Mixing in the "compost" - an experiment

RJSchaefer

Chirping
6 Years
Mar 18, 2013
180
7
88
Rockford, IL
My rabbits are housed with my chickens, so what I collect when cleaning is a mixture of bedding, straw, chicken poop and bunny berries. Last time I cleaned, I made a "compost pile" as well as dumped the areas with the most bunny berries in a metal container. Which subsequently got flooded (so I added more from the pile to soak up the water).

Now, I'm planting squash and melons in two "raised beds" (old milking stands) on the property. I dumped a thin layer (> .5 inches) of the metal bucket "compost" on top and mixed it in.

Of course, the soil is a bit of a mess now, considering how wet the mixture was, but it is mounding well. I have never used manure before, except once in a very "dead" area and that was a bag of unidentified manure from Farm and Fleet. I'm anxious/impatient to see how this pans out. If only plants grew faster!
 
No, I hadn't! Thanks for the link - that's truly ingenious!

When I started, I got very mixed reviews about feeding kitchen scraps to the chickens. My grandmother said everything they got went to the hogs and the chickens cleaned up the mess. Others told me to only feed "certain" foods, and never more than x% of feed. I went with the more sterile advice to err on the side of caution, but it truly made me wonder how grandma's chickens survived. =)

I presently have a vermicomposting bin that won't get to very large scale since we have harsh winters. I may give this a shot on the other side of the chicken run. It would definitely be a good way to rotate my planting.
 

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