Compost question

[Joken]

We have lots of grass clippings and leaves that I compost in three piles that I turn with the tractor. There is the ready to use pile, the working pile, and the new pile. We add other compostable items as well, cow and goat manure but not large amounts, The new pile will be around 10 yards this fall after I collect all the leaves. The finished product really makes the garden grow. I am wondering if I should cover the ready to use and working pile? It rains a lot in Oregon and I don't know if nutrients wash out of these piles or not. Will the working pile decompose faster if covered? Maybe this is a moot point since the stuff works so well?

 

[Compost King]

I don't know if I have good advice but I can tell you what I do. Maybe some expert says its a bad idea. I put bale of straw, or loose straw (what ever I have) down stream or down hill from the Compost pile so any run off water has to pass through the straw. Then I compost those bales of straw so the nutrients they trap do not get away. You can mix that straw into the ready to u se Compost although it could lead to wheat popping up in your garden or field. I actually do this to keep my run off water from having too much nitrogen. Eventually my run off water ends up in a city pond that can't handle too much nitrogen. I do it for environmental reasons but it can be used to capture escaping nutrients too. This may not work for you due to many factors that are exclusive to your situation. maybe the straw dams up the run off water (an issue I have to deal with) maybe you get too much rain for something like this... I just know it works for me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

10 yards!!! Whether that is what you start with or what you wind up with, that's a lot more than I deal with so my solution probably won't work for you. I bag the finished product in feed bags. Mine are the plastic bags, I tried paper feed bags once but the compost kept working and rotted them. I can't imagine how many feed bags it would take for 10 yards.

The nutrients will leach out. That's why compost tea works so well. You soak it or strain water through compost and put the resulting tea on the garden. The nutrients are in a form (water soluble) that can be immediately used by the plants. Those water soluble nutrients will leach out of your garden too when it rains or you water.

I think a big benefit of using compost is how it changes the texture of the garden soil, to me as big a benefit as the nutrients. Even if a lot of your nutrients leach out adding the compost for texture reasons can really help. It would be nice to get benefit form the nutrients too.

I'm not an expert but in your position I'd probably cover the finished pile to preserve nutrients. The working pile needs a certain amount of moisture to keep those microbes alive and reproducing. You don't want it too wet but don't let it get too dry either. In the rainy part of Oregon you might have to manage that part.

 

[Sequel]

If it’s going to be stored for any length of time I would cover it. If you don’t like to use plastic you can use hay or straw. Think thatched roof. Works amazingly well. I’m just a little jealous of the amount of it you have as well as the machine to handle it! Good luck!

 

[Compost King]

I tried paper feed bags once but the compost kept working and rotted them.

I often have those paper bags in my compost filled with compostable materials, sometimes I even clean out my coops by bagging up the contents of the coop in those paper bags ... those strings that sew the bags shut never compost though.

 

[Joken]

Thanks for the advice! I've been doing this for 17 years at this place and it took me that long to ask myself this question. My garden soil is awesome now. It's soft and has so much organic material in it that absorbs water like a sponge. We just started with chickens and I'm looking forward to seeing them scratch in it after they can't damage the vegetables. I'll see about posting a picture tomorrow.

 

[Joken]

Here are some pictures. I put the last material in the working pile about a month ago. I added lots of green grass clippings because it was primarily leaves. The finished pile is all being used. I had quite a bit and leveled a lot of it out and planted directly into it, mostly for root veggies. The new pile is small in part because the Steers like the grass, I planted four little marijuana plants today since we finally had nice weather. The soil they are in is compost-rich and they will be 10' wide and about that tall this fall. I make oil mostly out of the buds. BTW the marijuana is legal in Oregon. A friend asked me if I wanted some plants a few years ago and I thought it would be fun. It's fun but not as easy as tomatoes.

 

[Compost King]

I wish we could grow Marijuana here, not for me but to feed my meat chickens. It increases appetite and I heard that just feeding them leaves/stems is enough to increase growth in live stock. I can grow Hemp and feed them CBD bud but its the THC that increases appetite.

Love the compost pictures, composting to me is the most fun task of having chickens. Some people actually throw their manure in the garbage, that's the best part of having chickens! Guess I love veggies more than I love meat and eggs.

 

[SquawkFlock]

We've just recently started composting here. Got my first pile working now. We are in Texas so it is hot and dry all summer so I've been having to water mine. But have been told by several people that will need to cover during rainy seasons. But our ground isn't very level so we built a box around it...just some old fence pickets and pallet boards. Plan on building another when we get done adding to this one

 

[Sequel]

I wish we could grow Marijuana here, not for me but to feed my meat chickens. It increases appetite and I heard that just feeding them leaves/stems is enough to increase growth in live stock. I can grow Hemp and feed them CBD bud but its the THC that increases appetite.

Love the compost pictures, composting to me is the most fun task of having chickens. Some people actually throw their manure in the garbage, that's the best part of having chickens! Guess I love veggies more than I love meat and eggs.

I can’t imagine that either! I love veggies but I think I love pretty dirt as much!