Composting recommendations?

[NancyNurseCxMama]

I want to start composting but have no idea where to begin. So much chicken poop and I have many gardens that would benefit.
Checked out compost bins---the most attractive seem to be the plastic tumbler types.
Yikes...they can be pricey!
Then again, the thought of pitch-forking a big bin of compost-makings doesn't exactly float my boat either.
Anyone here have any loves/hates regarding composting?
Thank you in advance!

 

[CapricornFarm]

I build a bin out of pallets. Throw in layers of organic waste like leaves and any animal waste. Water once in a while i do not turn it, i let the worms do it. You don't want to add any left over meat, bones or anything of that nature to attract predators. But all kitchen peeling etc are fine.
I have seen where people make those tumblers of a barrel on a stand. Sometimes you can find them for sale on Craigslist. Have fun!

 

[miguelitro]

If you have time passive composting requires no work except a little watering. I like to use 3' wide hardware cloth wired into a 3' across ring. Keep layering your materials in the ring until it's full and then forget about it. The level will go down after a while and you can continue to add more material or harvest it if it looks well composted.
Mike

 

[yogifink]

Then again, the thought of pitch-forking a big bin of compost-makings doesn't exactly float my boat either.

You have chickens right? They are little composting machines, no pitchforking needed!

I made composting bins out of pallets at our old house. with the front made with slats that could slide in and out as the pile grew and shrank. Ill try to find a picture.

find a suitable corner of their run and make it your composting area. however you do it, make sure the chooks can get to it, and can move the pile around around. compost everything. feed scrap meet seperate or toss in with compost, theyll eat it.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

You can make a compost tumbler out of a screw top 55 gallon drum, 2x4s, and a metal rod of some sort. I've found screw top barrels for about $20 on craigs list, and 8' 2x4s are about $4 a piece around here. Not sure about your area, but it's something to consider if you can find the materials and have a saw and a drill.

 

[Elyrian1]

My hubby was supposed to make me one of the tumbler style composters but then failed to ever get around to it. So I marched out there and told him to at least make me a three-sided bin out of our small stockpile of pallets. That he got to the same day, lol. Currently have a lot of yard trimmings in it, need to add the poop and pine shavings from this year's brood. I read somewhere you layer green and brown. Meaning, layer of plant matter, layer of poop, so on and so forth. I think turning is optional it just speeds up decomposition, but if your climate is dry do water it, I'm sketchy on the frequency. You should start to feel heat coming off the pile. There are a lot of good videos on Youtube about composting in various climates, might want to do a little viewing, some of them are surprisingly scientific, discussing the bacterial life cycle in regards to decay and whatnot, and what you need to do to bolster those bacterial colonies. Bacteria and worms are your friends.

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

Thanks everyone!!

 

[yogifink]

found a picture. The slats on the front slide in and out. The pipe was an experiment to get air and water down to the bottom, don t think it made a difference.

I broke down the pallets with a recripicating saw, then built the bins. We had 4 of them I think, and used some to grow potatoes.

 

[Ronnie2]

I thought about building a bin like yours, but we have termites down here, they would have it falling apart in no time. Timber logging company, after getting through loading the logs onto trailers, take bulldozers and wind row the left over limbs and wood debris. Takes a few years for termites to have them gone. If I ever harvest our trees, I will require the forester we hire to oversea the cutting, to require the loggers to have a chipper to blow chips into the back of big truck trailers. Loggers claim they get paid very little, but I want it gone, to replant new trees for wildlife habitat.

 

[yogifink]

oh, we've got termites, hungry little tards. Good thing about pallets tho, they come in a wide verity of wood species and treatment levels. So if your selective, you can extend the life time of your box.

The other good thing about pallets is the price, free. So if the eat it, replace it.