Composting chicken run

[Sally PB]

Wow. Just wow.

Hubby and I are big on recycling, reusing, composting. For the two of us, like you, it's a bag of garbage about every two-three weeks. (Unless I get bit by the cleaning bug.)

I have a big garden that is very sandy soil. I have a not-quite-as-big garden that is heavy clay. Both can take all the compost I can give them. My raised beds are just mounded up soil, and I could really tell a difference last year with the compost amendments I gave them. I can see someday wanting to build beds so that I don't have get down on my hands and knees, but I'm hoping that is a ways away yet. I'm not ready to admit "I'm too old for that."

Poop is a very close second to eggs, as far as the chickens go. I got them for the eggs, but quickly realized the poop was just as much a gift.

I agree about working with nature. I used to till my garden 2-3x a season. I haven't tilled the sandy soil garden in several years. I still need mechanical assistance on the clay soil every now and then. I hope to get the soil light enough in that garden so that turning it with a shovel is possible. Then I can mix in whatever I want to add and let the worms feast.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Good stuff, all. When you start composting what can be composted, it's amazing how much both your "trash" and your view of it changes.

The cool part is that my kids (9 and almost 5) don't know any different. The idea of NOT having a "chicken bowl" on the counter is so foreign to them that they don't know what to do with food scraps if we're at someone else's house.

 

[gtaus]

I agree about working with nature. I used to till my garden 2-3x a season. I haven't tilled the sandy soil garden in several years. I still need mechanical assistance on the clay soil every now and then. I hope to get the soil light enough in that garden so that turning it with a shovel is possible. Then I can mix in whatever I want to add and let the worms feast.

I watched my dad till up the garden every spring, and maybe again in mid season. Never know there were other options. So, that is how I first started my gardens.

Over time, I learned about the no-till method to preserve the bio-life in the soil, and then moved on to raised beds. My favorite method now is the sub irrigated elevated/raised beds that are waist high. That system just works so much better for me because the system is self watering.

I also made three 4X8 foot hügelkultur raised beds that are 2 feet high. The theory there is the large wood cuts in the bottom of the bed will soak up and retain water and then release it as needed to the plants later. Also, over years, the hügelkultur beds are supposed to get better as the wood breaks down and feeds the plant roots.

I have a very nice, hardly used walk behind gas garden tiller sitting in my shed. I have not used it in the garden for about 10 years. I do still take it out every once in a while to till up and level ground that I am working on after a tree dies and I need to cut it down. What i do use more is a small 10 inch cultivator/tiller which is an attachment that goes on my Ryobi 40v trimmer power head. I use that mini tiller mainly to mix in compost and other stuff into the raised beds. Works good for cultivating. It can go down about 6 inches max.

I also have a small Ryobi 18v cultivator which is the perfect tool for breaking up already worked soil, like in the raised beds, when there are plants in the bed that I don't want to till up by accident. The cultivator only goes down a max of 4 inches and the tines move back and forth. So, very easy to control around plants.

When I need to fluff up my deep bedding in the chicken coop, I use the small 18v cultivator. It is easier than using a hay fork or shovel. Also, I have linoleum on the bottom of the coop floor, so I don't want to stab it with my hay fork or stick it with my shovel. My wife also uses that small cultivator in her flower beds because she can control it, where as even the 10 inch mini tiller is just too much for her.

 

[Sally PB]

I also made three 4X8 foot hügelkultur raised beds that are 2 feet high. The theory there is the large wood cuts in the bottom of the bed will soak up and retain water and then release it as needed to the plants later. Also, over years, the hügelkultur beds are supposed to get better as the wood breaks down and feeds the plant roots.

I have read a lot about that and want to try it. One of my neighbors is using that method in some of her garden, just put the logs in last spring.

I think where I'll try it is in my squash bed. I love butternut squash, and 4-5 hills take up a large bed, because I just let 'em sprawl. That's in my sandy soil garden. I don't think I could dig out deep enough in my clay soil garden. (We buried one of our dogs near there. It was a lot of hard digging to get it deep enough to be sure she wouldn't be dug up by the critters.) Four or five hugelkultur beds would be great for growing squash.

Do you have a picture of your raised beds? I'd really like to see them.

Yeah, my gas tiller doesn't get a lot of use these days either. But I'm hanging on to it. My neighbors all garden, and one of them didn't really have a good spot to put one in. We have a big field and I told her she was welcome to put in a garden there. There was about five seconds of dead silence on the phone when I told her I'd tilled up a spot for her.

 

[RUNuts]

We have a big field and I told her she was welcome to put in a garden there. There was about five seconds of dead silence on the phone when I told her I'd tilled up a spot for her.

What a wonderful neighbor you are!

I outlined my attempted garden bed with logs. Dumped compost and wood chips between the logs in an attempt to get the plants out of the low spot and flood. Worked great. 4 years later, the logs are falling apart and the grass has invaded. I've been distracted for the last 2 years and having better luck with the half barrels. Just topped these with compost and got the radishes sown. The bottom of the 45 gallon half barrels are filled with old logs, sticks and debris. Saved on buying dirt and they do hold moisture.

