Composting chicken run

[jthornton]

I make my own potting soil out of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 vermiculite. It is light and fluffy. You want to avoid any heavy garden soil in the sub irrigated planters.

What is a sub irrigated planter?

JT

 

[gtaus]

What is a sub irrigated planter?

JT

It's a design concept that stores lots of water in the bottom of the container and the potting mix wicks up the water to feed the plants. I have had my elevated sub-irrigated planter on my deck for 2 years now and it is the best thing I have done in gardening. Mind you, I'm not a great gardener, but even I can grow things in my sub-irrigated planter.

Here is the YouTube video that I watched and learned how to build my elevated planters. He covers everything in the video including why the system works. If you have interest in these topics, then it is well worth the 30 minutes to learn about it.

 

[vpatt]

My grandson can bring me some mulch from his work. It is undyed and a farmer buys it to put in his dairy barn. Does this sound suitable? That's all he knows about it. This would be for compost. I am also thinking of trying planting in a tub and some buckets. Fill with mulch six inches, put drain holes at four inches and fill with potting mixture. Will this work? I don't have the know how to buy lumber drainage pipe, tubing, pvc pipe and put it all together. I think it's all great, but too much for me. I'm thinking tomatoes, herbs, maybe squash. Let me know if you see a problem with this. Oh, maybe pvc for watering.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

My grandson can bring me some mulch from his work. It is undyed and a farmer buys it to put in his dairy barn. Does this sound suitable? That's all he knows about it. This would be for compost.

That should be fine, based on what you know about it.

If it’s for composting, maybe you can get some of the “used” chips from the dairy farm instead? They’d be “infused with all natural nitrogen and other nutrients”.

 

[vpatt]

Oh, now that's an idea!

 

[gtaus]

My grandson can bring me some mulch from his work. It is undyed and a farmer buys it to put in his dairy barn. Does this sound suitable? That's all he knows about it. This would be for compost. I am also thinking of trying planting in a tub and some buckets. Fill with mulch six inches, put drain holes at four inches and fill with potting mixture. Will this work? I don't have the know how to buy lumber drainage pipe, tubing, pvc pipe and put it all together. I think it's all great, but too much for me. I'm thinking tomatoes, herbs, maybe squash. Let me know if you see a problem with this. Oh, maybe pvc for watering.

Undyed wood chips/mulch should work just fine in a hügelkultur pot. The six inches of wood I talked about and the holes at about 4 inches for drainage is based on a planter that is about 16 inches tall. (My elevated planter is 15.5 inches tall on the sides, and the top of the drain hole is at 3.75 inches) You want a reservoir of water in the bottom of the planter, but you also need separation between the water and the roots so they do not drown or get root rot from being too wet. If you are using a planter less the 16 inches tall, then you might consider moving the drain hole to maybe 3 or 2 inches. The goal is to get the water to wick up into the potting soil, but not have a muddy mess that will kill your plants.

Here is a short YouTube video of a guy making a hügelkultur bin more in line with what you are thinking. He does not use any PVC pipe for watering either in his system, so it may be worth a look. I think growing tomatoes or squash in a hügelkultur pot should work great. Both those plants are heavy drinkers and the water reservoir in the tub would help keep the plants fed much better than planters that drain through bottom holes and dry out fast.

If you have smaller planters, or planters with holes in the bottom, here is a YouTube video the uses the concept of hügelkultur pots on a smaller scale.

I have had great success with my elevated sub-irrigated planters, but have not personally made any of these hügelkultur pots. The concepts are similar but modifications need to be considered depending on the size of your tub/planter. I bought some plastic muck tubs last year to try building some hügelkultur pots, but I got them too late in the season and did not fill them up. I hope to build some this year and try them out.

As you can tell, I am a big fan of watching YouTube videos to get ideas I might be able to use myself. There are many, many videos on this subject and different people have different suggestions.

Some people do not like the idea of a water reservoir in the bottom of the planter, and will drill holes in the bottom to let the water drain through. The idea is that the wood chips/hügelkultur still absorbs and retains water, but you don't have sitting water in the bottom of the tub. My thought is that you want to have that reservoir of water to feed the plants and therefore my sub-irrigated planter has the drain hole up the side. However, if you find that your soil is too wet, you could always later drill a drain hole lower on the side, or even the bottom if you want. If you start with drain holes in the bottom of the tub, then you have no other options.

If you make a hügelkultur planter, I hope you come back and maybe share some pictures and feedback on if the system worked for you or not. I will do the same if I build any hügelkultur pots this year. It's on my "bucket" list of things to do this summer.

 

[gtaus]

If it’s for composting, maybe you can get some of the “used” chips from the dairy farm instead? They’d be “infused with all natural nitrogen and other nutrients”.

From what I understand, cow manure is not as "hot" as chicken manure, but it still needs to age before you can use it to grow plants. Just make sure the manure is not fresh and I think it would work. After all, I used to buy cow manure compost at the big box stores before I started my chicken run compost system. If a person can get some aged aged cow manure wood chips, that sounds great.

 

[vpatt]

I'm also a big youtube fan. I'm going to watch those videos right now. If I try it and it works I will try posting pictures....I'm not always good at that . I also found some videos with the Arms Family Homestead and Gardening With Leon about bucket and tub gardening that looks simple enough for me.

Update:
I watched those plus a couple more, lol. I had been considering the method of putting plastic water jugs in the bottom as reservoirs, but I think I may just use the wood....I do live in the woods. And guess what I found hidden away from a few years ago, coconut coir! It's still in the package so I think it should be useable. And leaves from the fall are abundant. Not sure about greens right now unless I buy something.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

From what I understand, cow manure is not as "hot" as chicken manure, but it still needs to age before you can use it to grow plants. Just make sure the manure is not fresh and I think it would work. After all, I used to buy cow manure compost at the big box stores before I started my chicken run compost system. If a person can get some aged aged cow manure wood chips, that sounds great.

Yes, that’s right...sorry, I may have misunderstood that the wood chips were to make compost. For other uses, aging (even in place months before plants go in) is likely advisable.

 

[RUNuts]

My wood chips break down fast (with chicken poop). If you do put them at the bottom of your pots, they will turn to sludge and plug the drainage holes on the bottom like mine. Mine are also sitting on (in may be a better description) heavy clay soil, so that didn't help.
I'm dumping and remaking the pots/planters and not much has survived in the bottom except some branches and outright logs.

I put logs or a pile of branches, cover with chips followed by leaves if available and then dirt and compost on top. Using straight leaves would matt and plug in a heartbeat. Figure a way to keep them loose and free draining.