Compost

[chickenpower]

We will be starting a raised veggie garden soon in our backyard.
i have a total of 12 chicks/chickens and i would like to make our own compost for the veggies.
can anyone tell me the easiest way to make compost?

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are lots of different ways. I'm not sure what you mean by easy. You might want to learn the basic principles then decide which is best for you.

You need a certain mix of greens and browns. That's not really colors but an indication, Greens means high in nitrogen, brown means high in carbon. Most things you compost have both, but it goes faster and better if you get the ratios between greens an browns somewhat close. I don't overstress about it but I am aware of it. Youi can get lists of greens and browns through Google.

The compost needs to stay damp. You do not want it sopping wet, just damp enough for the microbes to be able to live and reproduce.

Stuff turns into compost by microbes eating it. When you start a batch, it is a good idea to put in a shovelful of compost to introduce the right microbes. If you don't have a shovelfull of compost, just use some topsoil. Topsoil has them.

You can hot compost or cold compost. Hot compost is usually turned regularly to mix it up. This heats it up which will kill weed seeds and speeds up the process. But if you just let it sit and keep it damp, not wet, it will still turn into something really useful for your garden.

You can get or make a tumbling composter or just pile it up on a pile. You can get as fancy and technical as you wish or take a much more laid back approach.

Good luck!

 

[SweetSilver]

The "easiest" way:

Step 1: Pile it up.

Step 2: Pile on some more.

Repeat steps 1 and 2.

Step 3: Wait. (For this method, more like waitwaitwaitwaitwait--until next spring.)

Step 4: Spread it.

I promise you, Stuff Rots.

 

[chickenpower]

LOL!
Thanks, ya'll.

 

[MamaRoo]

I chuck the straw from my chicken pen directly on to the garden bed over the winter. Stop around the end of February. When you get close to planting time, turn the top layer into the soil - or just let the chickens loose on the bed....

 

[Tivona]

Just a note. The best size for a compost pile is about 3 to 4 foot (wide) by 3 to 4 foot (tall) by any length makes the easiest fastest pile.

The reason for this is that the bacteria, bugs, microorganisms, etc that break the food stuffs need air and some heat. The air they breath just like us and the heat (they generate it themselves) makes them eat the stuff faster. So a pile of that size is small enough for air to penetrate and still generate enough heat is the best size. Bigger piles do great to generate heat but the air can't get into the center unless you stir the pile. If you have a giant pile and never stir it it will still compost but it will turn anaerobic and when you go to use it it will stink (not fun). Smaller piles have plenty of air but just not enough mass to generate the heat to speed the composting along, therefore smaller piles take longer to finish composting.

 

[3forfree]

I took a composting class a while back and was told to use 7in of dried leaves (the brown in above posts) 3in of grass clippings (the green) and 1 in of some kind of black dirt be it potting soil, old compost. As mentioned you keep it moist,and the best thing I found was to keep it turned. I got 4 pallets and nailed 3 together in a c shape,THE 4th was the door. put the required stuff in it and turned it every saturday, and IT WORKS.

 

[SweetSilver]

Turning speeds the process along, and eliminates the outer "crust" of the heap, if it's not surrounding by something solid, but it is unnecessary if you do not have the time or inclination. This method is recommended for hot composting--turning refuels the bacterial fire. Hot composting is bacteria-powered; cold composting has a more diverse balance of bacteria and fungus, and some actually advocate for that process over the hot version, in part because it is better at conserving nutrients. But hot does, indeed, produce compost faster and probably more uniform. Cold composting is much slower, but in addition to the fungal breakdown process, it is a better host for decomposers, who could not survive otherwise.

 

[grammaC]

I have a muck-bucket that I use for retrieving the poo from under the roosts. It is just poo, not bedding.
I usually dump it into the compost bin, but I left it out in two thunderstorms, and now I have a bucket of "poo tea."
It's too much water to put in the compost bin.
What can I do with it?? I hate to "waste" it.

 

[Kikiriki]

Chicken poo is considered too high in salt to use for fertilizer when it is fresh, but maybe that is only if it is in a mass amount since their poo here and there doesn't kill stuff. If you just put a little under a lot of different plants it seems like it wouldnt hurt them, especially if you water them a bit afterwards...