Composting...

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I like your idea of switching the chicken run and garden every year. If you switch the plots in the fall, then the chicken poo should have more than enough time to cool down for a spring planting.

Exactly what I'm thinking. In addition to giving the chicken poo time to break down, making the swap at the end of the growing season gives the chickens a chance eat the garden plants, including any weed or plant seeds you'd want cleaned out before your next planting.

The setup would also help break any disease/fungus cycles that can happen in a static garden.

 

[gtaus]

Paper shreds are currently going into the worm bins. We also have to transport our recycling into town ourselves so I have been figuring out more and more ways to use it ourselves rather than bring it in. It's regularly windy so putting it in the run isn't really an option.

I don't want paper shreds flying all over my lawn, either. When I dump paper shreds into the chicken run, I will usually just cover them with fresh grass clippings or leaves. If you already have lots of chicken run compost, like I do, then you also have the option of raking a trench into the compost, dumping the paper shreds in the trench, and covering it back up with the chicken run compost.

Normally, we get lots of rain in the summertime. However, if you live in a really dry area, you might want to occasionally water down the litter to both sped up the composting process and to keep the litter from flying away on you. If you already have worm bins, you know that you need moist soil/litter for them to thrive.

 

[gtaus]

Exactly what I'm thinking. In addition to giving the chicken poo time to break down, making the swap at the end of the growing season gives the chickens a chance eat the garden plants, including any weed or plant seeds you'd want cleaned out before your next planting.

The setup would also help break any disease/fungus cycles that can happen in a static garden.

Excellent points. I have always let my chicken compost sit over the winter to "cool" down before planting. Having said that, I have so much compost in my chicken run now that I suspect the small amount of chicken poo mixed in that litter could probably be used fresh.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Just posted my year-end update on the farm blog:

2021 Year-End Review: Impact​

I estimate we brought in around 1,800 five-gallon buckets of food waste from off-farm for the chicken/compost system.

 

[ChickenLeg]

I keep a big pile of leaves, layered with chicken poop and shavings, food scraps, eggs that get thrown out of incubator, chicks that dont survive, grass cuttings from the yard, weeds from lower beds, ect.. I have a good 4 or 5 piles around the property.. nothing fancy but thats how my granny did it, after a few years the bottom is super rich and loaded with worms! Im right under 2 years on my piles so give me a few more years and I'll have something to show for it

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Excellent points. I have always let my chicken compost sit over the winter to "cool" down before planting. Having said that, I have so much compost in my chicken run now that I suspect the small amount of chicken poo mixed in that litter could probably be used fresh.

Yeah, I run into the same thing...even the "finished" compost likely has some fresh manure in it. I figure that it probably only takes a couple weeks to let it cool down enough to be planted into, although I have been filling my raised flower beds now for planting come spring.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I keep a big pile of leaves, layered with chicken poop and shavings, food scraps, eggs that get thrown out of incubator, chicks that dont survive, grass cuttings from the yard, weeds from lower beds, ect.. I have a good 4 or 5 piles around the property.. nothing fancy but thats how my granny did it, after a few years the bottom is super rich and loaded with worms! Im right under 2 years on my piles so give me a few more years and I'll have something to show for it

Yeah, there are things you can do to make things break down more quickly (like turning your pile from time to time, or having the perfect mix of materials), but organic material only comes in two forms...."alive" and "decomposing".

Pile it up and let it be, and it'll be compost...if you're not in a hurry, it's a good approach.

 

[Sally PB]

Years ago, I dumped all kinds of leaves on my garden in the fall. In the spring, they had compacted and composted somewhat, but I decided to till them into my sandy soil before I planted. I think it improved the soil conditions for my garden. Although I like the concept of no tilling, so as to not upset the bio life in the soil, at that time my sandy soil was so bad that I think tilling in organic matter such as leaves and grass clippings only helped. I certainly started to find more worms in my soil after I tilled in all that organic matter.

I have two gardens with very different types of soil. One is very loose and sandy, the other is very heavy and dense.

