Starting to Compost

[pine_lore]

Hi there, I am preparing to start a compost pile. I have the following ingredient to use to begin my pile. Can anyone recommend I good ratio of these three things to get a pile started? Is there anything more I would need to start or any feedback on how often to turn?

Thanks!

Fresh grass clippings:

Decomposing wood chips with chicken manure:

Decomposing pine shavings with chicken manure (did the deep litter method over the winter - ready to get it out of coop):

 

[NatJ]

Hi there, I am preparing to start a compost pile. I have the following ingredient to use to begin my pile. Can anyone recommend I good ratio of these three things to get a pile started? Is there anything more I would need to start or any feedback on how often to turn?

Fresh grass clippings:
Decomposing wood chips with chicken manure:
Decomposing pine shavings with chicken manure (did the deep litter method over the winter - ready to get it out of coop):

I don't know about exact ratios, but almost any ratio will rot eventually. I would put a layer of one, a layer of the second, a layer of the third, and start again with the first kind.

Some people just put everything in the chicken run, let the chickens stir it around, and shovel out some compost a year or two later. But if you want to make a pile or put it in a bin, just piling it in layers should work.

I would probably use something like a wheelbarrow to move the materials, and make each layer from the amount the wheelbarrow can carry in one trip.

 

[Sally PB]

I don't know about exact ratios, but almost any ratio will rot eventually. I would put a layer of one, a layer of the second, a layer of the third, and start again with the first kind.

Some people just put everything in the chicken run, let the chickens stir it around, and shovel out some compost a year or two later. But if you want to make a pile or put it in a bin, just piling it in layers should work.

I would probably use something like a wheelbarrow to move the materials, and make each layer from the amount the wheelbarrow can carry in one trip.

Yup!

Do you have any leaves from last fall? You could put a layer of those in too.

Here's a way to tell if you have the mix right. If it gets warm and has a good "earthy" smell, it's going great. If it get slimy and smells, you probably have too much nitrogen. Add some leaves or dried grass or other source of carbon. If it just sits there and doesn't do anything, it needs more nitrogen. That's not likely with all the green grass clippings and used bedding.

It helps to turn the pile every so often to mix things up and to aerate it. Also, it should be damp, the best descriptor is "like a wrung out sponge."

 

[pine_lore]

I don't know about exact ratios, but almost any ratio will rot eventually. I would put a layer of one, a layer of the second, a layer of the third, and start again with the first kind.

Some people just put everything in the chicken run, let the chickens stir it around, and shovel out some compost a year or two later. But if you want to make a pile or put it in a bin, just piling it in layers should work.

I would probably use something like a wheelbarrow to move the materials, and make each layer from the amount the wheelbarrow can carry in one trip.

this is helpful, thank you! I especially like the tip about using one wheelbarrow's worth for each layer

 

[pine_lore]

Yup!

Do you have any leaves from last fall? You could put a layer of those in too.

Here's a way to tell if you have the mix right. If it gets warm and has a good "earthy" smell, it's going great. If it get slimy and smells, you probably have too much nitrogen. Add some leaves or dried grass or other source of carbon. If it just sits there and doesn't do anything, it needs more nitrogen. That's not likely with all the green grass clippings and used bedding.

It helps to turn the pile every so often to mix things up and to aerate it. Also, it should be damp, the best descriptor is "like a wrung out sponge."

thank you for these details! looking forward to layering this pile up

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Of those materials the most likely to stink if they’re in there too much is the grass clippings.

Layering in between layers of the other two materials sounds like a good start!

 

[TooCheep]

Of those materials the most likely to stink if they’re in there too much is the grass clippings.

Yup. Fresh greens/nitrogen sources are more likely to stink on their own. The heavier carbon sources (brown leaves/wood mostly) will hold down the smell greatly as well as provide complementary nutrients for the bacteria/insects to break it down. Alternating layers of brown and green are the standard "lasagna" composting system.

That is why deep litter systems work so well- high nitrogen chicken poo + wood/leaves/etc + regular mixing (which speeds up the breakdown, but isn't required).

 

[NanaKat]

I also like to add soil to inoculate the pile.
Straw and leaves and small sticks can help provide aeration to your mix.
I insert a piece of French drain (section that has inch drainage holes) vertically into the middle of the pile…both aerates and allows me to add water if needed.

Dividing your composting area pile into sections allows you to turn the first pile over into a new section. Then each time you turn the pile you have a fresh area to begin a new pile. By the time your first pile has been turn twice, it is soon ready to use.

When your pile is hot it is working at killing seeds from weeds and grasses and breaking down the humus. On a cool morning you can actually see a fog rising from your pile. When it stops getting “hot” it is ready to turn.

 

[Percheron chick]

Don't over think it.

 

[samanthaoverton]

My mom's composted for years and so do I. I have a tumbler. Gobs of coffee grounds (filter included), eggs shell, miscellaneous food scraps (no meat), poopy straw, even cedar shavings, one time I threw ash in there from my wood burning stove. That stuff is black gold. I use it in the garden. When planting we dig a hole, then I put a bunch in the hole and put the plant on top. Then cover as usual.