Changing the way we feed... (and deep bedding and compost)

[raingarden]

Do leaves count as greens or browns? I’ve gotten conflicting information.

The chicken droppings change things when it comes to the C:N ratio. Whether it is green or brown there will be plenty of nitrogen. Oak leaes and chicken dropping can make the compost pile a bit too acidic though so you might want to sprinkle in some limestone to speed it up.

Every year we clean the roof and get a truck load of dry leaves. Things decompose fast here and it will be ready for the raised beds by late spring. We have to cover the pile with a tarp and hose it down occasionally. Without the tarp, the feral chickens spread it all over the place.

 

[3KillerBs]

Do leaves count as greens or browns? I’ve gotten conflicting information.

Fresh green leaves are greens. Dry, brown fall leaves are browns.

 

[Solanacae]

Leaves count as brown carbon source. You would use that to balance out an abundance of greens, like grass clippings. In the chicken run, I personally don't think you can have too much carbon sources, like wood chips and leaves.

But I would encourage you to put your chickens to work making compost for you. They love that work, anyway, as it brings out their natural chicken behaviors for scratching and pecking as they forage for bugs and worms to eat in the compost.

I used some compost in my garden this year that I had made with chicken droppings, bedding, food scraps, etc. and it was extremely high in nitrogen. Not so high that it burned everything, but the plants grew so large I had to put stakes up on my broccoli and bell peppers to keep them from falling over. I’ve never had to stake those before. It was lush and pretty but my yields were below what I’ve come to expect because they were putting all their energy into growing, not fruiting. I’m quite confident that my error was an insufficient amount of brown matter to balance things out.

The chicken droppings change things when it comes to the C:N ratio. Whether it is green or brown there will be plenty of nitrogen. Oak leaes and chicken dropping can make the compost pile a bit too acidic though so you might want to sprinkle in some limestone to speed it up.

The soil/water here is very alkaline so some of my plants might actually be happier! My neighbors have a large oak tree that I get a lot of leaves from, but most of what I rake up is maple and box elder. I also have a cherry and an apple tree that add to the mix, so the oak leaves would be diluted enough it likely won’t be too acidic, even if I was worried about it.

I’m glad to know fall leaves are a good brown source though! I certainly have an abundance.

 

[gtaus]

I’m quite confident that my error was an insufficient amount of brown matter to balance things out.

My chicken run compost is mostly leaves and grass clippings, with whatever poo the chickens drop while running around. My chicken coop litter is a dry deep litter mostly of wood chips, so when I clean out the coop and dump the coop litter into the run, it's still mostly wood chips. I still let my chicken run compost age for at least 6 months before I use it in the garden. Mainly, I dump my compost in the garden in the fall and just let it winter over.

I mixed some chicken run compost with new soil (about 50/50) when I made my new hügelkultur raised beds this spring. My peppers in those raised beds exploded with both growth and peppers. I was harvesting peppers until about mid-October, which for me here in northern Minnesota is a record. The only thing I will do differently next year is that I will cage my peppers from the start. The peppers in that bed grew taller than I have ever seen in my gardens, and they got top heavy and started to fall over. So I had to stake them to keep them from falling down. But those are problems everyone could hope for in their garden.

I’m glad to know fall leaves are a good brown source though! I certainly have an abundance.

I read somewhere that, pound for pound, leaves provide more nutrients than cattle manure. The tree's roots go down deep into the ground and pull up all kinds of good nutrients which get transferred to their leaves. When the leaves fall off the trees, they replenish the top soil in a continuous, natural cycle, when the leaves break down. Those leaves you have in your yard are like money on the ground. Take the time and effort to compost them and reap the rewards.

If you want to sped up the leaf composting, you can chop them up into smaller bits by using a push mower with a bagger. The smaller the bits, the more surface area they have and the faster they will turn into compost. I just mow up my leaves with my riding mower and throw them into my chicken run, and let the chickens tear them apart. I have seen some people using an electric leaf shredder which greatly reduces the bulk of the leaves. Some get a 16:1 reduction ratio. If you want faster composting of your leaves, that would be a good option to consider. Once you know the value of those leaves, you won't want to throw any away to the landfill.