I have read much about composting and I guess what I do is not right but it works great. We have four acres and all of it is mowed. We sweep the clippings from about 3/4- 1 acre (lots of grass) and let the rest just stay on the ground. I have a compost pile that is made with concrete blocks 4'x4' on three sides and open on the front. When I mow, the clippings go in, then the bedding from the coop on top. I mix it several days later as the grass has then lost much of the moisture. I don't add wet table food but I do add potatoe peels or whatever fruit or veggie I may have cleaned. I add egg shells as well. I try to avoid anything that will attract mice or. I have great soil on the bottom of my pile in about 4 weeks. I pull that up to the top and mix it in periodically. When the bin is about 3 feet deep. I will leave it and I throw the grass clippings in a different pile. We usually get enough rain here to keep it moist enough to keep it cooking. The smell is a deep earthy smell. If there is too much grass it will smell slightly sour, I then add more litter. The only thing I add daily once I get a good pile is droppings that I clean out of the run daily.
I obviously have way more clippings and litter than the 4'x4' bin holds. I have found that a pile of clippings like an old fashioned hay stack with litter breaks down rather quickly as well. By the end of summer I just shovel the whole thing into the garden and flower beds and usually wish I had more. I just don't want to build more bins. During winter when I don't have grass clippings, I just spread the litter over the acreage that we dont sweep, It does not break down very fast but usually once we start to mow it is gone quickly.
This method works for us as we have lots of room and I don't feel like spending to much effort on the compost pile.
I obviously have way more clippings and litter than the 4'x4' bin holds. I have found that a pile of clippings like an old fashioned hay stack with litter breaks down rather quickly as well. By the end of summer I just shovel the whole thing into the garden and flower beds and usually wish I had more. I just don't want to build more bins. During winter when I don't have grass clippings, I just spread the litter over the acreage that we dont sweep, It does not break down very fast but usually once we start to mow it is gone quickly.
This method works for us as we have lots of room and I don't feel like spending to much effort on the compost pile.
