Chicken Run Compost Container Garden Usage

[Doc7]

Hello,

I drop a tarpful of leaves in the run about every 2-3 weeks. Every 3 months I muck a few inches of dirt out of the coop. I store it in a pile, adding to the end so I know where the oldest most composted stuff is and where the newest stuff is.

this weekend I plan to sift the oldest section and put it into a large container for a “container” or “square foot” or “victory” garden style.

what, if anything, should I add to this rich soil for planting? I know they sell peat and stuff like that at Home Depot. I know nothing about gardening yet.

i do know my compost pile grows weeds that are at least 10X thicker and 10X bigger leaves than the same species just 3 feet away inside the wood line. this compost seems insanely nutrient rich based on what I see grow in top of the pile!

 

[hysop]

If your compost is aged well then it is my belief it has all the nutrients it needs.

 

[Doc7]

Thanks, I am more concerned about texture than nutrients. I’ve read some types of soil get very muddy and aren’t good at growing which I why I didn’t know if I needed to add peat moss or anything.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would just mix in plain top soil. Or use the compost as a top dressing about 1-2" deep over your garden beds.

 

[Freschick]

I will generally put down the compost where ever I will be planting, and then turn it with a tiller or a fork. As you do that over the course of years the soil will continue to improve. If you get compost mid season you can put it in your beds like a fertilizer.
We put the bedding from out coop into the garden compost with the kitchen scraps and yard clippings, we get wood shavings from a local lumber yard to make up the brown. Makes amazing 'black gold'.