fresh holes to rebury, the
doggie septic system is something to consider.  If you don't have good
drainage, it might be worthwhile to find out how to improve it to the
point that this might work for you.  Some people have created septic
fields (small ones) for their doggie dooleys, & it worked well for them. 

3 more weeks till the puppies are due!  Can't wait! 

Vicki
vgreen@AbbeyEast.com