Ok, so, I have horses, they are going to be fed hay all winter in a run in shed which = lots of horse manure all in one place. Over the summer they have been wandering almost 10 acres so no need to clean any of it up but I will need to clean some this winter to keep them from getting their shed super gross.
My thought is to make compost bins from landscape fabric, essentially just a 3-4 foot across circle that is open on both ends so it is sitting on the dirt and open on top to be filled, and just put them near the fence in that area, let them sit and compost down until around this time next year (which should give the freshest manure around 9 months and the oldest around 12 months composting time) then take it down to the gardens and till it in in the fall to make room for next year's crop of manure.
I have researched humanure and those compost piles are not turned and are fully broken down after 1 year, so I do not believe that turning will be NEEDED since I am willing to let them sit in place for a year. Horse manure without bedding added is also pretty firmly in the ideal C/N range so I don't think it will need to be mixed with anything, there will likely be some stray hay gathered as well but not much as they are eating from a hay net.
The issue I am trying to wrap my head around is that I believe these compost bins will need to be able to be opened in order to empty them and I am trying to figure out how to secure them closed in such a way that I can open them again later. I do have a sewing machine and am willing to sew them and am thinking about sewing 3-4 channels in each to slip a piece of PVC or a dowel in to help hold the fabric up for filling and then pull back out once the bin is full and will stand on it's own.
Does anyone have any concerns with this idea or ideas on how to close it and open it again later?
My thought is to make compost bins from landscape fabric, essentially just a 3-4 foot across circle that is open on both ends so it is sitting on the dirt and open on top to be filled, and just put them near the fence in that area, let them sit and compost down until around this time next year (which should give the freshest manure around 9 months and the oldest around 12 months composting time) then take it down to the gardens and till it in in the fall to make room for next year's crop of manure.
I have researched humanure and those compost piles are not turned and are fully broken down after 1 year, so I do not believe that turning will be NEEDED since I am willing to let them sit in place for a year. Horse manure without bedding added is also pretty firmly in the ideal C/N range so I don't think it will need to be mixed with anything, there will likely be some stray hay gathered as well but not much as they are eating from a hay net.
The issue I am trying to wrap my head around is that I believe these compost bins will need to be able to be opened in order to empty them and I am trying to figure out how to secure them closed in such a way that I can open them again later. I do have a sewing machine and am willing to sew them and am thinking about sewing 3-4 channels in each to slip a piece of PVC or a dowel in to help hold the fabric up for filling and then pull back out once the bin is full and will stand on it's own.
Does anyone have any concerns with this idea or ideas on how to close it and open it again later?