Composting...

[igorsMistress]

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.



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.

View attachment 2948586


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.

No, the pile is in a corner in the yard. No lawn in the desert for us, except a very small area for the dogs. No run, no bins, just a yard. I do like to walk past that area without strolling through half rotted veggies though, so the pile gets cleaned up on occasion. Also, in an arid climate putting it back in a pile and wetting it down makes it break down faster because moisture retention is necessary for the process and piles dry much slower. Otherwise it’s just a pile of dusty rubbish blowing in the wind.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

I don't want to do the different composting bins and have to remember and man-handle the turning regularly.
I only throw out cuttings from fresh vegetables (celery ends, first leafs off lettuce, etc.), banana peels, coffee grinds/filters, egg shells, etc.
I don't throw out cooked scraps or leftovers waste.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I started a worm bin in 2016 I think I odered either 50 or 100 worms at the time and now i have worms all in my garden because my bin gets over run with them this was a scoop from yesterday

My bin smelled terrible because I forgot to drill holes at the bottom when I started so did that yesterday. I also just did this today

i put 5 worms in it wanna see how long it takes for them to eat all that.

 

[gtaus]

No, the pile is in a corner in the yard. No lawn in the desert for us, except a very small area for the dogs. No run, no bins, just a yard. I do like to walk past that area without strolling through half rotted veggies though, so the pile gets cleaned up on occasion. Also, in an arid climate putting it back in a pile and wetting it down makes it break down faster because moisture retention is necessary for the process and piles dry much slower. Otherwise it’s just a pile of dusty rubbish blowing in the wind.

I see. In that case, you could probably put down something like a fireplace ring, maybe 12 inches tall, and the chickens could jump in and out of the ring to eat the veggies. Also, since the sides of the ring are 12 inches high, not much of the stuff that the chickens scratch around would fly out the ring. I have a metal fire ring that comes to mind, but I suppose any wood or plastic walled device would work as well.

 

[gtaus]

I don't want to do the different composting bins and have to remember and man-handle the turning regularly.
I only throw out cuttings from fresh vegetables (celery ends, first leafs off lettuce, etc.), banana peels, coffee grinds/filters, egg shells, etc.
I don't throw out cooked scraps or leftovers waste.

I just feed almost all our kitchen scraps and leftovers to the chickens, directly, and they compost that waste food and deposit it back as chicken poo. If you have a chicken coop with litter, you will be cleaning it out, and if you don't throw the soiled litter out into the chicken run, then you will need something like a compost pallet bin to store it while it composts. Like me, there are many people that don't bother to turn the pallet compost bins. I just let it sit and age for a few years before using it. I have lots of property, so my bank of 5 pallet compost bins is hidden out of sight. There are many, many ways to create compost, and you can always chose a method that does not involve you man-handling the turning. I think the best way is to let the chickens do all that turning in the chicken run, but that is my method and you might have different goals.

 

[igorsMistress]

I see. In that case, you could probably put down something like a fireplace ring, maybe 12 inches tall, and the chickens could jump in and out of the ring to eat the veggies. Also, since the sides of the ring are 12 inches high, not much of the stuff that the chickens scratch around would fly out the ring. I have a metal fire ring that comes to mind, but I suppose any wood or plastic walled device would work as well.

I don’t need anything thanks. It was just telling the OP how I manage my compost. It does just fine as it is.

 

[gtaus]

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.

Wow, that is just amazing.! How many chickens do you feed on that food waste and do you even have to buy commercial feed? Truly inspiring @Red-Stars-in-RI .

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Wow, that is just amazing.! How many chickens do you feed on that food waste and do you even have to buy commercial feed? Truly inspiring @Red-Stars-in-RI .

Thank you @gtaus!

We’ve been running 50-70 chickens this year on the compost setup.

I do supplement with layer pellet available all day…the chickens eat some but not nearly as much as they would. If I run out of layer pellet for a day or two it’s no big deal…there’s plenty of food in the system.

I could probably go “commercial feed free” if there was more protein in the food waste I picked up, or if I sourced more protein somewhere.

 

[787junglist]

Composting can be OCD...I just let all wild bushes grasses vines and flowers to grow and die in their own separate and individual times...that builds my soil. I replicate the natural processes in a forest. While that happens I take all prunings kitchen waste and organic matter I bring from outside the garden and make 10ft longX3ft wide trench and throw all of it and cover it every time I add something...when full I top it with soil and let it sit for a couple of months. Then next tree or crop is plantwd on top

 

[787junglist]

Composting can be OCD...I just let all wild bushes grasses vines and flowers to grow and die in their own separate and individual times...that builds my soil. I replicate the natural processes in a forest. While that happens I take all prunings kitchen waste and organic matter I bring from outside the garden and make 10ft longX3ft wide trench and throw all of it and cover it every time I add something...when full I top it with soil and let it sit for a couple of months. Then next tree or crop is plantwd on top

Also have chicken tractors running all around the garden