compost

[EggMan207]

It's recommended that you wait a year and a half before using chicken manure in a garden.

 

[lazy gardener]

It's recommended that you wait a year and a half before using chicken manure in a garden.

Can you quote your source on that? My reading has said 90 days. Personally, I'm fine with it for everything except for veggies which are normally eaten raw any time after it's composted. For veggies eaten raw, I'd wait the 90 days, and mulch well to keep the poo-post from splashing.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Hi so I have just started a compost pile. Does anyone know if feathers are ok to put in the pile? Also does anyone know if chicken poo should be composted prior to it being mixed in the soil? Thanks in advance for your help!

I throw everything bio in the compost heap I don't know if it is right or wrong I leave that up to the bugs and microbes to decide.

 

[IamRainey]

I'm with you, AllenK! I think too many rules and no-nos take all the excitement and spontaneity out of it. But then my piles are huge and get really hot. (Somebody up above said the 3 cubic feet thing but, kiddo, that's the minimum size. It's hard to get real heat until you get big.)

I keep 4 of them working all the time. I never turn them until they're just about finished. And, for the most part, they're sitting there for 2 years before I get around to breaking them down so I put in anything I feel like and I get great soil in the end. Anything that needs more time, like the big pieces of branches and bones, just goes on one of the active piles to keep working. Anything that's nasty, like meat or dog poo, gets buried in the middle of the pile where it's hottest and I don't have to smell it.

Dirt has become my best gardening skill.

 

[Justin Joy]

I will shy away from Manure unless it is Organic ( if that is even a thing) I work in a Horse community area so I can talk to some of my customers. I doubt they will complain.

 

[lazy gardener]

If I had a nice deep pile, I'd not hesitate to tuck the occasional mouse or chipmunk into the middle of it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are reasons for what the experts tell you you should or should not do. We are in a zero tolerance situation with a lot of people. If something can possibly go wrong they have to warn us about it or they can be sued. There can be a huge difference in someone in a wide open rural setting than someone in suburbia with neighbors right on top of you. We are all in different circumstances.

I'm rural. I have buried the residue after butchering chickens and dead animals a lot bigger than mice or rats at the bottom of my compost pile. If it is deep enough critters can't smell it and dig it out. Just don't turn it that deep for a while, you might get an unpleasant surprise. A lot of the other things they say don't add can attract flies or four-footed vermin. Or they might set up a stink as they rot, especially if they are not buried. I personally don't worry that much about possible pathogens from certain things as long as it is well composted. If I did not let it compost that well it might be an issue for me.

What works for me where I am and the way I do it could be a problem for someone in different circumstances or someone that does not manage it the way I do. I feel I understand composting enough to be comfortable with what I do. Someone that does not know the tricks and possible consequences might need to be a bit more cautious.

 

[EggMan207]

Can you quote your source on that? My reading has said 90 days. Personally, I'm fine with it for everything except for veggies which are normally eaten raw any time after it's composted. For veggies eaten raw, I'd wait the 90 days, and mulch well to keep the poo-post from splashing.

I'm failing to find the exact resource, but essentially the sources recommended waiting up to 12 months before using and assuming you stop adding to it in the fall it wouldn't be ready (and needed) for 1.5 years after stopping. below are a couple sources I found online with varying times, but one of them recommends waiting for up to 12 months. I think it's not so much a safety thing with the long time frame, more of a vegetable health issue. I hope this is helpful.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/manures/chicken-manure-fertilizer.htm

https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/garde...ht-poop-on-using-chicken-manure-as-fertilizer

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks for the articles. Time frames referenced varied from 3 - 4 months to 12 months or more. Of course, the gardener must be familiar with her soil, as well as the nutrient levels of the compost. When in doubt, proceed with caution.

 

[IamRainey]

My personal rule is: if it looks and smells like dirt, it's ready.