Help with simple composting for beginner

[MountainMomma359]

I would like to start composting but fear I would be as bad at composting as I am at gardening. Anyone have a super simple guide or link? I'm just on a little acre but want to learn to do what I can for myself. I have 4 chickens and would like to use their bedding and droppings as well as whatever scraps they don't eat (picky brats ) and yard clippings etc. Hopefully I could start composting soon and use the compost to try gardening again next year?

 

[My Bagurks]

Composting is as hard as you want it to be.

First, pick the setup that will work for you.
A pile, a bin, a prefab mixable composter, or a stall type(pile but cleaner).

If you are already planning to “age” it over winter or through a season or two then a pile would be easiest.

Get an area that’s workable. Not in the way. Downwind from your house if possible and with plenty of space on every side so it can be turned. Just start piling stuff up. Mix it every few days or once a week. Grass clippings tend to mat as it breaks down so if your pile is grass heavy, you may want to turn it more often to break it up. Adding wood chips, small sticks, leaves and other stuff like that will help as well. It needs to stay somewhat moist, but not soaked. With only four chickens, you won’t be adding tons of chicken manure, so you won’t really need to get a hot compost going.

Just make a pile and turn it. Anytime you add to it, mix it all up. You may want to put a tarp on it depending on your weather.

 

[Acre4Me]

We went with a 3- bin type bc we had to have it more compact as we are on just an acre with house and large barn taking up room too.

1st bin is fresh stuff- chx bedding, weeds, kitchen scraps (no proteins or dairy as they stink and really draw in critters you don’t want).

2nd bin is aged stuff but not quite ready to use - mostly brown, but too chunky.

3rd bin is finished, ready to go. Could be sifted as there are some chunks, but well broken down.

My pile was taking forever to breakdown so I bought some “compost starter” which helped noticeably. Try to keep the pile moist, and turn it as much as 1x per week, or as little as 1x per season. The more it is turned the quicker it can break down.

Since I live in Ohio, it gets very cold for several months. So nothing is turned when it’s frozen solid.

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

I do 2-3 piles at a time.

Ingredients: green stuff(grass clippings, weeds, leftover fruits and veggies) , brown stuff (wood chips from coop, dead leaves, pine straw etc) , air (turn it every so often) , and moisture ( water it some when you turn it ) . If you just do that it will work. The better you get at it the faster it works.

The experts will recommend you get 50-50 brown to green ratio and will recommend turning it once a week and will recommend moisture level feels like a wrung out sponge. Moist but not wet. But that all doesn’t have to be exact for it to work. Its really not as hard as people make it out to be.

 

[MountainMomma359]

I do 2-3 piles at a time.

Ingredients: green stuff(grass clippings, weeds, leftover fruits and veggies) , brown stuff (wood chips from coop, dead leaves, pine straw etc) , air (turn it every so often) , and moisture ( water it some when you turn it ) . If you just do that it will work. The better you get at it the faster it works.

The experts will recommend you get 50-50 brown to green ratio and will recommend turning it once a week and will recommend moisture level feels like a wrung out sponge. Moist but not wet. But that all doesn’t have to be exact for it to work. Its really not as hard as people make it out to be.

That sounds like a good simplification. I feel like it shouldn't be hard, but it just seems I'm really awful at plant related stuff I really really want a small garden for health, self sufficiency, and a hobby but I swear I have a black thumb

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

That sounds like a good simplification. I feel like it shouldn't be hard, but it just seems I'm really awful at plant related stuff I really really want a small garden for health, self sufficiency, and a hobby but I swear I have a black thumb

For sure. I was the same way but it really is fairly simple. Even if you “mess it up” it just means it takes a little longer to turn to dirt.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Where are you @MountainMomma359 ? I think that makes a big difference.
I use three methods- tumbler, 3 stage, bin and cold compost- and they all work to some degree.
If you want a faster compost and a way to handle your chicken and kitchen waste you may want to separate that from your large yard compost- big stuff will slow the process and big can be piled and cold composted. You just want the best ratio of moisture/carbon and air that you can manage. Youtube has many, many awesome tutorials on composting. And yes, composting will improve your black gardening thumb forsure! Plus it is carbon capture! So yes, please compost!

 

[samanthaoverton]

I have one of those spin bin things. Variety is important. And straw takes longer to break down. Hot composting is fastest. They have gobs of the spinning barrel ones for around a hundred on Walmart and eBay. I'm bad about composting. I don't spin it enough or add water but man I've had black rich compost. Don't put meat in it..make sure it has air circulation. I do veggies/fruit/poopy straw/bread items/rice all sorts of leftovers as long as there is no meat/bones. Straw takes forever compared to other stuff. So don't think your doing anything wrong.

 

[samanthaoverton]

I do 2-3 piles at a time.

Ingredients: green stuff(grass clippings, weeds, leftover fruits and veggies) , brown stuff (wood chips from coop, dead leaves, pine straw etc) , air (turn it every so often) , and moisture ( water it some when you turn it ) . If you just do that it will work. The better you get at it the faster it works.

The experts will recommend you get 50-50 brown to green ratio and will recommend turning it once a week and will recommend moisture level feels like a wrung out sponge. Moist but not wet. But that all doesn’t have to be exact for it to work. Its really not as hard as people make it out to be.

You break it down perfectly And it's true it's not as hard as people think..

 

[Jada22]

I would like to start composting but fear I would be as bad at composting as I am at gardening. Anyone have a super simple guide or link? I'm just on a little acre but want to learn to do what I can for myself. I have 4 chickens and would like to use their bedding and droppings as well as whatever scraps they don't eat (picky brats ) and yard clippings etc. Hopefully I could start composting soon and use the compost to try gardening again next year?

Interested to see if you decided to get started on composting?