Composting System

[aart]

Funny, you are of course right.
Funny because part of my "transport boom lift" design includes a bail handle for the garbage can existing handles... thus huge pails to me

BIG Bails!!
Would love to see the transport system.

 

[RonP]

Haha, will do next time I move them.
I've no pictures in my files...

 

[Kusanar]

Ohhh, garbage cans, didn't know they made them that big....
.....and don't think of them as pails, because pails have bails

I believe the big rolling ones the city gives out are 75 gallon... they're HEAVY when full...

 

[aart]

I believe the big rolling ones the city gives out are 75 gallon... they're HEAVY when full...

Yeah, I knew the had rollies that were 50...
....my herby curby provided by the waste company is 95gals.
Wish they had them smaller, that cost less t [pick up weekly.

 

[lazy gardener]

I do not ever sift my compost. It gets used as is. I feel like a robber when I take it, b/c I have not yet achieved the depth of DL that I desire in the run. But... I have to pick and choose my priorities. Never enough materials to work with here, even though I bring in 45 - 50 bags of leaves every fall, and several truck loads of wood chips. I can't get the chips delivered, even when the chippers are working right on my road. I have easy access also.

 

[XanderWiFi]

Good insight all. @RonP do you sell those barrels of compost?

We have convenience centers set up in our counties that accept leaf dumping. I'm highly curious to see if I could snag some from there.

As of now, to bolster composting and litter I have a plan to purchase a leaf blower/vacuum with a built in shredding blade. Go into the woods or around tress and just start vacuuming the surface layer up. Then dump.

Until then, when the leaves are dry (it's been raining here lately) I just fill the dump cart and bring it in. I am toying around with the idea of using shredded leaves inside the coop instead of pine shavings. My wife questioned the absorption ability of that though as we use a deep bedding method currently with the shavings.

 

[RonP]

Good insight all. @RonP do you sell those barrels of compost?

We have convenience centers set up in our counties that accept leaf dumping. I'm highly curious to see if I could snag some from there.

As of now, to bolster composting and litter I have a plan to purchase a leaf blower/vacuum with a built in shredding blade. Go into the woods or around tress and just start vacuuming the surface layer up. Then dump.

Until then, when the leaves are dry (it's been raining here lately) I just fill the dump cart and bring it in. I am toying around with the idea of using shredded leaves inside the coop instead of pine shavings. My wife questioned the absorption ability of that though as we use a deep bedding method currently with the shavings.

I don't sell anything chicken related. This is a hobby. I gift excess eggs...

My gardening friends wanted more compost than I could possibly supply, so I designed this system to accommodate. These are "Master Gardeners" associated with a university.

I exchange finished compost (they call it a black gold soil enhancer) for raw material, such as mulched fine fescue grass contained in compostable leaf bags.

Win - win situation. My run smells like a forest floor... and hasn't been cleaned in a decade.

I personally wouldn't bother shredding any fallen leaves. I don't, as in a day or so dry leaves are shredded naturally with the girls scratching through them looking for interesting things. A big plus if the interesting things are still intact and moving. If wet, well they dry eventually, and seem to contain more interesting things for the girls to find.

I also use pine shavings in a deep bedding inside the coop. The coop is too dry to allow proper composting. I replace the bedding once per year and dump the spent shavings and dry manure in the run where it composts naturally with everything else.

Hope this helps.

 

[XanderWiFi]

For sure. Have a good start now. Just need to get a smaller wiring around the perimeter (which I needed to do anyhow) and start piling it all in there.

 

[aart]

@RonP was thinking about your compost collection area, wondering if you have anything down to keep 'weeds' from growing there.
Tried to find pics but you don't appear to have any media folders.
Would be great if you could put together an article.

 

[RonP]

@aart, A very good question.

My collection "runs" actually have decaying firewood over a 2x3 fencing skirt. This prevents me from "raking the fence".

The accumulated compost is gathered around every 2 or 3 weeks during the warmer months and stored in large "pails" with lids.

If the gathered material is dry, I will wet it, the pails have several 1/2 inch holes on the bottom for drainage.

Reason...

Any seed that may inadvertently be collected with the compost will exhaust it's stored nutrients during germination. Without sunlight, these new, and any other living plants, are unable to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water (Photosynthesis). They starve and die, adding to the compost. Mushrooms seem to be an exception, but they are rare... and "Mushrooms are fungi, and are usually placed in a Kingdom of their own apart from plants and animals. Mushrooms contain no chlorophyll and most are considered saprophytes. That is, they obtain their nutrition from metabolizing non living organic matter".

The "finished" material is collected by the end users early fall, well before nighttime temperatures dip below temperatures that will disallow seed germination in the pail. This simple procedure helps insure "pure black gold" without any artificial or expensive additives.

The photo below was taken today.



I have not collected any compost since we had a good freeze.

As you can see, the girls are busy once again, ready for the next "on" season. I estimate 60 to 70 gallons ready to be collected, during the "off" season...

Hope this helps.