compost?

[ksct]

Well I apologize if this post doesn't belong here....... wasn't sure where else....

Anyone have any suggestions about the best way to compost wood shavings etc? We live in the country and are finding that the coyotes are very interested in the chicken smell (i think from the shavings) so if i can not dump them and acutally use them for the garden etc it would be a great help.....

Any and all suggestions would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!

 

[AmyBella]

We are going to build a compost tumbler at some point in the near future. I have heard that these can break down straw/hay bedding into sweet compost in only four weeks! It is basically a 50 gallon drum on casters so it can spin and aerate the organic matter. I don't know if wood shavings would break down as quickly.

 

[wombat]

We have a couple of plastic 55-gal. drums with screw-on lids. They're mounted on spindles run through the middle, so we can load them from the top and then rock them periodically to distribute the contents. We alternate which one is getting loaded with fresh materials.

Here's an example, although the ones we use have a pipe through the middle instead of end-to-end:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/compost/chapter3.html

Ours looks more like this commercial one, in that it has the post through the middle and a wooden stand:
http://www.composters.com/compost-tumblers/bullet-tumbler---53-gallon_259_2.php

Mix pine shavings and chicken waste (brown matter) and lawn clippings (green matter), composts in about 3-4 weeks.

 

[AmyBella]

This is what I have in mind... http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1979-03-01/Three-Low-Cost-Composters.aspx

 

[ksct]

Thank You All Very Much! We Have Some Straw Too.
I Think This Is A Great Idea

 

[leitha2006]

Quote:
This is the one my hubby made for me

works beautifully!

 

[Quack Shack]

I don't have anything fancy so I'm using grass cuttings to boost the temparature and that has worked well. I have a small flock so I use a cat litter scoop to separate the poop from the shavings. I then compost the poop in a different pile than my kitchen compost because I think it interferes with what I've got going on there (PH level). As the shavings expire and are ready for disposal, I dump them in my garden to deter weeds and in flower beds to act as mulch. I haven't see any critters digging in it because I do separate out the waste. Smells better than my Fall load of leaf compost.

 

[wombat]

I'd like to try out the horizontal drums ... I'm wondering if they work better? Our upright ones are easy to load and unload, but I wonder if the horizontal ones cook stuff down faster?

Anyone here ever tried both ways?

 

[KnitswithChickens]

I have a compost pile made from an old pallet that we had stone delivered on. I've just been layering the pine shavings with green grass clippings kitchen and garden waste and turning the pile twice a week. If it hasn't rained I water the pile. My compost pile is hot and the shavings seem to be breaking down well. As long as you have oxygen, water and green waste you should have fabulous compost.

A tumbler would be a lot easier than turning with a pitchfork, but hey, it's good exercise. A chicken should be the only thing around here with wings!

 

[AmyBella]

Quote:
I have not tried it both ways, but now I am considering your vertical design. I love the simplicity of it, and it does look super easy to load and unload. I can't think of any reason why it would not be just as good as the horizontal one.

I have a regular compost pile right now, but in the past I used a big plastic garbage can that we drilled full of holes and would periodically roll around the yard. It was a pain, but it worked pretty well.