Patent ID: 6497742
Filing Date: 2002-12-24
Classification: C05F,Y02A,Y02P,Y02W,Y10S

Abstract:
A method for making a soil conditioner, comprising:mixing softwood shavings and agricultural manure to form, after mixing, a material having a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of up to 200 parts of carbon to one part of nitrogen; forming a pile of the material on a ground surface, wherein a volume of the pile is sufficient to sustain a pile temperature that exists during generation of heat in the pile by biological activity, and wherein the pile temperature is at least 160Â° F.; flowing liquid that includes water into the pile to over-saturate the pile, wherein the liquid gravitationally percolates through the pile and is collected after exiting the pile, and wherein the collected liquid includes tannin that has been extracted from the pile by the percolating liquid; halting the flowing of liquid; generating heat in the pile by the biological activity in an absence of the flowing of liquid, wherein the heat bakes in the color of the pile at the pile temperature; and if the color of the pile is not as dark as desired, then iteratively repeating the flowing, halting, and generating until the color of the pile is as dark as desired, wherein the iterative repeating of the flowing includes flowing liquid from the collected liquid.