I'll be piling some leaves, raked up grass, and compost on the heavy soil and tilling it in next spring. I haven't tilled in a couple years (so I hope the tiller will start), and I prefer the no-till method, but sometimes it's necessary. When that heavy soil dries out, it is hard as rock. I have no idea how roots have been able to work through it.

I have piles of leaves on the sandy soil that I'll spread out next spring. I've been doing this for about 5 years, and there is a HUGE difference in the the quality of the soil under all those leaves. I see earthworms where I never saw any, and the soil is black. The layer of leaves works as an excellent weed barrier for that area. It's the squash bed, just a big area where I put 4-5 hills. I let the vines run.

 

[igorsMistress]

I live in a very arid climate and have to water my pile once a week in summer. The chickens did a great job of turning it all and made a big mess that I always had to clean up. It works though. I never added anything special to it, just dumped in yard waste and threw soil on top. Some was brown, some was green, whatever. Eventually it all breaks down. Once I had a pile I just started another one in a different spot and the chickens had a couple to work on.

I also have spinning bins but never remember to turn them so the process is very slow. I’m getting rid of those, I tend to use them primarily for kitchen scraps because our neighbors have had roof rats. Their neighbors don’t pick up fruit or anything so they’re around quite a bit but fortunately not a problem here. I’m just starting with worms again for kitchen scraps. The last time I used a DIY set up and hated it. This time I’m purchasing a worm bin. The disadvantage here is that not everything can go in, but a pile outside will accept all of your yard waste, kitchen waste, etc.

In an arid climate the trick is to water those piles when you don’t get rain and let your chickens turn them over. I like having the pile on the ground rather than in a bin. The birds tear it all down to the ground and then I heap all into a pile again, but it even composts mesquite which is hardwood and can take quite some time to break down.

 

[gtaus]

I have a good 4 or 5 piles around the property.. nothing fancy but thats how my granny did it, after a few years the bottom is super rich and loaded with worms! Im right under 2 years on my piles so give me a few more years and I'll have something to show for it

My main composting comes from my chicken run compost system. But I also have a bank of pallet compost bins for things I don't want to put in the chicken run (moldy food, etc.) Those pallet bins I just fill and let sit. I have 3 pallet bins full and a fourth halfway. It takes me about one year to fill up a bin with stuff I don't want to give the chickens, so I am about 3 years into the oldest bin. When bin #5 gets full, I will just harvest bin #1, which will have been sitting and decomposing for almost 4 years by that time. It's really a no hurry composting method, but I know when I do harvest those bins, they will be great.

I haven't tilled in a couple years (so I hope the tiller will start), and I prefer the no-till method, but sometimes it's necessary.

Yep, the disadvantages to owning small gas engines. I have a big walk behind gas tiller that I only use maybe once every 3 years. I always worry about gas going bad and fouling the carb on that engine. I usually start it up and let it run some fresh gas a couple times every summer even if I don't use it that year. Also, I now only use the non-oxy gas or even the treated gas that costs a fortune in a bottle. As much as that gas costs, it's still a lot less expensive than a trip to the repair shop to get the carb cleaned out.

My "main" tiller these days is my small mini cultivator which is an attachment for my Ryobi 40v power head. I just take off the grass trimmer attachment and put on the mini tiller. No need to worry about bad carbs or fighting to get the engine running. Just slap a fresh battery into the power head and pull the trigger! Most of what I need to do can easily be done with the mini cultivator attachment. If I need to break fresh sod, then I bring out the gas tiller and hope it runs. Here is a picture of what I am talking about, I have the Ryobi attachment, but they are universal fit and made by a number of brands.

I live in a very arid climate and have to water my pile once a week in summer. The chickens did a great job of turning it all and made a big mess that I always had to clean up. It works though.

Since I have everything dumped inside the chicken run, I welcome the chickens to make it all into a big mess. I guess you must be piling up the stuff out on the lawn. Anyway, the chicken run fence keeps everything inside the run and they can scratch and turn it as much as they want. The more they turn it, the better for making compost. If it gets really dry, I'll put the sprinkler on the chicken run and get everything reactivated for composting. Dry material takes longer to break down.