Spent Grain Compost

[dbhokie]

Do any of you use your spent grain for compost for hop growth, in my preliminary studies of Hop nutritional needs, It has high demands for nitrogen, and potassium, (though not much causal links I can find with phosphorous), point being spent grains yield a decent amount of nitrogen, more so than unspent grains. In the past I have composted them with brown matter in order for them to compost better, but now I am going to have access to a microbrewery's spent grain. Gardening is my prime and a priori love to brewing, however, I have never composted this amount of spent grain before. I believe I will use wood chips to help aerate the green matter (spent grain), and keep down foul smells, but I was wondering if any of you composted such bigger amounts (a thousand pounds or so), and if so what were your experiences or anything you might have learned in doing so.

I grow everything else in my yard, since I'm brewing, might as well grow hops.

 

[rhamilton]

I haven't planted yet but I added a good amount of grass clippings (nitrogen), coffee grounds (potassium, magnesium, trace elements), leaves, paper shreds (carbon). I'm not doing large scale though -- maybe 300-400lbs max.

The first thing I noticed is the smell from the grains. It does give off a good amount of odor initially but it decomposes quickly. I just put a very thin later of soil over the whole mound and it kept it under control. Also animals LOVE spent grain so I ended up having to tarp it and use bricks to keep the critters out.

But grains break down very very very quickly which is a plus.

 

[TyTanium]

Definitely agree with rhamilton:

• Horrible, short-lived smell
• Animal magnet
• Breaks down quickly into awesome fluffy compost

 

[wrench]

I compost two different ways. For large volume material - grass clippings when I bag instead of mulch, fall leaves, etc, it all just goes in a pile that gets rotated a couple of times/yr. For the low volume stuff, mostly kitchen scraps and spent grains, I have two compost tumblers made from 55-gal drums on steel stands. They're perforated with tons of holes for aeration and to let rain in/out. Since the kitchen scraps and grains are critter magnets, having them in an enclosed composter is a must. The barrels are black so they absorb some heat from indirect sunlight and easy turning means I get finished compost much faster. That acceleration also cuts down on off smells. It's a great system.

I got the barrels for $20/ea, and a local vocational high school made the steel stands from plans I sketched out - no charge. I've been using for 3 years. Other than a bent frame from when my father in law got crazy with the snow plow, they look almost new.

 

[brewser7]

, I have two compost tumblers made from 55-gal drums on steel stands. They're perforated with tons of holes for aeration and to let rain in/out.

I got the barrels for $20/ea, and a local vocational high school made the steel stands from plans I sketched out - no charge. I've been using for 3 years. Other than a bent frame from when my father in law got crazy with the snow plow, they look almost new.

Care to post a picture (or plans) of these? I'd be interested in trying something similar. I want to start composting but have no idea what to put it in. This sounds like a great and inexpensive idea.

 

[wrench]

Yeah, I'm about to run an errand and will snap a pic while I'm outside. I'll edit and post here as soon as I get back.

 

[TyTanium]

I built something similar...got the 55g HDPE plastic drums from a local food manufacturer...free, along with the wooden palette it was delivered on. Used the palette to make a simple frame (see picture) and bought a steel bar from HD for $8. Works like a champ. Though certainly not for 1,000lbs like the OP

 

[wSelwyn]

I havn't constructed a compost bin, but instead dump my grains in the same spot in the back of my yard. I have noticed that they do decompose rather quickly, and are saught out by both birds and mammals. Today, I've found both robins and squirrels digging in the mound. There are also signs of raccoons and skunks visiting the site.
Eventually, I will use the pile as a fertilizer for my garden. Sadly, I don't grow hops yet, or this would be even more sustainable.

I would like to eventually also use my spent grains for bread/dog treats (I don't use hops with my grains, FYI). However, my current living/work situation doesnt give me much time or resources to do so.

 

[bigljd]

I've got some of the fattest field mice in the world living around my compost bin. They love feeding on the spent grains. It keeps them from invading my brew shed and eating my wife's bird seed that we store in there, so it's a fair trade off.
+1 on the few days worth of smell followed by some great compost once it breaks down.