Composting...

[dirkandlorie]

You can find a lot of good info on biochar online, but the basics is that it's a carbon source with a very high surface area. That makes it great at retaining nutrients and water, and adding carbon to your soil (which can help break up clay soil and provide a better growing medium).

Wood ash also has it's uses in the garden, especially if you have acidic soil like we do up here in the northeast. Ash adds trace minerals and lowers PH, while biochar adds carbon and surface area. Very complementary.

Speaking of complementary, adding biochar to your compost makes both a bit better. The biochar absorbs nutrients (some call this "inoculated") that otherwise might leach away or cause odors. When added to your garden, the biochar slowly releases the nutrients, helps retain water, etc.

From a sustainability standpoint, one ton of biochar sequesters roughly 3 tons of CO2 in the soil, potentially for a long period of time. So, it's a great tool for reducing your carbon footprint and putting that carbon where it belongs...in the soil.

I use biochar in my coop bedding to absorb excess nitrogen (reduces odors and healthier for the chickens). The bedding (with biochar) then goes into the compost. Once the compost is ready, it goes into whatever planting project I have. "Stacking functions", if you will.

Thank you so much for all the info!!!! You had me at helping break up clay soil! Gotta try this. I realize I'm a dinosaur, don't have cell phones and have a terrible time trying to find info on the internet ( theres just so much I get overwhelmed and confused). What I'm saying is I would never have been able to find all this on my own, and I'm so grateful to you for taking the time to write all that out and for being so nice about it. Bless you

 

[MWSIFarm]

Thank you so much for all the info!!!! You had me at helping break up clay soil! Gotta try this. I realize I'm a dinosaur, don't have cell phones and have a terrible time trying to find info on the internet ( theres just so much I get overwhelmed and confused). What I'm saying is I would never have been able to find all this on my own, and I'm so grateful to you for taking the time to write all that out and for being so nice about it. Bless you

Jumping in the convo a bit late so forgive me if I missed something……

But when it comes to breaking up clay soils ive always used Gypsum. We have a product here in Australia called “Clay Breaker” which is just powdered gypsum. It wont effect the PH of your soil but will add a touch of calcium too……..

 

[raingarden]

fixed typo

Wood ash also has it's uses in the garden, especially if you have acidic soil like we do up here in the northeast. Ash adds trace minerals and lowers RAISES PH,

 

[dirkandlorie]

Jumping in the convo a bit late so forgive me if I missed something……

But when it comes to breaking up clay soils ive always used Gypsum. We have a product here in Australia called “Clay Breaker” which is just powdered gypsum. It wont effect the PH of your soil but will add a touch of calcium too……..

So thoughtful of you to pass that on. Thank you

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

fixed typo

Thanks, ph/acidity always confuses me…I guess I just think high acidity SHOULD mean high PH.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Had a couple warm days here in Rhode Island over the weekend, with Saturday breaking 70 and less rain than was forecast and Sunday in the 60's.

Cleaned out three chicken coops (3x5, 4x6 and 20x8) and several rabbit hutches. All the material got dumped in the run to compost. Also picked up about 30-35 barrels of leaves and added them both to the run and the hay bale composters.

The warm weather brought the promise of odor, so getting the extra carbon in the system was key. The spring should be a mix of hauling out composted materials and adding lots more carbon to the system. Thankfully, there's no shortage of leaves out there!

 

[gtaus]

Also picked up about 30-35 barrels of leaves and added them both to the run and the hay bale composters.

Are you saying that you have composters made for hay bales? Or, is it just that you have composters that are filled with hay bales? Don't want to assume anything, so thought I would ask. Other than my chicken run composting system, I just use pallets to make compost bins. Nothing fancy.

 

[sandburRanch]

I suppose it's normal to change with advancing age so i quit doing it the difficult way . Now i determine in the fall where i will plant a few peppers and tomatoes , dig holes in those locations and that's where all compost-able veg scraps go during the winter . Each time i add a small amount of compost-able it gets a small amount of soil added on top . When spring arrives those holes are already fertilized and willing to accept new plants . We have moved from a property with excellent sandy loam gardening soil to a property with hard clay so i'm looking forward to seeing what that method will do .

 

[gtaus]

I suppose it's normal to change with advancing age so i quit doing it the difficult way . Now i determine in the fall where i will plant a few peppers and tomatoes , dig holes in those locations and that's where all compost-able veg scraps go during the winter . Each time i add a small amount of compost-able it gets a small amount of soil added on top . When spring arrives those holes are already fertilized and willing to accept new plants . We have moved from a property with excellent sandy loam gardening soil to a property with hard clay so i'm looking forward to seeing what that method will do .

Trench composting has been done successfully for years. I used to plant in rows, and dig a trench between the rows to throw in compost material. The next year, I would plant on top of that trench and the dig a trench where the plants were grown the year before. Worked fine for me.

But then I got chickens, and now I feed almost all our kitchen scraps and leftovers to the chickens. No more trench composting for me. The chickens make my compost now, and I add that chicken run compost to the garden in the fall, after harvest, and let it age over winter for planting in the spring.

I am always looking for better (easier) ways of doing things, myself. I try to work with nature more and fight it less. Instead of having compost piles that constantly need turning, I let my chickens do all that work naturally in the chicken run. They provide me with more compost than I can use for my gardens. I have a number of pallet compost bins for excess material, and they can just sit for years slowly composting before I harvest them. I am not into turning piles, or bins, of compost. Trench composting is a great method for not having to turn piles, and having chickens to make compost works out even better for me.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Are you saying that you have composters made for hay bales? Or, is it just that you have composters that are filled with hay bales? Don't want to assume anything, so thought I would ask. Other than my chicken run composting system, I just use pallets to make compost bins. Nothing fancy.

I actually have composters made OF hay bales. I also do use loose hay when I'm low on other carbon, but I was looking for a fairly inexpensive, easy to build with, and modular building material to build composters out of.

I also have a wooden composter made of pallets that are 14' x 7'...plus lots of area in the run that is "compost in the run" areas...so I have LOTS of composting going on.