The place with the logs and compost is rich fertile soil and the grass is thick and luscious. I pulled 20 gallons of sweet potatoes out of the grass this year. Chickens love sweet potatoes, so protect them if they are making near the top of the dirt. The sweet potatoes slips came from grocery store potatoes that we didn't eat fast enough. Worked a lot better than I could have hoped.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

I have read a lot about that and want to try it. One of my neighbors is using that method in some of her garden, just put the logs in last spring.

I think where I'll try it is in my squash bed. I love butternut squash, and 4-5 hills take up a large bed, because I just let 'em sprawl. That's in my sandy soil garden. I don't think I could dig out deep enough in my clay soil garden. (We buried one of our dogs near there. It was a lot of hard digging to get it deep enough to be sure she wouldn't be dug up by the critters.) Four or five hugelkultur beds would be great for growing squash.

Do you have a picture of your raised beds? I'd really like to see them.

Yeah, my gas tiller doesn't get a lot of use these days either. But I'm hanging on to it. My neighbors all garden, and one of them didn't really have a good spot to put one in. We have a big field and I told her she was welcome to put in a garden there. There was about five seconds of dead silence on the phone when I told her I'd tilled up a spot for her.

Wow you’re awesome for giving your neighbor figuratively and literally room to grow.

 

[gtaus]

having better luck with the half barrels. Just topped these with compost and got the radishes sown. The bottom of the 45 gallon half barrels are filled with old logs, sticks and debris. Saved on buying dirt and they do hold moisture.

Yes, some people make those type of hügelkultur pots and they report good results. I bought some large plastic muck buckets from WalMart and Target last year. They are a little smaller than a half barrel, but only cost about $5.00 each. My idea was to fill the bottom six inches with wood chips and such, and then top fill the other 12 inches with compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. Kind of like a raised bed mix but just in the large pot.

You need to put in a drain hole about 4 inches high on the side, so the pot can fill up with water in the lowest 4 inches, but not drown out the plants if you get a heavy rain. The is an older gentlemen named Gardening With Leon on YouTube that has posted many videos of these type of pots. He also adds a watering pipe along the inside of the pot so you can fill the pot with water and have it bottom feed the plants. Evidently, there is an advantage to bottom watering the plants as opposed to just watering the top soil and letting the water work it's way down. It's another spin on the sub irrigated concept but only in a smaller pot.

 

[gtaus]

Do you have a picture of your raised beds? I'd really like to see them.

I don't have pictures of my garden raised beds or the hügelkultur raised beds, but I found a picture of my 2x4 foot elevated sub-irrigate planter on my deck. It's full of beans last summer and Dear Wife just goes out to the deck and picks a handful for supper whenever she wants.

My gift to her.....

 

[RUNuts]

Yes, some people make those type of hügelkultur pots and they report good results. I bought some large plastic muck buckets from WalMart and Target last year. They are a little smaller than a half barrel, but only cost about $5.00 each. My idea was to fill the bottom six inches with wood chips and such, and then top fill the other 12 inches with compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. Kind of like a raised bed mix but just in the large pot.

My 45 gallon pots were free.

A local business had trees planted and they left the 45 gallon tree pots after they were done. Think of the black plastic nursery pots that plants come in, only larger. They have about 6 holes in the bottom and with the amount of rain we normally have, more drainage is best. I will try the side hole in a couple of my half barrels. The 1/2" holes I drilled plugged up and made a mess in one of them. A reason I liked the tree pots.

Thanks for the idea!

If anyone else puts these where the chickens can get to them, I make a wire circle 3' high that usually keeps the girls from uprooting everything to take a tub bath. Does work in the chicken yard, but they will eat everything that pokes through the wire.

 

[gtaus]

My 45 gallon pots were free.

You just can't beat free. My first option, too.

A local business had trees planted and they left the 45 gallon tree pots after they were done. Think of the black plastic nursery pots that plants come in, only larger. They have about 6 holes in the bottom and with the amount of rain we normally have, more drainage is best. I will try the side hole in a couple of my half barrels. The 1/2" holes I drilled plugged up and made a mess in one of them. A reason I liked the tree pots.

Putting wood chips in the bottom of those pots would definitely help hold water in longer. The issue with the bottom draining pots is that the water, well, drains through and in high heat you have to water the pot frequently. With having a tub with no bottom drain holes, you can fill up the water and retain it much longer.

The idea is that you would put wood chips about 6 inches deep into the tub and then drill a hole in the side of the tub about 4 inches high. In that way, when you fill the tub with water, it would hold the first 4 inches on the bottom and then drain any excess out the side. That leaves a 2 inch "air" gap between the wood chips and the potting soil. You need that "air" space so the potting soil does not oversaturate and drown the roots. That is the basic concept for any of those sub irrigated containers.

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. I freshen up the planter with new compost every year, but you don't have to replace the peat moss or vermiculite. since the soil is not really a living, natural soil, you might want to add a bit of fertilizer to the mix if needed. My fresh compost seems to be enough for what I grow, but some plants are heavier feeders than others and may need extra care.

My elevated planter works great, but I used 4 inch perforated drain pipe on the bottom and had the drain hole drilled in at 3 inches. That leaves a 1 inch air gap between the water line and the top of the drain pipes. That concept works great for my elevated planters I have out on our deck. I only have to water it a few times all summer long, whereas our pots with drain holes on the bottom need to be watered weekly, if not sooner when it's hot and no rain.