Compost question

[SweetSilver]

Then I moved to the high mountain desert in Wyoming. Mistake #1: Compost tumblers will roll across the prairie in 50 mph winds - especially if the prairie goes down a valley. Mistake #2 - tumbleweed does not compost. Years later and I still have a compost pile of tumbleweed. Mistake #3. - don't put it where you can't get water to it twice a day.

My permaculture-oriented brain is laughing at that one. You could fill it by the house, locate your high-fertilzer garden downwind on the prairie, and dump it where it stops.

Now to get the wind to blow the empty bin back to the house!

 

[smilingcat]

tumbleweed will compost. All organic matter will eventually compost. You may not get it in one year. Tumbleweed is probably too dry and not sucking up water. I would mix in kitchen green wet stuff.

Tumbleweed like pine needles, pine shaving are mostly carbon so you will need to add lot of nitrogen stuff. Coop stuff will do.

We use Sweet PDZ in powder form comes in a 50 pound bag?? Anyway, all that gets scooped with spent litter in the coop and it all goes into the compost pile. Yes it's meant for barns but it works just as well in chicken coop!! We put down a fresh layer every two to three weeks.

I get too much ground water to wick up into the coop so I can't use deep litter method. It's been raining all day again today. coop area is like an island. Standing water is all around the coop

Mix spent litter with tumble weed and get it wet, It will compost tumbleweed within 6 month or so (just my guess).

 

[wyoDreamer]

My permaculture-oriented brain is laughing at that one. You could fill it by the house, locate your high-fertilzer garden downwind on the prairie, and dump it where it stops.

Now to get the wind to blow the empty bin back to the house!

Luckily there isn't a tree for miles, I spotted it with my binoculars and took the ATV a mile down the valley to retrieve it. It is now tied to the stand and set next to the house so it is protected form the worst of the winds - right below the bedroom window of course!

I have been adding alot of green kitchen waste, along with sawdust, moldy bread ends, weeds, water, shredded junk mail soaked in water, and such. I have been sifting out finished compost for three years. The tumbleweed is slowly collapsing into tiny pieces - still identifieable as tubleweed stalks, but little pieces. Judging by the amount of tumble weed that piles up along fences and in fence corners, it really resists rot very well. Also burns really hot and fast! One of the neighboring raches had a small grass fire start - boy, everybody knew when the fire hit the tumbleweed pile! Massive huge flames - took out the fence posts completely.

It does a great job in keeping the rest of the ingredients in the barrel from clumping together.